Talk me out of going on the dole

Melisandre121

I've always worked, since I was 15. However there was a period recently (about a month) where I wasn't working, and it was glorious. Now whenever I've to get up early on a cold morning or I'm not looking forward to a long day at work I think back to that time, when all I did was drink coffee and draw pictures and watch Netflix..

Anyway, more and more I've been thinking about going on the dole because I just want that free time back and I need to snap out of it. AH, can you tell me why I shouldn't go on the dole?

Wang King

You won't be able to afford Netflix

Starscream25

I hated the feeling of being a drain on the states resources. Stay off it if you can, nothing good comes of it.

To Elland Back

Don't go on the dole, change your job. It is easier to get a job, when you have a job, so stay where you are for the minute. Life is too short to be miserable

yosser hughes

Do you have rent or a mortgage to pay?

weisses

Find a job you love doing ..

Was on the dole for 2 years after loosing my job ..at first it was brilliant ..In the end soul destroying

Melisandre121

To Elland Back wrote: »

Don't go on the dole, change your job. It is easier to get a job, when you have a job, so stay where you are for the minute. Life is too short to be miserable

The thing is I really enjoy the job, it's just the free time I miss

Into The Blue

Take a month off like last time.. Any more than that and you'll be bored, seriously.

circadian

A month is grand, a year less so. You'll eventually go out of your mind.

ParkRunner

Change to a 4 day week, if possible?

Into The Blue

Any chance of a 4 day week? 20% less work, but doesn't affect your wages by that much.

Avatar MIA

I personally give you permission to go on the dole. It'll free up a job for someone that wants it.

Oryx

Melisandre121 wrote: »

The thing is I really enjoy the job, it's just the free time I miss

You were just going to sit on your ass and watch Netflix with that free time. I could understand it if you were going to use it to climb the himalayas, learn to pole dance, or teach tap dancing to squirrels, but to watch tv? In a few years time youd be on your own show. Obese, a year to save my life, or Compulsive Hoarders, probably.

sjb25

weisses wrote: »

Find a job you love doing ..

Was on the dole for 2 years after loosing my job ..at first it was brilliant ..In the end soul destroying

This x1000

It's all fun for the first few months then you start not being able to afford some stuff and then you try get new job and it's a lot harder to get one on the dole well I found anyway I'd never go back on it out of choice anyway I work in public service now (yes boooo away) so hopefully I won't ever have to again

wally1990

1 if you leave your job the dole won't pay out unless contract was terminated
2 you will be broke as **** and can't **** and lose the ability to afford nice things going out meals esc
3 it is souls destroying while time off is nice you will have no motivation
4 you just need a holiday to get over this feeling maybe a break from work go abroad for 2 weeks take it easy and come back refreshed
5 I don't wanna pay your dole :P jokes

Melisandre121

wally1990 wrote: »

1 if you leave your job the dole won't pay out unless contract was terminated
2 you will be broke as **** and can't **** and lose the ability to afford nice things going out meals esc
3 it is souls destroying while time off is nice you will have no motivation
4 you just need a holiday to get over this feeling maybe a break from work go abroad for 2 weeks take it easy and come back refreshed
5 I don't wanna pay your dole :P jokes

Haha thanks for this

Valetta

The dole isn't a life choice.

Leave it for someone who needs it, not wants it.

Oryx

Oryx wrote: »

In a few years time youd be on your own show. Obese, a year to save my life, or Compulsive Hoarders, probably.

If you lose a few teeth you could add Jeremy Kyle to that list too!

Cookie_Dough

Melisandre121 wrote: »

I've always worked, since I was 15. However there was a period recently (about a month) where I wasn't working, and it was glorious. Now whenever I've to get up early on a cold morning or I'm not looking forward to a long day at work I think back to that time, when all I did was drink coffee and draw pictures and watch Netflix..

Anyway, more and more I've been thinking about going on the dole because I just want that free time back and I need to snap out of it. AH, can you tell me why I shouldn't go on the dole?

Not sure but can you get dole if you leave a job

I wouldn't be giving up a job to live on measly dole /jobseekers or whatever. You will soon get fed up when you have to cut back you're spending & have little or no disposable income.

Also I'm sure the dole office follow up with you to prove you're looking for work so you won't be able to sit on your ass drinking coffee & watching Netflix.

The benefit is supposedly there to help genuine people that need it not people with jobs who decide they just don't like the job they're in!! Do you think everyone has their dream job & loves going to work? Well they don't.

You should look for another job you actually like and stay off the dole, you're an adult not a sulky teenager, I assume you have some financial responsibility rent/mortgage /car? Be realistic

Tzardine

Cookie_Dough wrote: »

Not sure but can you get dole if you leave a job

I signed on twice while between jobs, each time for about 4 weeks. I could have afforded to not sign on but I thought why not. Figured I had been paying tax for almost 15 years continuous and that I was right to get some of my PRSI contributions back.

On one of the occasions I had left the job and had no problem getting the jobseekers for a few weeks.

drunkmonkey

Think you need to start another thread called, how do I spoil myself with cash in ways people on the dole never can?

