working from home?

MaggieD

am a single mother of two boys, age 10 and 13 and I have been on benefits for a few years now.
As I own my house (jointly with my ex partner) I am in a difficult position with regards to going back to work - this is because, no matter how many calculations my lone parent advisor comes up with, they never include the mortgage, saying that my ex should pay that - he is currently living with his new partner and trying to force me to sell our house so he can have his half of the equity - I am in no position to buy anywhere with the half I would get.
I wondered whether anyone else on this site is in a similar position, and whether it is viable that I can work from home and earn enough to cover my mortgage, bills, council tax, etc (this would have to be around £1000 per month minimum).
I can type and have experience with computers too.

MaggieD

should I post this elsewhere on the forum?

mrsp_4

I think it will be a struggle finding work fron home that pays that much a month.
Can you not go out to work?

MaggieD

I can't find a position that would pay enough plus child care etc. And I really would prefer to be the one that's there for my children when they come home and when they're ill or on holiday.

Conor_3

MaggieD wrote: »

I wondered whether anyone else on this site is in a similar position, and whether it is viable that I can work from home and earn enough to cover my mortgage, bills, council tax, etc (this would have to be around £1000 per month minimum).
I can type and have experience with computers too.

Book keeping, payroll and account admin for small businesses is where it's at. One of my parents friends earns a very tidy sum doing that - enough to give up a £23,000 job. This is a list of what she does to give you an idea: http://www.adhocsolutions.co.uk/services.html

Oldernotwiser

I too think it's unlikely that you could earn this much but , as you haven't told us about your work background and skills, it's rather difficult to say.

Given the ages of your children and the possibility of after school clubs I think that you should really be considering going back to work normally. Don't forget that you'll have to come off IS and start jobhunting properly when your youngest is 12 anyway.

MaggieD

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I too think it's unlikely that you could earn this much but , as you haven't told us about your work background and skills, it's rather difficult to say.

Given the ages of your children and the possibility of after school clubs I think that you should really be considering going back to work normally. Don't forget that you'll have to come off IS and start jobhunting properly when your youngest is 12 anyway.

This is concerning me too - as my Lone Parent Advisor can't find a job that would make me as well off, let alone better off, I don't see what I can do other than sell my house and waste away the equity on renting somewhere for a year - and that seems such a waste to me

Oldernotwiser

MaggieD wrote: »

This is concerning me too - as my Lone Parent Advisor can't find a job that would make me as well off, let alone better off, I don't see what I can do other than sell my house and waste away the equity on renting somewhere for a year - and that seems such a waste to me

But, if you got a job, even if no better off, you'd be able to get a mortgage using your share of the equity as a deposit.

Catwoman1975

Couldn't you work part time from home and claim tax credits? Or work 2 part time from home jobs? I work part time from home and earn around £600 - £700 a month, but I only do a maximum of 20 hours a week so £1000 a month is do-able if you had 2 jobs.

MaggieD

Catwoman1975 wrote: »

Couldn't you work part time from home and claim tax credits? Or work 2 part time from home jobs? I work part time from home and earn around £600 - £700 a month, but I only do a maximum of 20 hours a week so £1000 a month is do-able if you had 2 jobs.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you do?

cazziebo

What would you do if you could go out to work?

tbh - there isn't much money in typing anymore - everyone has key board skills (almost). You have to offer added value - book keeping is a good one and as Conor says, can be lucrative if you're good at it and can offer a range of support services.

To earn a substantial amount of money working from home then the rule is the same as if you were in an external workplace. This would mean full time, probably flexible hours, focus, commitment and skills. Not something you can do fitting around school runs, sick children and playgroup duty. Conor's friend will probably treat her role as a professional position, which it is, and customers will pay for that. I earned £45k pa doing a sales role from home, but my children went to their childminder's after school (usually!).

Oldernotwiser makes a good point. It is worth thinking about looking for work outside of the home - it will be a stepping stone to greater things. I initially went out to work earning only enough to cover childcare and mortgage (before the days of CSA and tax credits). Maintenance from ex paid for food and bills. It did get me back on the career ladder. Had I not taken the plunge when the kids were younger, I'd be in my mid forties looking at minimum wage jobs.

Think you might have to look longer term at what you want. Short term it might be losing the house and not working, or getting a job outside and keeping it.