EMA advise please

Oldernotwiser

bonnie wrote: »

A friend son went for a job a s a dustman he had no chance, 9 others went as well.

He had a 1 in 10 chance, which is really not bad. Why assume that you'll only get a job if nobody else wants it?

silkyuk9

bestpud wrote: »

The OP said they would be better off not working - that is the post being answered by everyone else. You are going off at a tangent.

But I'm sure the OP will be very happty to give up work if you can pist accurate figures so he can be sure he'll be better off! Somehow I can't see that happening!

However, I can see why you are annoyed OP. Your dd would NOT be better off getting herself pregnant though - you can be sure of that one!

granted, i said that in haste and frustration.

i want my daughter to have a start in life that will hopefully forfill what she wants to do. My son joined the army to serve a purpose and is doing great.

In todays sociaty i think there will be hundreds if not thouseands of people who are like me who feel let down by the system. We get nothing, no help from anyone yet we have to struggle through, also let me just tell you.

in the last month i have had to cancel Sky Tv, £30 per month. Im thinking of opting out of my pension (a thread i started relating to this in pension section) because i cannot afford to pay it. Cutting corners on other financial costs. Can't look at a family holiday, cannot afford to go out on a weekend night, (by the way, if i was a registered alcoholic and unemployed, isnt it true i can receive an extra £80 per week for alcohol). All these things are getting too expensive because the price rises on everyday living things such as food, and fuel.

That little incentive for my daughter would have eliminated the cost of travel even if she only got £10 per week.

bestpud

silkyuk9 wrote: »

im glad someone clarified this better than me. im not knocking anyone who is unemplyed and struggling, there are very different situations out there.

im just going to go back to our income, some have mentioned that we get £33k per year, in terms of 'income' that is not correct, that is a gross ammount, that is before taxes and other deductions.

We are not high earners, and im sure if we were both unemployed we would receive, maybe not as much but within a thousand or 2 near that mark.

is t worth working full time these days if you are not a high earner or an high flying exec.

getting back to the reason i started this thread, EMA is an incentive for teenages to stay in education. What incentive has my daughter got.

Getting up at 6am each morning, catching a bus at 7am, in the freezing winter, travelling 21 miles at £35 per month, buying all her own items that are needed, paying another £50 for a police check that is needed for her course and having to hold down a part-time job just to fund the neccesities that will help her through her years course. All this at 16, were are the incentives here.

unemployed people, not all granted, but there are a section, who will get all this for free, and have no worries.

Where is the incentive for my daughter??

Well, the idea is you are on a high enough income to help her out a bit - or you are more able than a family on, say £18k between them.

It's a bummer being just above the limit but there is a sliding scale so it isn't as stark as it could be tbh. Really though, your income is pretty good!

But,as I have said many times but nobody seems to think it is worth doing for some reason :rolleyes: , why don't one of you stop working? That way, your income will fall below the lower threshold and your dd will get £30 a week (term time only though, don't forget) and you will get more tax credits too.

Don't get your hopes up though as you won't be as well off as you are now, no matter how good it looks from your side of the fence.

Also, having been NHS workers for so long, you would want to calculate the cost of leaving the benefits of that behind to. :rolleyes:

It really ain't that good over here tbh, but do give it a try if you want - the option is there for you! Better than sending your dd off to get pregnant anyway! :rolleyes:

Oh and re the incentive - stats show that young people in your dd's position do go on to college anyway. It is the children from lower income families who don't, hence EMA.

Oldernotwiser

silkyuk9 wrote: »

getting back to the reason i started this thread, EMA is an incentive for teenages to stay in education. What incentive has my daughter got.

Getting up at 6am each morning, catching a bus at 7am, in the freezing winter, travelling 21 miles at £35 per month, buying all her own items that are needed, paying another £50 for a police check that is needed for her course and having to hold down a part-time job just to fund the neccesities that will help her through her years course. All this at 16, were are the incentives here.

Where is the incentive for my daughter??

Presumably the incentive for your daughter is the opportunity of training for a career of her choosing and having more and better options than her parents had. It's kids from families that don't work and who are underrepresented in education who really need an incentive to stay on.

As far as the costs you've listed above, without meaning to be rude, I would have thought that most of these are your responsibility as her parents. After all, you'll receive the child related benefits for her as she's still in education. Working part time to pay for clothes and entertainment is right and proper but expecting a young student of 16 to pay for all the items listed above seems to me to be inappropriate.

silkyuk9

LadyMorticia wrote: »

Isn't it funny (but not in a "haha" way) that a lot of the threads on the benefits board turn into an argument about those on benefits?
I think I'll just have my two cents and then leave for fear of getting verbal rocks thrown at me.