Time to Lord it up!!

Collie D

Work for couple more months but when you get paid give all but €188(?) to charity. This will give you an idea of the life.

Time off work is nice but it would probably drive you mad after a while. And that's from someone who hates work

donegaLroad

Start selling your drawings on etsy, shopify and pinterest.. you never know, you might be able to go part time in your job.

AudreyHepburn

The dole isn't there to supplement the lives of people who just don't want to work....it's there for people who really need it and I somehow don't believe you really want rob some-one of a place on the queue is genuinely in dire straights.

You would do better to find yourself a job you actually enjoy and maybe take a holiday from your current one to clear your head and recharge your batteries.

If all you are planning to it is rest on your laurels and watch movies then your are fooling yourself tbh....you'll get bored quicker than you can say the word and the dole office will require proof that your actually attempting to find a new job so chances you'll be kicked off the queue again anyway.

Having a job doesn't, or at least shouldn't, mean no life and no free time....and if yours does you either need to change jobs or change the way you do your job....work to live, don't live to work.

Lau2976

If your job allows it, freelance.

RomanKnows

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

The dole isn't there to supplement the lives of people who just don't want to work...

Eh, for a certain rump of society, yes it is.

NachoBusiness

Oryx wrote: »

You were just going to sit on your ass and watch Netflix with that free time.

Why is it that whenever someone is giving out about people on the dole, they invariably have to mention that such people use their buttocks to sit with? Stuff like:

"Fcuking dole heads sitting around all day on their arse!"
"People on the dole are so lazy, sure all they do all day is sit around on their holes".

I get that people are angry about lazy people who claim the dole, but what is it with the obsessive need to mention that they use their arses when seated? Do people with jobs use another part of their body to sit with or something? Do they come home and sit on their elbows or something? No, they sit on their arses too.

Cookie_Dough

Tzardine wrote: »

I signed on twice while between jobs, each time for about 4 weeks. I could have afforded to not sign on but I thought why not. Figured I had been paying tax for almost 15 years continuous and that I was right to get some of my PRSI contributions back.

On one of the occasions I had left the job and had no problem getting the jobseekers for a few weeks.

Do you really want the hassle of quitting your current job (I have since noticed you said you liked) for Netflix & drawing? Is that worth more to you than having decent money (or anything more than €188 pw) The dole could ramdomly call you up to show you are looking for work so you will need to be applying for other jobs while unemployed.

You will probably go out of your mind not working for a prolonged period of time too.

It could also be counter productive- you're on the dole for a prolonged period then actually see the dream job that gives you free time etc that you're looking for, apply, get interview- What will you say in the interview when they ask you why you left your last job or why have you been unemployed for so long?

Alternatively else you could just get fed up doing nothing & take a job for the sake of it and actually end up in a job you REALLY hate for the sake of more money & would regret leaving your current job.

I think you would be shooting yourself in the foot and aren't looking at the bigger picture but it's your life so ultimately your choice. I would think about ways around getting more free time in your current job though, 4 day week, or work half days, work from home etc. Obviously this depends on the job.

ParkRunner

On a day like today it wouldn't be such a bad thing to be on the dole. Come the dark dirty winter it would be a different story

hairyslug

I did it for 4 months, there was a small break in the middle where I had a job and am back working now.
Standing in the Que every Wednesday was fuxkin awful, the extreme limits to how you spend your money (I wasnt getting all these freebies everyone goes on about)
You are so limited as to what you can do, the idea of it is great, spending the day at home just pr1cking about especially in the summer. But for Christ I found it horrific

The Corinthian

Cookie_Dough wrote: »

I wouldn't be giving up a job to live on measly dole /jobseekers or whatever.

You don't have to. There's plenty of nixers available; cash in hand jobs that will add to one's basic income with a minimum of effort.

cson

Tzardine wrote: »

I signed on twice while between jobs, each time for about 4 weeks. I could have afforded to not sign on but I thought why not. Figured I had been paying tax for almost 15 years continuous and that I was right to get some of my PRSI contributions back.

On one of the occasions I had left the job and had no problem getting the jobseekers for a few weeks.

See this I'd have no problem with - you'll find people that wouldn't claim it out of principle etc or because they don't need it. I figure if you've paid tax and the benefit is available to you then you'd be mad not to take it.

As for people who need it more - who exactly are we talking about? Career Dolers? Because they're the worst kind of individual imo; people who make a net negative contribution to society.

Annasopra

Tzardine wrote: »

I signed on twice while between jobs, each time for about 4 weeks. I could have afforded to not sign on but I thought why not. Figured I had been paying tax for almost 15 years continuous and that I was right to get some of my PRSI contributions back.

On one of the occasions I had left the job and had no problem getting the jobseekers for a few weeks.

That's odd. If you leave a job yourself you don't get anything for 9 weeks.

inforfun

Move to Holland, Nijmegen to be specific.

The left wing nuts in charge there are going to introduce a "basisinkomen" ( base income) of €1000 a month, no questions asked.
Can earn something on the side if you like but no need to apply for jobs if you dont want to.

