[Shotoflight]

The rise of the second job

Low wages, inflation and pay freezes mean that for more and more employees a second job is a necessity. But is having two roles necessarily a bad thing?

http://www.guardian....e-of-second-job

Free, who is based in Telford, gets a salary of "around £20,000". She says she loves what she does – but is feeling the pinch, not least because she's saving to buy a flat. For this reason Free now supplements her main job with a second one: at evenings and weekends she is a Zumba instructor. "I qualified a year ago, but the investment now means I earn £50-£60 per class, giving me an extra £100-£125 a week," she says. "Without it, I would struggle for the small things in life, like going out with friends. It's a real life-saver."

With inflation eroding take-home pay (in January 2012 alone, wages grew by just 0.7% compared to inflation of 3.6%), and with many families losing another £500 this year from cuts to tax credits introduced in the 2012 budget, Free's solution is increasingly becoming the norm. Last year 94,000 more people took on a second job, taking the total to 1.1 million, the highest level since 2002.

In January Unite found 24% of 1,500 Scottish workers it polled had more than one job. Of these, 90% were doing so to boost their main salary. Data compiled for the Guardian by recruiter PeoplePerHour.com found a 37.4% rise this year, compared to last, of people joining the site for a second job.

"A second job is almost becoming a must-have for some people now," says, Corinne Mills of consultancy Personal Career Management, and author of Career Coach. Mike Fetters, director at Totaljobs.com, says he's seen a doubling in applications for part-time jobs this year, saying the rise in second-jobbers is also due to people often taking two part-time jobs instead of one full time. In the three months to February 2012 alone, the total number of employees working part-time grew by 60,000, reaching 6.64 million, according to the Office for National Statistics.

It's not only lower-income workers who are looking for second jobs. Research by WebEden, which builds websites for budding entrepreneurs, says the squeezed middle are just as likely to need extra cash. Of 1,000 workers it questioned this year, 25% said they were considering setting up a sideline, with home selling back in vogue. This time last year, Avon reported a 43% surge in women applying to sell its products, while Jamie Oliver's Jamie at Home brand, which launched in 2009, has more than 3,700 sellers.

For Stevenage based Julie Knight, a teacher and mother, home selling has become the perfect second job to meet rising costs and her need for more flexible working. "I wanted to see my children grow up, so in 2009 I joined [the direct selling firm] Kleeneze," she says. "It's been a phenomenal success. Last year I turned over £220,000 and earned £20,000. I'm now earning £2,000 every four weeks." Earlier this year Kleeneze found 58% of people it polled would consider taking additional paid work. Knight has been so successful, that what started as her second job (two days a week, around part-time teaching) has now become her main income. "I've dropped teaching to two days a week," she says.

Jamie Stewart, managing director of Kleeneze and chairman of the UK Direct Selling Association, says Knight is by no means an isolated case. "Direct selling is experiencing a real come-back," he says. "There are about 400,000 people employed in the sector now, 80% of whom work part-time or combine it with their main job. Pay cuts and rising costs are creating increased interest in it. We're seeing lots of inquiries from public sector workers who have seen their pay frozen."

Having two jobs is a rising trend and it could become a permanent feature.

[Shotoflight]

Families spending more on fuel than on food

Motorists being forced off road as rising prices take a heavy toll

http://www.belfastte...d-16148517.html

Luke Bosdet from the AA said some families are now being forced off the road because of price hikes.

“We know that 76% of our membership is either cutting back on car use, cutting back on other spending, or a combination of the two,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.

“A 50-litre refill is costing more than the average family with two kids spends each week on food shopping.“We are getting emails every week from people asking for advice on how they can afford to continue to drive to work. “It has a severe impact on people who cannot absorb the rising costs.”

According to Mr Bosdet, motorists in Northern Ireland are particularly hard hit because of the region’s geography.

There has also been an angry backlash from motorists to the report’s findings, with many claiming they are struggling to cope with the rising costs.

