One Step Away…

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

This is not the post I was intending to write this week, but circumstances have made me change tack. I hope you will bear with me. Before I start, this is not a pity post.  It’s a reality check for all of us and a siren call to myself to be more compassionate and understanding. It’s true that you never know what struggles people are going through.

On Thursday 25th April, the company that my husband worked for, shut its doors for the last time and went into insolvency measures.  This wasn’t entirely unexpected, although the suddenness and finality of it - along with the fact that no April salaries were paid - was. It has been a bit of a shock, from which we are still reeling.

We’re not in a unique situation in having a large mortgage which is serviced by one person’s income - many people live alone, many couples have a single person working, whilst the other stays at home. What is possibly less common, is the fact that we are older and have only recently bought our own home, due to a raft of circumstances outside of our control. Because of this, our repayments, over such a short-term,  are pretty hefty.  I am semi-retired, due to ill health, and earn a little income from my baking and art businesses, though not enough to pay our household bills. Whilst my husband has a job, this is not an issue. We don’t  have an extravagant lifestyle and are happy to have fairly simple life without a lot of the add-ons some people may take for granted, like new cars, holidays and various, everyday, luxuries.  We’re not poor and I wouldn’t never claim to be.  We get by OK. Until something like this happens….

A lot of people in our age bracket have paid off their mortgages, or are close to doing so, so whilst a job loss would be difficult, it might not be immediately catastrophic.  Having only moved last year and used up our reserves sorting the house out, not being paid is a disaster. We are literally one step away from being homeless.  Because we ‘own’ our home (albeit on mortgage) there is no state safety net. We would literally have to lose everything before the social care system kicked in.

My little sister owns her own home, but she lives on benefits due to mental illness and is unable to work. She coped for most of her life, holding down a job, despite her condition, but increasing anxiety and other conditions, along with her bipolar, eventually made it impossible. She ‘lives’ on benefits but has no heating in her home, is unable to afford repairs and sometimes goes without meals.  She may not technically be homeless, but her home is not fit to live in.

We have both worked for the majority of our lives, as has my husband, without ever asking the state for help - apart from the NHS - and yet we, along with lots of other people, are one step away from losing everything: homelessness, poverty, destitution. We are lucky that we have kind and generous friends who are prepared to stick their necks out and loan us money, to tide us over this month until my husband gets his salary and a redundancy payment (hopefully next month); to give us a bit of  breathing space until he can find a job.  Not everyone has that sort of safety net and the state doesn’t provide for people who own their own properties. We may be entitled to some benefits, given we have no savings, but it won’t cover our mortgage, yet alone any other bills.

In an affluent society, I think it is criminal that so many ordinary people are struggling. I’m not thinking about my own circumstances, in particular, but society in general, with so many food banks, families living on the breadline, even when parents are working; families in hotels and b&b’s, young people sofa-surfing and people living in inadequate housing.  Politicians should be ashamed of themselves for even considering trying to reduce people’s benefits.  £71 (or £90 if you’re over 45) a week is nothing and certainly not enough to live on!  We might qualify for Universal Credit or Job Seekers Allowance, but it will not pay our bills.

I’ve always understood that most ordinary people are a pay cheque away from trouble. Most people are not ‘scroungers’ or work shy; the majority of ordinary folk simply want to do a decent days work for a decent days pay, have a roof over their heads - which is secure - and live a little.  Unfortunately, in the UK in 2024, none of this is guaranteed, no matter how hard you work or how much you save or how well you try to care for your family.

You may not ever have experienced job, home, or financial insecurity in your life. Many people have and do. It’s scary and unsettling and can make you ill both physically and mentally. Spare a thought for those who may be struggling. Most of us really are only one step away from a crisis.