In the mean time, people working see their pension age getting an extra month added each year they work. It is 67 and counting at the moment.

Specialun

I was on it for a few months. It was my first time..never ever again I hope

Initially it was fine, then its just boring I was so embarassed to collect i bought a baseball cap in the hope nobody would see me, i even figured out that most didnt go in until after 9.30 and then the place was busy until after 2..i would go to collect only when quiet...dont do it OP

osarusan

You might end up being forcibly sterilised.

Boring username

Valetta wrote: »

The dole isn't a life choice.

Leave it for someone who needs it, not wants it.

It kinda is if you want it to be though. There are plenty of people who have no intention of working a day in their life, and are quite comfortable off doing it thank you very much.

Of course, most people are genuinely out of work as a result of the recession, but lets not cod ourselves either that the system is being massively abused.

Pinch Flat

Don't worry op there's plenty of people like me paying 51% effective tax rate to fund your life style .

I'd say go for it. If you're stuck for a few bob, be sure to pm me and I'll sort you out.

Specialun

Pinch Flat wrote: »

Don't worry op there's plenty of people like me paying 51% effective tax rate to fund your life style .

I'd say go for it. If you're stuck for a few bob, be sure to pm me and I'll sort you out.

Pm sent

hytrogen

After college I went on it for a few months before I got my career job, worst decision ever!
It is soul destroying, you can't work unless you declare it and then they'll tax your job income to 65% even if it's a two or three week gig. (Hindsight I know now just don't tell them anything like every other mug doing nixers, even though it was a legit contract)
Worse if you want to volunteer to a charity or community event or be an intern that takes you to a different city or suburb they frown upon that, particularly if you need to transfer your doll payments to another post office for convenience.
If I were you I'd save up for the inbetween jobs periods and do the things that make your time off happier, basically model a freelance career

mickdw

The dole is not enough to be a life choice for a single person but for a large family paying child minding, renting their home and struggling with 2 sh1t jobs, the dole may well be an option.
People here are saying you will not be able to afford eating out or nice things. As far as I see, the people on the dole here are better off than workers in alot of cases.

Son Of A Vidic

Pinch Flat wrote: »

Don't worry op there's plenty of people like me paying 51% effective tax rate to fund your life style .

Since you could possibly end up on the dole someday yourself, maybe you should just think of that as a down payment.

realdanbreen

Melisandre121 wrote: »

I've always worked, since I was 15. However there was a period recently (about a month) where I wasn't working, and it was glorious. Now whenever I've to get up early on a cold morning or I'm not looking forward to a long day at work I think back to that time, when all I did was drink coffee and draw pictures and watch Netflix..

Anyway, more and more I've been thinking about going on the dole because I just want that free time back and I need to snap out of it. AH, can you tell me why I shouldn't go on the dole?

What sort of job have you got at present?

ComfortKid

Social Welfare will send you on a pointless course eventually, so you will still be getting up on the cold mornings, but getting a lot less for it

Nomis21

I am 60 years old and lost my job 5 years ago. I have applied for 30 or so jobs in that time but I live in a rural area.

I have been on JA all of this time. I have varied interests and hobbies that keep me busy and am happy with my lifestyle at my age.

I have gone on a 3 month full time ECDL course, apply for jobs, and am also sent to interviews by the DSP who have interviewed me thoroughly (due in some cases I suspect to complaints from people who don't like my lifestyle.) However I am genuinely seek work. If I wasn't genuinely seeking work, I have no doubt I would have been cut off from any benefits long ago.

realdanbreen

Nomis21 wrote: »

I am 60 years old and lost my job 5 years ago. I have applied for 30 or so jobs in that time but I live in a rural area.

I have been on JA all of this time. I have varied interests and hobbies that keep me busy and am happy with my lifestyle at my age.

I have gone on a 3 month full time ECDL course, apply for jobs, and am also sent to interviews by the DSP who have interviewed me thoroughly (due in some cases I suspect to complaints from people who don't like my lifestyle.) However I am genuinely seek work. If I wasn't genuinely seeking work, I have no doubt I would have been cut off from any benefits long ago.

You haven't worked for 5 years? Sorry but I am not convinced that you 'genuinely seek work', there are jobs out there for anyone who is really genuine about finding them.

smash

Nomis21 wrote: »

I am 60 years old and lost my job 5 years ago. I have applied for 30 or so jobs in that time but I live in a rural area

30 jobs in 5 years... Yep, trying real hard!

Nomis21

I don't have to satisfy anyone on this forum. I am satisfied that I am genuinely seeking work and so are the DSP inspectors who make these decisions on behalf of the public. I think that is enough.

Specialun

realdanbreen wrote: »

You haven't worked for 5 years? Sorry but I am not convinced that you 'genuinely seek work', there are jobs out there for anyone who is really genuine about finding them.

Whats with the hate? The guy is 60 and clearly skilled in particular area's. He has tried to upskill himself. The reality, despite that people dont believe it, is that the vast majority of employers are not interested in people in that age group..

chopperbyrne

Three months full time to learn the ECDL?

I'm in the wrong business.

cloud493

You get bored with nothing to do.