Ciaran Campbell, a customer service assistant from West Belfast, has seen his fuel bill double from £20 a week to £40. “I don’t go out as much in the car because I can’t afford it any more. It’s ridiculous,” he said. “On top of the car insurance, MOT and road tax, it costs a fortune to drive.”

Des Cassidy, a married father-of-two from Belfast, said he is spending more on petrol than before. “We are getting close to spending more on petrol than food,” he said. “It’s getting to the point where the only time I use the car is for work and my wife just picks up and drops the kids off in her car.”

Sinn Fein MLA Jennifer McCann (below) said the price of petrol is placing ordinary people under severe pressure. “The simple fact is that these high prices will stave off any economic recovery and place extra and severe pressure on households across the north,” she said. “The effects will be felt even harder in rural communities where public transport infrastructure is not sufficient and people rely on their cars.”

[yadayada]

Shotoflight, on 23 April 2012 - 07:08 AM, said:

Families spending more on fuel than on food

Sinn Fein MLA Jennifer McCann (below) said the price of petrol is placing ordinary people under severe pressure. “The simple fact is that these high prices will stave off any economic recovery and place extra and severe pressure on households across the north,” she said. “The effects will be felt even harder in rural communities where public transport infrastructure is not sufficient and people rely on their cars.”

We were out on a bike tour last Sunday, and noticed every rural dweller round Armagh has the verge mown outside their house, sometimes for 100 yards in each direction, and on the other side of the road as well.

Is petrol just far too cheap?

[georgia o'keeffe]

yadayada, on 23 April 2012 - 07:18 AM, said:

We were out on a bike tour last Sunday, and noticed every rural dweller round Armagh has the verge mown outside their house, sometimes for 100 yards in each direction, and on the other side of the road as well.

Is petrol just far too cheap?

they might be using scissors

[yadayada]

Georgia O, on 23 April 2012 - 07:27 AM, said:

they might be using scissors

Unless you can get your lawn mower to run on red diesel. I'll believe petrol is too dear when the streets are packed with bicycles.

[Shotoflight]

Spending power continues to weaken

http://www.belfastte...n-16149391.html

Family spending power has slumped to its lowest level since 2008, amid tough employment conditions and the high cost of essential goods, a study has warned.

UK households had £144 a week of discretionary income in March on average, making them £10 a week worse off than a year ago and giving them the lowest amount of disposable income since November 2008, according to the Asda Income Tracker.

There were strong regional variations in how much cash people have left over to spend, showing the different pressures people face. Discretionary income in London was £266 a week on average in the first quarter of this year, compared with just £83 a week in Northern Ireland, the report found.

Researchers said that families in Northern Ireland were particularly exposed to recent price increases as they tend to spend a high share of their income on essential items. They are also particularly reliant on public sector employment, meaning the outlook for workers remains tough.

Average earnings growth is expected to trail inflation over 2012, keeping pressure on household incomes. As such we are likely to see continuing declines on the Asda Income Tracker over the coming months, although at a slower pace than during 2011."

[georgia o'keeffe]

Shotoflight, on 24 April 2012 - 07:14 PM, said:

Spending power continues to weaken

http://www.belfastte...n-16149391.html

Family spending power has slumped to its lowest level since 2008, amid tough employment conditions and the high cost of essential goods, a study has warned.

UK households had £144 a week of discretionary income in March on average, making them £10 a week worse off than a year ago and giving them the lowest amount of disposable income since November 2008, according to the Asda Income Tracker.

There were strong regional variations in how much cash people have left over to spend, showing the different pressures people face. Discretionary income in London was £266 a week on average in the first quarter of this year, compared with just £83 a week in Northern Ireland, the report found.

Researchers said that families in Northern Ireland were particularly exposed to recent price increases as they tend to spend a high share of their income on essential items. They are also particularly reliant on public sector employment, meaning the outlook for workers remains tough.

