What can you spend your benefit money on?

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Comments

  • letitbe
    letitbe Community Member Posts: 344 Empowering

    I know so terrible I understand . I can spend a fortune on food but I eat it all coz of bingeing. I also buy loads of things i see and think it’ll make me feel better but then get really stressed when it arrives and give to charity after few days . It’s terrible I can be ok for week or 2 then spend loads. What a life !
    I hope ur ok x

  • wobblyone
    wobblyone Community Member Posts: 137 Empowering

    interesting post. It would only be a problem for UC if you incurred debts and the people you owe wanted to recover payments.

    I think if you have UC and do impulse shopping you can get them to pay your bills directly before you get your payment. Or you can set up your own direct debits or recurring payments After all your bills are paid it’s up to you really.

    For lots of people it’s normal to manage some extra money for treats, it’s just new for you and it doesn’t break UC rules.

    I have a relative who is a high earner and pretty much blows his salary after bills within a week or two each month so it’s no different to what some people have described.

  • letitbe
    letitbe Community Member Posts: 344 Empowering

    I’m hoping to move this year and if I can get a place if my own I will buy some nice furniture and stuff :)

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 5,673 Championing

    LuminousVoid, congratulations on your new award!!

    I think I would save half and spend half. Continue to be frugal while you mull over what you would like to buy for yourself. Window shopping it used to be called 😊

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 5,673 Championing

    LuminousVoid, enjoy planning how you'll use the extra income.

    Our spending is monitored via store loyalty cards and bank data but it's fine to withdraw cash and use it as you see fit.

  • letitbe
    letitbe Community Member Posts: 344 Empowering

    Who is monitoring spending via loyalty cards ?

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 5,673 Championing

    That's a fair question and I've no idea what the answer is!

    I should have said recorded rather than monitored.

  • letitbe
    letitbe Community Member Posts: 344 Empowering

    that’s true - with todays technology absolutely everything is recorded.

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community Member Posts: 64,456 Championing

    Loyalty card history can be very useful! I bought my grandson a few clothes not long ago from Tesco and they were too small. Annoyingly I couldn't find my receipt so thought I would take them back on the off chance they would just exchange them for me. She asked if I had a club card, which I do and she said that was all she needed because it would be on there. I was then able to exchange the clothes.

  • letitbe
    letitbe Community Member Posts: 344 Empowering

    I very very rarely go into supermarkets now because of the distress it can cause.
    that’s good they were able to do that Poppy but these tracking things can make me really paranoid when I get stressed

  • FeistyPigeon
    FeistyPigeon Community Member Posts: 360 Empowering

    Hi Luminous Void (LOL - what a name!), I know what it's like to have lived so long with so little money and then suddenly finding you're bank account has got a nice fat wad in there. It's so tempting to splash out. But what I'd do in your shoes is first spend it on doing up your place so it feels more like a home, if you need to, and get yourself kitted out with new clothes - things you'll be glad you bought if you find yourself short of money in the future. Putting it in a pension would be good, as would doing up the home etc, DWP don't count it once it's spent like that. What they look to find is things like investments in gold + expensive jewelry + expensive cars (as if!) - things to buy so you can keep your bank balance low and keep claiming benefits. But things you "need", like stuff for the home is perfectly fine.

    Don't want to be a killjoy but I'd be careful with the gambling, Reeves nasty little spring surprise will be here soon + they could just be contemplating slashing disability benefits, even for those on LCWRA. Best of luck x

  • Jimm_Alumni
    Jimm_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,713 Championing

    If you don't mind me asking what causes the stress @letitbe? I remember during covid a lot of shops did "quiet hours" early in the morning where they turned the music off in store, but many seem to have stopped doing it over the past few years since sadly.

  • letitbe
    letitbe Community Member Posts: 344 Empowering

    it’s a few things Jimm I get really stressed and start feeling feeling dizzy because of panic attacks , I’m also diagnosed with an eating disorder and being around so much food can massively distress and confuse me

  • Jimm_Alumni
    Jimm_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,713 Championing

    I'm sorry to hear that @letitbe, I can definitely see how stressful that would be. How does online shopping work for you if you don't mind me asking?

  • letitbe
    letitbe Community Member Posts: 344 Empowering

    thx Jimm , it’s better shopping online because I’m not completely surrounded by food so the distress it less , I still buy loads of binge things but it’s better than seeing food everywhere I look and getting really overwhelmed by it all

  • Drausus
    Drausus Community Member Posts: 55 Empowering

    I do exactly the same, to the point Amazon keep offering me a business account… it’s just a way to distract my mind from the usual constant state of anxiety and depression

  • letitbe
    letitbe Community Member Posts: 344 Empowering

    oh I didn’t know Amazon have a business account option