‘I can’t leave home on £1,500 a month’

The Budget on Wednesday will reveal how much tax each of us will pay and how much the government will choose to spend on services like the NHS, schools and transport.

BBC News has spoken to people on a range of incomes about what they expect from the Budget and, in some cases, how they fear it could be affected.

If there is a problem you would like to see, you can contact us through Your Voice, Your BBC News.

Luken Coleman works as a Level 3 business administration apprentice for a recruitment agency, earning £1,500 a month. Before that he worked in a shop and did manual work.

He works full-time Monday through Friday and goes to college one day a month.

Luken lives in Newbury with his parents and pays £200 a month in rent. While he pays all the bills himself, he can’t get out and says he’d like to see his apprentices get paid more.

“The average rent where I live is between £700 and £900 a month. If I move, I’ll have to move further away, so I need a car.”

As someone in his late 20s, he says you can’t earn much while still living at home.

“It’s about mental health. Money-wise, an internship pays less because you learn on the job, but it can make you feel less about yourself when you’re not completely independent.”

Mum-of-two Hannah Clarke from Rutland in the East Midlands is juggling two part-time jobs but recently started studying full-time for a midwifery degree. She also works six to eight hours a week as a beauty technician.

He takes home around £1,800 a month, mostly through tax-free student loans. He said this only covers mortgage payments – which went up three times earlier this year – bills and fuel.

“I just want to make ends meet, but it’s not easy and sometimes I have to ask for help,” he said.

They wanted free school meals to be untested but failed, saying the eligibility threshold should be lowered. He also said that if fuel duty is increased, the additional cost per liter of petrol or diesel “should not be passed on to drivers”.

Yasmin Taylor from Kent is a technology consultant and single mother of two young children.

The biggest outgo is £2,600 a month for childcare. The children’s father also helps with the expenses.

“I studied and worked hard to get a job that paid a great salary, but I felt like I was being punished for having children,” she said.

Because her salary is £150,000, Yasmin does not qualify for Child Benefit payments, or help through tax-free childcare or 30 hours of free childcare.

He admitted that his income classifies him as a high earner, but said: “You still have to pay for gas and electricity and it goes up a lot.”

One of my main concerns is about my energy bills this winter.

He also wondered what the chancellor might do about capital gains tax (CGT). Although he is not subject to CGT now, the next step in his career will be a partner in the firm, which will involve the purchase of shares in the company – which may later be subject to CGT if he were to sell them.

Kirsty Brett works part-time as a cleaner in a care home, earning the minimum wage of £11.44 an hour.

She recently moved in with her sister in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk as she looked for new accommodation, having left her old job as a carer in Essex.

Kirsty suffers from osteoporosis, which makes it difficult for her to work, and also costs her life in Essex. He receives £550 a month in Personal Self-Employment Payments.

He wants to see the National Living Wage rise.

“People should be paid at least £15 an hour. Because the cost of living is going up. That will help a lot of people.

“Wage that’s classified as minimum wage — I don’t know how it’s going to support other people.”

They are now looking for the “cheapest option” to live somewhere. They said they found a one-bedroom flat to rent for around £1,300 a month, so Kirsty opted to rent a caravan for around £800 a month.

Nicole Healing rents a one-bed flat in Brighton for £1,250 a month.

Nicole previously worked as a civil servant and in digital marketing, but has been unable to work for the last few years due to several disabilities, including a connective tissue disorder that causes joints to dislocate.

Nicole receives Employment and Support Allowance of £1,042, Personal Independent Payments of £798, and Housing Benefit of £917 per month.

Although she now feels “lucky”, Nicole said: “I feel at the mercy of the DWP.”

Nicole is “completely freaking out” about possible cuts to benefits in the Budget and what that could mean for them.

“I’m afraid of the negative rhetoric in the media about disabled people getting benefits.”

He said his energy bills have risen significantly in the past few years and is concerned that the rent will rise.

“I can’t use PIP for what I’m supposed to use. Half of my pay is to hire me.”

Nicole wants the Budget to clarify what support has been planned for disabled people, and hopes to cover the energy bills this season.

Blogger and web developer Andrew Cunningham lives with his wife in Glasgow. He describes himself as “middle-income but keen to save” who has invested in individual savings accounts (ISAs) and pensions to fund his retirement.

He is concerned about rumors that there may be a cap on the amount of money you can continue tax-free in an ISA in the Budget. “It will hit us and it will be a massive disincentive to save.”

He was also worried about it flat rate introduced in the pension tax relief will reach the middle of the earners.

Because he is self-employed, Andrew has set up a personal pension. A single rate tax relief means less money towards retirement.

“We’re living with the assumption that we’re not going to get a state pension when we reach retirement age, at least not now,” he said, pointing out that state pension spending has increased over the years. percentage of the government budget.

They think in the coming years, the government may have to raise the state pension age again, or reduce the amount of benefits you get.

Ben Howard and his wife Sarah from Bristol are expecting their first child in February. They have a combined income of £100,000. In September, the mortgage payment increased by 60% to £1,400.

Ben said he was “comfortable”, but thought the government needed to do more about childcare costs, as in some cases it was “more efficient for (parents) not to work”.

“But that brings us back to what our career aspirations are.”

Ben is not fully convinced that Labor will keep its promise not to raise taxes “working man”.

“Am I going to see taxes on my pension contributions, whatever stealth tax?”

He expects it to get worse after Budget day. “They’re going to be huge in business and growing the economy, and I know that, but nothing suits me and my pay package.”

Allana Lamb is an army and navy veteran and retired social worker. He is a few pounds over the threshold for pension credit so he won’t get a winter fuel payment this year.

“I’m very concerned about government shutdown,” he said. “Yes, (the state pension) three keys but it does not cover the cost of living.”

He feels “the rich will get richer” from this Budget and “those at the bottom of the heap or at the bottom end” will be taxed more.

Allana gets a full state pension and a small army pension, totaling £1,200 a month. He said his income is not enough to cover all his expenses, and expects his mortgage to “virtually double” in the next few years. “It’s going to put me out every month in the negative.”

Allana also thinks the threshold for getting council support to pay social care costs should be raised. Currently people with assets up to £23,250 qualify. Labor already scrapped plans to improve this.