Average earnings growth is expected to trail inflation over 2012, keeping pressure on household incomes. As such we are likely to see continuing declines on the Asda Income Tracker over the coming months, although at a slower pace than during 2011."

2008 , wheres Jimmy Hill or Nick Clegg when you need them

This post has been edited by Georgia O'Keeffe: 24 April 2012 - 07:20 PM

[Shotoflight]

Shotoflight, on 24 April 2012 - 07:14 PM, said:

Spending power continues to weaken

http://www.belfastte...n-16149391.html

Family spending power has slumped to its lowest level since 2008, amid tough employment conditions and the high cost of essential goods, a study has warned.

Researchers said that families in Northern Ireland were particularly exposed to recent price increases as they tend to spend a high share of their income on essential items. They are also particularly reliant on public sector employment, meaning the outlook for workers remains tough.

Average earnings growth is expected to trail inflation over 2012, keeping pressure on household incomes. As such we are likely to see continuing declines on the Asda Income Tracker over the coming months, although at a slower pace than during 2011."

Same Story

NI families have less cash to spend than rest of UK

http://www.bbc.co.uk...reland-17836968

This also represents a fall in disposable income of 7%, compared to last year's figures for Northern Ireland.

That is one of the steepest erosions in disposable income of any region in the UK.

[Shotoflight]

Bank of mum and dad getting squeezed

Half of over-50s 'will have to work beyond state pension age'

http://www.bbc.co.uk...siness-17831877

Nearly half of people aged over 50 will have to work and save for 11 years beyond state pension age to keep their standard of living, a report has said.

[talksalot81]

Shotoflight, on 25 April 2012 - 10:53 AM, said:

Nearly half of people aged over 50 will have to work and save for 11 years beyond state pension age to keep their standard of living, a report has said.

Had they not been living to a standard above their earnings, this wouldn't have happened!

[Shotoflight]

Jim Fitzpatrick tweets.

Not very regular but a few days ago was discussing the middle class recession. He is seeking ideas and will return to it (presumably on radio or TV). He seems to have been moved to the radio. Anyway, some may be interested to view/contact (tell him about mr & mrs average?)

https://twitter.com/#!/jimfitzbiz

20 April - What's your measure of the Middle Class Recession? Staycations, shopping choices, meals out? @BBCgmu after 8.30


Conor Devine ‏ @Conor_Devine Reply
RetweetedRetweet
@jimfitzbiz reality=most just getting by+ sadly more pain on horizon as property related debt through BTL's+ neg equity in home still there

Ran out of time to discuss Middle Class Recession on @BBCgmu but keep suggestions coming - will return to the theme. What are the effects?

[Shotoflight]

In case you're on over £50k....... (you can still be part of a hardworking family)!

Child benefit claimants paying higher tax rates than millionaires

Hardworking families will be left paying higher tax rates than millionaires because of the climbdown on child benefit, the Government has admitted.

http://www.telegraph...llionaires.html

[Shotoflight]

London 2012. Jubilympics. Food Parcels for working families.


Foodbank handouts double as more families end up on the breadline

Trussell Trust says two centres a week are opening in UK to give food parcels to working families struggling to cope

http://www.guardian....ilies-breadline

Britain's leading foodbank network, the Trussell Trust, says every single day it is handing out emergency food parcels to parents who are going without meals in order to feed their children, or even considering stealing food to put on the table, as the government's austerity measures start to bite.

The number of people to whom it had issued emergency food parcels had doubled in the last 12 months and was set to increase further as rising living costs, shrinking incomes and welfare cuts take their toll, the trust said, as it published its annual report, which is fast becoming a barometer of social deprivation.

Two foodbanks a week opened up in the UK over the last 12 months to meet an explosion in demand from families living on the breadline, the trust said. The charity currently oversees 201 foodbanks run on a franchise basis across the UK, up from 100 in 2010-11.

It fed 128,000 people last year, distributing 1,225 tonnes of food donated by the public, schools and businesses, and estimates that half a million individuals a year will be in receipt of a food parcel by 2016.

