\n\t\t\t\t\tMichelle O’Neill moved to the UK from South Africa and has found herself living in a shared house\u00a0\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
In our How I Manage My Money series <\/a>we aim to find out how people in the UK are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals.<\/p>\n This week we speak to Melanie O\u2019Neill, 69, who lives in Lancashire. She has one son, aged 39, and a four-year-old grandson. She has a partner but doesn\u2019t live with him. Melanie, who grew up in South Africa, retired from a stressful call centre job but did not work enough years in the UK to qualify for a full state pension.<\/a> She is worried about the state pension age going up and thinks the triple lock should be maintained. Melanie has struggled with debt and lives in a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). <\/p>\n \nMonthly budget<\/p>\n My monthly income: <\/strong>State pension, \u00a3456.89; pension credit, \u00a3451.56; housing benefit, \u00a3368.20.\u00a0<\/p>\n My monthly outgoings: <\/strong>Rent, \u00a3433; bank loan repayment, \u00a3134; petrol for car, \u00a380; broadband, \u00a333; mobile, \u00a317; life insurance, \u00a317; Amazon Prime; \u00a39; Netflix, \u00a311; Cloud storage, \u00a31.59; over-the-counter medication, \u00a330; road tax, \u00a317; hair care, \u00a350; clothes, \u00a350; gifts, \u00a350; entertainment, \u00a3100. Unexpected expenditure can cost \u00a3100 a month. I do not pay council tax or utility bills. My son covers my car insurance costs. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I grew up in a middle-class household in South Africa, where we were comfortably off. My father worked as a logistics manager for Unilever, while my mother worked as a receptionist at a biscuit company. <\/p>\n I first lived in the UK from 1978 to 1987, before moving to California with my now ex-husband and our baby son. After our divorce, I was forced to return to South Africa because I had no legal right to live in California. <\/p>\n The second time I moved from South Africa to the UK was in September 2019. I fled South Africa because it is imploding, which is why Donald Trump has established a refugee resettlement scheme for eligible South Africans. <\/p>\n The economy of South Africa is in tatters and it has become one of the world\u2019s most violent countries. Its infrastructure is non-existent. There is high unemployment and often several hours a day without electricity. It is unsustainable and untenable.<\/p>\n Between February 2021 and May 2024, I worked as a call centre agent for a busy UK borough council handling complex enquiries about council tax and benefits. My pay was \u00a323,500 per year. I did not enjoy the job as I felt I was being micromanaged. This wasn\u2019t something I was used to. <\/p>\n In South Africa I ran my own business completing office furniture projects for huge businesses. For the sake of my physical and mental health, it was important that I retired, which I did last year. <\/p>\n I became eligible for the UK state pension<\/a> at the age of 68, but did not work enough years for the full state pension. My state pension is just over \u00a3456 a month and I think the triple lock should be maintained. I also receive pension credit and housing benefit. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it is a good idea for the state pension age to rise beyond 68. At this age, most people have reached a stage where they want to take things easy and enjoy what remains of their lives. We have done our part and it\u2019s time to enjoy our grandchildren. <\/p>\n