[user104658]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Yes, when I was unemployed it was really hard to manage to pay my bills. That was 10 years ago.

I've only been "properly" unemployed as an adult once, for about 5 months when my wife was expecting our first, as we made the (as it turns out, ill advised) decision to move to England to be near her family. We were also a very low income household for I'd say the first 2-3 years of parenthood (one full time minimum wage income).

I remember it being extremely tough paying rent and bills - and our rent was pretty cheap (we were in a coronation street-chic Lancashire redbrick terrace ) and I swear gas and electricity was only something like £75 a month.

I have no idea how people in that situation survive now. We're happily on a much higher income now but Wtf does a young family on minimum wage do with a £400 gas/electricity bill? I think I'd have been off a bridge somewhere .

In fact... My wife's aunt had a huge house and lived alone and kept offering to move us in. Realistically, if this situation had been happening back then, I think we'd have had no real choice but to take her up on that.