I'm doing budgeting to see how affordable moving will be for me in December, when my lease runs out and I'll have to leave.

The numbers shown are for the independent rate of Youth Allowance with the maximum rate of Rent Assistance and then the rate of Supplement at certain times

I then wrote down the basic expenses, which include rent at the lowest I could find around here, $240/wk.

For water and electricity, I use the average amount paid quarterly in Sydney/NSW and divided it up into fortnightly amounts.

The expenses I include here, by the way, are the absolute *least* I'd have to pay, and don't account for any reason why there'd be more money spent.

For example, I'd love to have more food money, as $100 pays for what is nutritionally terrible food that I'd eat 1-2 times a day.

Medical expenses, which aren't explicitly put into the final figures, are calculated as the cost for the assessments to get official diagnoses. Medication and appointments are still wildly unknown, as I've never had $2.1k just sitting there to get diagnosed.

And finally, we get to other expenses. These ones are the "non-essentials" and therefore will get purged first when I can't afford anything. Short term savings includes saving up to buy clothing and access healthcare. Long term savings is just to have some money saved up.

I've been asked to exercise more by a doctor, and it was decided that using a gym would help with that as it gave a sense of responsibility over it so I'd be more motivated to go. The gym I chose was close and the cheapest, and included everything that I discussed with my doctor.

Combining the amounts together, the results are grim. Before the supplement cut (which is before I move anyway), I'd have just under $186 after all expenses. That money would probably go straight into paying for more and better food, so I can eat properly.

After the payments get cut for the first time in less than 2 weeks, I'd have -$114 after paying for all my expenses. If instead, I removed the "Other Expenses", I'd have less than $100 left, which would all go to those "Other Expenses"

Even worse is what will happen after the Supplement is completely gone. I'll be more than $350 in the negative with all expenses, and still down $150 *every fortnight* just from basic expenses.

What bills do the Government say I miss, just to afford to live? If the rate gets cut like the government plans to do, I will not be able to survive.

Does the government just want me to live in ever increasing amounts of debt constantly?

We need to keep the Supplement as it is indefinitely, otherwise myself and many of the unemployed who are on social security payments will be thrust into poverty (again) and have to make do with ever-decreasing amounts of money and ever-increasing bills and spending.

PSST: if you're on social security payments and current staring at poverty in your future, join @AusUnemployment. Their #KeepTheRate campaign is fighting to keep the Supplement as a permanent increase in all social security payments.