The Buffalo Brief

I'm a single mum on £41,000 and limit my weekly shop to £40 - it's hard

BBC Business · Oct 27, 8:08 AM CT

BBC Business reported that people earning from £380 a month to £150,000 a year tell the BBC what they want to see in this year's Budget.

The same report said that chancellor John Healey is set to unveil his first Budget on Wednesday.

It also noted that unlike in previous years there have been very few leaks about what will be in it, though Healey's tax and spending plans will be under close scrutiny at a time when government borrowing costs are at "historic highs".

The account added that BBC News has been speaking to people on a range of incomes on how they feel about their finances and what they would like to see in the Budget.

Further in the report, if there are issues you would like to see covered, you can get in touch via BBC Your Voice.

The dispatch went on: chloe Chin-Saad's husband passed away four years ago and her biggest worry is the cost of living.

She's very grateful that the rent she pays on her south London maisonette is set below the market rate as it is housing association accommodation, but says life was easier when she shared the bills.

"Two incomes make a massive difference.".

She lives with her 16-year-old son, and says her energy bill has risen sharply over the past year and she now pays about £200 a month on gas and electricity.

"We try to be more aware, we think more about how long we run the hot water when we do the dishes.".

Chloe, 40, and her son have cut back on luxuries like going to M&S and the cinema, and she now tries to limit the weekly food shop to £40.

But she can't do anything to reduce her £200 council tax bill, the £250 a month she pays on car finance, or the amount she spends on medicines for her various health conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis.

Two mobile phone bills, and food and pet insurance for her dog also add to her costs.

She says the amount she has left over at the end of each month varies, and sometimes she is left with as little as £50.

Chloe wants to see more help for single-parent families.

"I don't access benefits but I work full-time and it's hard.

Can the government do anything else to help.

Something on our tax bill perhaps.".

Robert Portlock, 29, has always lived with his parents in Gateshead and would love to move out.

But he doesn't think he can afford to.

Rent would be his biggest concern, he says, explaining that a small flat in his area would cost him about two-thirds of his monthly wage.

"Council tax and energy bills would add to it.

I'd need a TV licence, broadband, my car and some money to socialise.

By that point I'd be in the minus.".

Robert's biggest expense currently is his car, which he says he needs for his 32-mile round trip to work at Newcastle Airport.

But he's paying £750 a month in car finance, insurance, fuel and tax.

He wants the chancellor to cut fuel duty and income tax, or increase the personal allowance - the amount of income you do not have to pay tax on - to about £16,000, up from £12,570 currently.

He would like to get on the housing ladder but for now it feels a distant prospect.

The government has announced a scheme to help first-time buyers in England who have a deposit of 2.5%, but Robert says: "Saving for a house is impossible at the moment.".

What is the Budget and what could be in it.

Emily Nelson completed her A-levels last year and like thousands of her peers has been unable to find a job since leaving college.

The 19-year-old from Swindon wants to be an animator but in the meantime is applying for retail and sales roles and apprenticeships.

Most of the time, she doesn't hear back from potential employers.

"I'm trying my best, it's all you really can do.

It's kind of suffocating in a way.

You see everyone else managing, and you feel like you're not.".

She wants the government to provide more funding to businesses so they can take on more young employees.

She'd also like to see more money for training and the government's Jobs Guarantee , external scheme extended.

The scheme, being rolled out across England, Scotland and Wales, guarantees fully funded, six-month paid jobs for 18 to 24-year-olds who have been on universal credit and looking for work for 18 months.

But Emily thinks people should be eligible after a year.

The Buffalo Brief wrote this from the public report by BBC Business. Nothing was added past what that report said.

Reported by BBC Business. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmx235r9wr3yo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss