Looking for a serious work at home job - childcare costs killing us.

LISSILEIGH

i ended up staying at home with my 3 children as childcare is too exspensive.

my older 2 are now at school, so i decided to have a career change and work with children. i was working for £800 a month and paying out £650 a month!!! i then lost that job the beginning of feb!!:(

i know it wasnt really worth me working in the first place, but i need to work to gain my qualifications (which i am paying for, i have spent £1200 so far on courses). im have looked for a job but havent been able to find one that suits my family. most of them mean working 8-6 which makes childcare even more exspensive!!

i have decided to do 2 days voluntary, wich now only costs me £16 in childcare, and ill hopefully be able to find a job when my youngest starts nursery.

cazziebo

JulieJesta wrote: »

Flea, gosh no. 60k i wish. 27.5 to 31k with overtime. thats pre tax... take home 1500 monthly. pension and tax taken out before he gets it.

The working tax credit thing, we were told now we have 2 children we would still only get the same childcare "help" which i believe was 300 a year. Thats only about 2/3 weeks fees covered! and nurseries have a nasty cluase where you have to pay even when you are on holiday.... so thats immeadiatley cancelled out.

Have you checked with entitledto.com ? I believe the upper limit for Working Family Tax Credits is around £58k - this isn't the childcare element. Worth checking.

Hear what you're saying about leaving the little one for so little reward. It's difficult times just now but is there a chance of promotion where you are? It's not the right time to be moving job, unless a fantastic opportunity comes up. Think carefully about how changing your shifts will affect your relationship... is there a compromise between what you do now, and the evening hours?

Might even be worth your while looking at the Up Your Income board - some good ideas on there with minimal outgoings.

allIcouldwishfor

I've just done my "going back to work" maths too - it's shocking, isn't it?

After considering my options, I'm now training for this. It might not be for everyone but I'm going to give it a try and see how it fits around my family.

Rince

cazziebo wrote: »

Have you checked with entitledto.com ? I believe the upper limit for Working Family Tax Credits is around £58k - this isn't the childcare element. Worth checking.

Hear what you're saying about leaving the little one for so little reward. It's difficult times just now but is there a chance of promotion where you are? It's not the right time to be moving job, unless a fantastic opportunity comes up. Think carefully about how changing your shifts will affect your relationship... is there a compromise between what you do now, and the evening hours?

Might even be worth your while looking at the Up Your Income board - some good ideas on there with minimal outgoings.

Sorry for butting in, but the limit for WTC is very low, my household income is approx 35K and we're not entitled to WTC or even the childcare element and carecare cost for us are £850 per month (I have 2 children part time in nursery). The Child tax credit limit is approx £58k, but we only get £10 per week.

mitchaa

CTC does have a £58k limit but this is only for the basic family £545 element. My sister gets no childcare help at all on an income of £30k and only receives the basic £545 CTC element.

Flea...Childminders do not earn £52k+ pa:rotfl: They're lucky to earn half of that.

In fact...Top earners of £18-20k in London this article states..

http://www.connexions-direct.com/JOBS4U/index.cfm?pid=63&catalogueContentID=649&render=detailedArticle

flea72

mitchaa wrote: »

Flea...Childminders do not earn £52k+ pa:rotfl: They're lucky to earn half of that.

honestly it depends on how many children you are prepared to look after, and the rate you charge - a childminder in my area has the maximum amount of kids she can, so 3 under 5s 9-10hrs a day, and then at least 4 schoolage children, before and after school, and taking into account they will also be going for full days in holiday, charging £4/hr - she earns roughly 1k a week. Its hard work, but she deserves it

personally, i have enough trouble looking after my own brood, let alone another half a dozen extra kids.

Flea

chika

flea72 wrote: »

honestly it depends on how many children you are prepared to look after, and the rate you charge - a childminder in my area has the maximum amount of kids she can, so 3 under 5s 9-10hrs a day, and then at least 4 schoolage children, before and after school, and taking into account they will also be going for full days in holiday, charging £4/hr - she earns roughly 1k a week. Its hard work, but she deserves it

personally, i have enough trouble looking after my own brood, let alone another half a dozen extra kids.

Flea

My gosh thats wild. How one person can look after seven children at once is beyond me. Is that actually legal?!

LISSILEIGH

you can have 3 children under 5 only one being a baby, and then as long as you have insurance etc you can have as many school age as you want as long as there is soo many square footage per child!!!

its mad! the woman that i worked for has up to 12 children after school including afew littlies!!!

she brought the cheapest of of cheap food and was making a killing!! she is only in it for the money though she was charging me a fortune for my children and then saying she could only pay me minimum wage even though i am more qualified than her!!! i was working full time for about £30 after giving it all back to her for childcare costs.

she charges £35 for a baby £30 all day and aound £10 for school drop off and pick up

ButtonF1Fan

Wow, looking at that arise link just fried my brain. sounds a nightmare setting stuff up.

How would i go about becoming a child minder?

would my own baby mean i'm not allowed to look after another?

flea72

JulieJesta wrote: »

Wow, looking at that arise link just fried my brain. sounds a nightmare setting stuff up.

How would i go about becoming a child minder?

would my own baby mean i'm not allowed to look after another?

as for setting up as a childminder, have a look on your local councils website as it should have all the info you need there. basically you have to register with the local council, and ofted, do a first aid course, and away you go (ok its a bit more indepth than that, but im just giving the basics)

you own child has to be included in the totals, so you can only have one child under 1 at a time (unless you get special dispensation for twins), but up to 3 children under 5

hth Flea