Is there such a thing as FREE money?

Is this the right thing to do with benefits money?

• I currently am on benefits and have been diagnosed with Depression, Anxiety, OCD and SchizoPhreniForm Disorder (which is like SchizoPhrenia but for less than 6 months) which is now been diagnosed as SchizoPhrenia. I want to get off of benefits eventually but I want my benefits to serve their purpose first. I get about £900 a month and my mum and dad have agreed to give me anything I want or need out of their wages whilst I save up my benefit money. If I stay on benefits for the next 3 years (ESA and DLA) then I can save like £32000 in 3 years. I am well aware of the £6000 allowance and then benefits start getting reduced which I find ridicuous! And at £16000 or over your benefits stop completely. Yeah coz I am gonna tell them. Anyway the benefits are not going to be in my name. My dad says I can put part in his ISA and part in his bank account which is about 5% at the moment. As soon as I have saved the money then I intend on coming off of benefits. Probably not DLA cause I can work and get that at same time by law but the ESA and ESA premiums I will come off of altogether. DLA isn't means tested so I can have savings and it won't affect the DLA at all. I know there are gonna be some haters that will judge me and call me scrounger and sponger and whatever else their small minds can think of. Perhaps these people should stop to think that having this money behind me will prevent me from going back on such as JSA in the future if I lost my job or sumat. I am not a scrounger or a sponger as I have genuine mental health problems such as SchizoPhrenia and OCD ect. I got DLA validly and am only claiming what am entitled to claim. What is wrong with me saving up my money? I don't spend that much a month so have a lot of surplus money left over. I already regularly donate to cancer and animal charities so what more can I do? Would you people be happy if I drew it out of the bank and set fire to it? Wouldn't you rather I save it and this way it should stop me from going back on benefits in future as if I invest it I will get a decent return per month in say a growth bond or something. I haven't decided what to do yet and if mum and dad are behind me and willing to help and support me then WHY the heck not? WHY am I a scrounger just because I haven't spent my benefit money. So if I spend is ok and if I save then that not ok???? How fair is that? It shouldn't matter what is done with it. It not like I spend it on booze, cigarettes and drugs. I don't touch all 3! I enjoy saving so that is my passion. And you forget that I too have been a tax payer so don't give me the old tax payer speech when I have paid taxes myself when I was working 40 hour shifts a week! I feel I am doing right by myself and if you don't think I am then what do you suggest I do with surplus money that I don't spend? Say I only spend like £100 a month then I have £800 surplus. Shall I burn it or spend it on narcotics? Would that be better??? o_O I thought not. Thank you. Amy WoodLands

• Answer:

  I would not dream of calling you a scrounger. A potential criminal, yes. The minute your savings go over the guideline limits and you continue to claim you are breaking the law and your father proposes' to assist you in this, which means he will also be breaking the law. Why the heck not ? Because you are proposing changing yourself from some one who deserves support and sympathy due to your assorted medical problems, into a cheating criminal and dragging your parents along into the same category with you. Benefits now come under close scrutiny and if, no when, you get caught out you and your parents will have your 15 minutes of fame - in the papers and on the tv news.