Income support advise please

jlb1924

EXIL - I have checked with my school and tax credits and even thou I am on a low salary they say I am not entitled to free school meals

MACRO - I like my children to eat as healthly as possible and it costs me the same amount of money to put together a packed lunch as it would to pay for a school meal, also as you put it, it is not just a few damned fish fingers that are swaying me from providing a better life and financial stability for my children! I am NOT saying I am going to give up work, I have worked all my bloody life and right now my children come first and if that means reducing my hours for the sake of my children then I will, also IS will mean that my children can participate in various school activities such as my son wanting to learn how to play an instrument to which if I was on IS it will be free otherwise I can not afford to pay for the lessons for him, so you see I am putting my children first!! Also my youngest child was rushed into hospital whilst I was at work as she had a convulsion to which she did not come out of immediately and the dr rang immediately for an ambulance, me being at work (which is 1/2hr away) ment I missed getting in the ambulance to be with my daughter!! So I need to balance my work and home life which means reducing my hours!

Macro_3

Your child could just as easily have been taken ill whilst you were at work doing your 12 hours.

I understand that you are only trying to do the best for your family, but I honestly believe that the best thing in the vast majority of cases is to work as much as possible.

You should easily be able to put together quick, tasty and healthy school meals for well under half the cost of school meals. The Old style board should be able to help there.

As for music lessons, well that just illustrates my point. Many schools provide good quality beginner level instruments for children starting to learn. However, in order to progress beyond about grade four better instruments are required. An intermediate level cello costs around £1600. Schools don't tend to provide the better quality instruments. They also don't tend to provide consumables such as strings, rosin, peg lubricant etc. A basic student level set of replacement strings for the cello is around £45-70. Music lessons are far less affordable on income support because, frankly, the actual cost of the lessons is not the be all and end all.

You would be better off financially working more hours, and that is absolutely the best thing for your family.