Could YOU live off £53 a week

I love how everyone is listing what they would spend if they wanted to have the bare minimum, and in their list of 'necessities' they include non-vital luxuries like mobile phone, Internet and cleaning products.

How on earth do other animals survive without such essentials .

Not saying the £53 malarkey is a good idea AT ALL, but a lot of you seem to have a highly consumeristic stance on what you think should be your god-given right as a human being.

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I'm a student and I do it. I don't need to but i like to save up and then splash out once every few months

There is really no need to spend that much on a night out I find. I have a couple of drinks with friends before going out, If you buy a bottle of vodka and a litre of diet coke from tesco £10 can last me a whole months drinking (I'm a lightweight) Then only have 1 of the cheapest drink while I'm out, so the whole night costs me about £7, and I do that once a week.

If you're in the position where you have to live off of £53 a week then you really shouldn't be wasting it on nights out drinking. Not saying they shouldnt be allowed a social life, just learn to do it on a budget

Can you be any more patronising?

£20 for food. What are you eating? Noodles and toast?

It's been talked about quite a lot this week because IDS said he could live off £53 a week and of course there has been uproar from certain people

Ive been thinking it would be quite easy so i feel that i am missing something out. Could someone clear up for me what this £53 needs to pay for.

This is what is going on in my head please add to and correct any mistakes from the list below

- Rent is covered by housing benefit
- I assume they don't pay council tax?
- what's the deal with the Tv licence? is that paid for?
- Bills aren't paid for and come out the £53
- Food and clothes comes out of the £53

Two points to this thread

1- Clear up exactly what the £53 needs to pay for
2- Do you think you could cope with £53 a week in benefits.

note: please try not to turn it into an attack on labours past welfare policies or the conservatives current policies i feel that topic has been done to death in numerous other threads. I just want to see who thinks they could cope and who couldn't.

£53 a week is very little for a student tbh

I don't know anyone who spends that much! Not unless they were spending it all on takeaways, drinks out at clubs or eating out..

I couldn't imagine living on £50 a week, I draw out £100 at the start of the month and live on that. Covers shopping, bills, travel and extras like going out or the occasional meal out. I know alot of students don't really cook or shop carefully and I guess that's why.

People on benefits are absolute scum. If I had my way I would stop welfare spending. These scavengers don't deserve luxuries as they're too lazy to work and contribute to society. I'd be ashamed to live on benefits. There are many other people in the world who survive on much less than £53 a week.

I've also noticed that most of these people on benefits are uneducated cretins. My advice to these mongrels is get a job and stop living off people who are working hard but being forced to feed animals like you.

ps. I've never lived on benefits and my studies have been paid for privately without the need for student loans.

Are you kidding? A diet with no fruit and veg and high in sugar? You think poor people deserve to be ill? There's already a massive link between social class and health, ever wonder why?