Work In progress As Usual?

Out of work in lockdown

Being out of work, on only a small retainer fee each month for my job during lockdown has proved fairly difficult financially and mentally.

As I am used to having time to myself in an office with space away from my family, now I find myself volunteering my time for my company I work as and when I can during lockdown and working from home on my landing, office space, my bedroom and my living room.



Managing a Charity for the good of local teens

Long story short I've been working for Charity funded radio station for the best part of 3 years in that time I work my way up from part-time volunteer to co manager but now that all hangs in the balance.

Unfortunately when you work for a charity a lack of funding or a short full of payments to freelance employees can happen at any time. I have been lucky up until now, having a salary to support my young family and doing the work I love for so long.

Then horror struck me down only a week ago, when my contract came to an shape end as funds have dried up and no one is offering funding during lockdown, for the kind of work we do as an organisation.

So in short lockdown has demoted me back down to being a volunteer but this time I'm on my own in cyber space, (by that I mean social media) running the radio station.

This could be Catch-22, as I could have said no and have my brine rot away slowly during this new normal we are experiencing.

Or I can carry on regardless and have my mind still stimulated by continuing to work on very low pay.

The choice for me was easy, I want to continue to help the young people we run the radio station for, by doing my job as now, a online podcast facilitator .

Since this lockdown started we took the radio station online and asked all young people who benefited from using the radio station weekly to make podcasts from home on their mobiles. (insert link)

You have to understand the progress we have seen over the years with age 8-16 years have been astonishing and, I was not gonna let a thing like social distancing get in the way of those young folks progress.

On the down side at home, as a small family

We now have no choice but to rely on universal credits that is given to those you have no work for low income during this time I have spent much of my mornings and my evenings just continuing as I was as if I'm being paid trying to do my job and do it to the best of my ability.

However I still have to bear in mind I have a family to support and if it wasn't for benefits such as universal credits this would be an impossible feat.

Before lockdown it was a bit easier financially for us as a family just about managing to get our head above water each month.

Having the satisfaction and comfort of having your bills paid regularly and always having food on your plate, seems right now a far away luxury.

We have never been well off but, I have never missed a bill payment, even if it means we have to skimp in other areas, bills always came first and still do, when your on a low income.

I have never had much over for myself and this is not the first time I have been poor in my lifetime.

As a creative myself and my husband we have been in periods poverty and this is commonplace to those who are creative professionals. Every time a contact comes to an end you either have to rely on government benefits such as Universal Credits for a wile until more freelance work comes you way.

One month you could be absolutely Filthy Rich absolutely and the following dirt poor.

Of course these are both extremes as creatives we also learn extremely well how to budget and always put aside funds for the following month if we having a good month of course.

Being in lockdown how many good months can there be?

Some surprises have come to light during this time finding ourselves in a position with a young family a little money in your pocket what do you do I hear you ask?

How can a family of three live on £1,000 per month? That is the maximum amount of universal credits.

With our bills being close to £800 a month there is not much money left over for food. Our budget before lockdown happens feed my family was approximately 350 to £400 a month on food before we get to things like nappies self care products such as deodorant and toothpaste. We are now left with £200 after bills, its not much really, but on the upside, my weight-loss has excelled lol.

Most people this is probably very little but to ask to live now this is what we have survived on for many years we're not frivolous people I have learnt not to buy clothes on a regular basis haircuts haircuts only as and when really desperately needed so we thought the challenge of lockdown would not be that terrible for us fast forward 9 weeks in see I work for sent me an email saying they could no longer pay me but they would really appreciate it if I could continue until the end of lockdown to work and paid as a volunteer well seeing as I have nothing else to do during lockdown I agreed on the promise that I will be reinstated once funding is found again in the future so as you can imagine last week been working all of unpaid we were doing very well just beforehand with just enough in the bank to pay rent by food and cover all our household bills each month we lose at least 3 to £400 a month food budget out of the window I didn't even think about this until I was talking to a friend who works for the local council she asked me how we were getting on and I told her that my job could cut my pay during lockdown she immediately suggested food brought to us via food bank not thinking that we actually need it I did want to say no however looking in our cupboards and looking at my young daughter who is 3, I thought perhaps we need to be humble here and say yes at the offer. 

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