To the OP - I don't believe in the slightest that you would be better on benefits. It is a well known fact here that I am ill (and I will never deny it). I would much rather have my health and be able to work than be ill and not know how I'm going to feel from one moment to the next. Unfortunately, I cannot work due to my illnesses but I will tell you this, being on benefits is no fun. It's not just about having handouts and the feelings of uselessness. It's about people looking down their noses at you and refusing to have anything to do with you because you are ill and claim benefits.
You should be lucky that you are well and able to bring a wage into the home. Some of us aren't blessed like that.

xx

sorry to hear that about your health. but what about those swinging the system? There was an article on the news last week about the thousands who are on incapacity benefits who are not even entitled to it.

there are people in the Uk that need the help, like yourself, there is nothing wrong with that, and i certainly would not look down my nose at folks who are in need and are genuine.

LadyMorticia

But Silky, shouldn't your daughter stay in education because she wants to and not just because she may have been able to get EMA? What would be the point in getting paid to stay on in education if she wasn't enjoying it and was getting bad grades because of that? Wouldn't that, in effect, be a waste of those extra years of education because she wouldn't have wanted to be there?

xx

dmg24

silkyuk9 wrote: »

(by the way, if i was a registered alcoholic and unemployed, isnt it true i can receive an extra £80 per week for alcohol).

Please tell me your source for this information! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Spudnik_2

Daily Mail?

OP, I really understand your frustration, but surely the incentive for your daughter is an excellent education, a respected qualification in her chosen field and an opportunity to broaden her horizons and improve her career prospects?

silkyuk9

bestpud wrote: »

Well, the idea is you are on a high enough income to help her out a bit - or you are more able than a family on, say £18k between them.

It's a bummer being just above the limit but there is a sliding scale so it isn't as stark as it could be tbh. Really though, your income is pretty good!

But,as I have said many times but nobody seems to think it is worth doing for some reason :rolleyes: , why don't one of you stop working? That way, your income will fall below the lower threshold and your dd will get £30 a week (term time only though, don't forget) and you will get more tax credits too.

Don't get your hopes up though as you won't be as well off as you are now, no matter how good it looks from your side of the fence.

Also, having been NHS workers for so long, you would want to calculate the cost of leaving the benefits of that behind to. :rolleyes:

It really ain't that good over here tbh, but do give it a try if you want - the option is there for you! Better than sending your dd off to get pregnant anyway! :rolleyes:

Oh and re the incentive - stats show that young people in your dd's position do go on to college anyway. It is the children from lower income families who don't, hence EMA.

dont want to go down the route of packing my job in. also i would never in a million years be able to claim a penny, and ill tell you why. as ive said im a NHS worker, porter to be exact, and i like the job, mixing with people and having a banter with the lads. But, im also a trained chef. if i ever packed in my job i would be given another at a click of the fingers. I do not think its easy to just pack in work and get some income support.

bestpud

silkyuk9 wrote: »

granted, i said that in haste and frustration.

i want my daughter to have a start in life that will hopefully forfill what she wants to do. My son joined the army to serve a purpose and is doing great.

In todays sociaty i think there will be hundreds if not thouseands of people who are like me who feel let down by the system. We get nothing, no help from anyone yet we have to struggle through, also let me just tell you.

in the last month i have had to cancel Sky Tv, £30 per month. Im thinking of opting out of my pension (a thread i started relating to this in pension section) because i cannot afford to pay it. Cutting corners on other financial costs. Can't look at a family holiday, cannot afford to go out on a weekend night, (by the way, if i was a registered alcoholic and unemployed, isnt it true i can receive an extra £80 per week for alcohol). All these things are getting too expensive because the price rises on everyday living things such as food, and fuel.

That little incentive for my daughter would have eliminated the cost of travel even if she only got £10 per week.

Cross posted although I still stand by what I said above!

I can see where you are coming from but you really should be able to manage on that income! Have you checked out all the other boards on here - debt free wannabes is a good one (you don't have to be in debt) as they will tell you where you can cut corners as painfree as possible.

I have no idea about the alcohol but I find it hard to believe tbh!

We are all feeling the pinch at the moment! We don't get cheaper fuel on a low income and we still have to pay for our shopping etc you know! Sky is something many can't afford anyway and we are all making cut backs. That's just the way it is right now.

Do have a look around this site as there is loads of useful stuff that may help.

Btw, think very carefully before stopping your pension contibutions!