Minimum Income Floor

It was really great to hear Martin Lewis talk about the MIF being lifted in the beginning of November 2020, as part of his C19 televised support; until this, many people wouldn’t know about it or understood how it worked.. Let me explain. If, because of all the reasons explained, you are out of salaried work, and fighting to grow a business because you do not want to live on benefits, you may still need to rely on benefits for a while. When you are a single mum on benefits, the period that you have to draw a full time wage from your business is 12 months.

Most men and women in my network know that it takes a few years to build a business to such a level that you can cover your business expenses, pay for continued growth, and draw a full time wage.

A married mother will often have the stability of her husband’s income while she builds her business around childcare. If her husband’s salary worked the same way benefits did, the Government would take several hundred pound of that every month, regardless of whether or not his wife was bringing money in from her business, because she ‘should’ be. This will leave them short for rent, food, bills, council tax and so on, and certainly without disposable income.

I hear you argue that her husband earns that money, but a single mum doesn’t earn benefits, but we need to understand. We trust 20% + of our wages to the Government every month without question, for a lifetime, in agreement that we will not be destitute in our hour of need, in health, or income. Single mums in So what is the bigger picture?

If a single mum ‘gives in’ on building her business at the stroke of 12, she is then forced into under skilled and under paid work, and is equally forced into needing benefit top ups for the duration of being a single parent. However, if she is supported and encouraged to build her business for a couple of years, until she DOES achieve that income, she will not need benefits for the rest of her working life, and she will go back to paying tax sooner rather than later.

It is critical to remember, that most mums end up in business because they need the flexibility around childcare. If it was that appealing, all men would do it too, but it is much easier to enjoy a salary, a pension, work comradeship and have the children looked after by their primary carer. I apologise this text leans towards women at home and men in employment, but that is based on the majority. I am aware that this applies to many fathers and single dads also. So what do we need? Understanding, humanity, and appreciation that we are trying to be financially independent long-term. And that the short term money we may need is our tax, that we paid without question, to ensure we are all okay if we have a physical or practical barrier.

This is a real life Cinderella story of desperately fighting before the clock strikes 12.

lifestyle, they are not workshy, they are desperate to work, they have an extensive skillset, but because of childcare restrictions v presenteeism they lose their careers and are asked to work part time in low skilled and low paid work.

It has never been more crucial to help people unethical and it is only those at the top of the get away from needing universal credit. pyramid who benefit from this lifestyle, and it is Anybody who has experienced it knows that it understandable that so many fall prey to this, as is no life at all, and UC income does not offer they are so desperate to find a way to make enough to cover rent and utilities and food, work work and escape the relative poverty trap, something always has to give, leading into with high private rents to pay they will take either being cold or unhealthy as carbs and desperate measures, and essentially what they junk food are much cheaper than a healthy diet are doing is losing the window of opportunity or needing NHS support for physical and to focus on their ‘own’ business, and build their emotional problems as a result. We have own steady income, whilst the MIF does apply. already covered the fact that so many are I speak from experience of seeing those who dependent on UC due to barriers that should suffer most. not exist, and whilst it aims to help it is not To be clear it is not your business if you cannot enough and whilst the government will choose to have your own ecommerce website or remove the uplift to further encourage those PR literature etc. It is glorified unpaid who can work, to work, they need to make sure employment. that those who can work, can work. These companies upset me as it is me who ends up trying to clear up their mess instead of The Minimum Income Floor relaxations being spending quality time with my daughter. I do lifted fell at the same time as the UC uplift not blame the women who fall for it, but I will removal, and so if for example you have a child not pretend to support it either. It should be aged between 5 and 12, you will need to be used as pocket money in spare time, and if that earning the minimum wage at 25 hours per blossoms then great. week, that increases to 35 aged 13. That is High end ticket sales are equally unethical, they very difficult to achieve in 12 months. charge desperate people lots of money to tell Turnover, yes, profit, more time is needed. This them to charge lots of money and so on, but is why I am so passionately protective when it what are you charging for? What is the skill? If comes to single mums falling prey to certain the skill is to charge people to charge people MLM schemes, get rich by investing in Crypto- you won’t sleep well at night at the end of the currency schemes and high ticket sales loops. day. We all need to work for a living, and we Selling stuff for another company, working for need to remove these desperate situations of free, for their benefit, is really not okay, not high private rent, low wages, panic MIF, when it is sold as an achievable full time destitute level UC and so on that leaves people income, which normally it is not, and less so as helpless to properly help themselves. time goes on and the market is more saturated with more and more recruited into the MLM industry in order to achieve pyramid style Be very careful what you but into and income. These companies need to be honest who you give your time to, please. At about average income, and pay proportionate least when I buy something from Boots I holiday and sick pay and pension, instead of know the lady on the till gets steady recruiting with the promise of a work from salary and perks etc, and I still love the home full time salary lifestyle. They are Body Shop as they operate differently.