"Foodbanks are seeing people from all walks of life turning to us for help when they hit crisis," said Chris Mould, the executive chair of the Trussell Trust.

"The current economic situation means that times are tough for many. Every day we meet parents who are skipping meals to feed their children or even considering stealing to stop their children going to bed hungry.

"It is shocking that there is such a great need for foodbanks in 21st century Britain, but the need is growing."

[Shotoflight]

When Credit becomes Debt - or is it the same thing?

Excludes Loan Sharks and mum and dad.

Debt collection agencies are tracking down £60bn

First published figures reveal government is making increasing use of outsourced debt collection

http://www.guardian....s?newsfeed=true

Almost £60bn of unpaid consumer debt had been passed to debt collection agencies by the end of 2011, with government departments increasingly using agencies to recover outstanding money, according to the first set of figures published by the industry.

The figure grew by £6bn in the second half of the year, and the Credit Services Association (CSA), the trade body for collection agencies which published the figure, said that the amount of outstanding debt had been steadily increasing in recent years.

She added: "The government has gone on record recently [as part of its Fraud, Error and Debt initiative – pdf] as reporting that overdue debts cost it between £7bn and £8bn – 95% of which resides with the Department of Work and Pensions and HMRC – and part of this has now been passed to our members for collection."

At the end of 2011, the CSA said its members were handling 32m unpaid debt cases, the equivalent of at least one significant debt for every UK household. Six months previously the figure stood at 28m.

Of the total in debt collectors' hands in December 2011, £31bn was placed by creditors with debt collection agencies to collect, and a further £27bn was debt owned by debt buyers.

Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust said the figures made it clear that individuals across the UK were struggling to clear huge amounts of debt.

"We have seen just his week that the UK economy has returned to technical recession, but the reality for many people is that the recession never really went away at all, meaning they have been struggling to make ends meet for the last few years.

"When it costs more and more to put food on your table, heat your home and fill up your car, credit card repayments become less of a priority."

[Shotoflight]

ROI

Cost of keeping roof over your head soars by €138 a week

That's before you buy food and clothes

http://www.independe...ek-3095417.html

THE average cost of keeping a roof over your head has soared from €275 to more than €400 a week since the boom -- due mainly to larger and more expensive mortgages.

That means couples now have to find €21,466 a year after tax, or an extra €138 a week, before they buy food or clothes.

The increase is five times higher than inflation and highlights the burden on families who have taken on mortgages since 2006. In many cases, couples are paying these higher bills on incomes cut by redundancy and higher taxes.

The figures were compiled by the Irish Independent based on data made available by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). While mortgages remain the single biggest element of increased expense, they also reflect stiff increases in the cost of home heating oil, gas and electricity, telephone, maintenance and repair, and insurance.

Recent increases in variable mortgage repayments have also added considerably to the burden on householders.

And there are more on the way with a round of new property taxes, water charges, septic tank fees, and increase in rubbish collection fees.

The analysis of the cost of running a home -- covering the period between January 2006 and March 2012 -- comes at a time when more than 150,000 people are either in arrears or need a restructuring of their mortgage repayments.


Filling family car to cost more than €3,000 this year

http://www.independe...ar-3090787.html

THE average family is set to spend more than €3,000 on petrol for their car this year, it has emerged.

Surging oil prices and higher tax on fuel have sent prices of petrol and diesel to a record high, putting a massive strain on family budgets.

The price of motor fuel has now shot up by 75pc since 2009.

It is now costing the average family more than €250 a month to put fuel in a car, according to AA Ireland's Conor Faughnan.

This is based on three 50 litre fills a month -- which is up from €142 in 2009. Just last year it was costing €235 a month.

Yesterday, the average price of a litre of petrol was 169.9c, with diesel at 159.9c, according the website pumps.ie.

This post has been edited by Shotoflight: 30 April 2012 - 08:29 AM