TC Potential Payments

shazza71_2

no my total income is £200 as in everything we recieve.. and no JSA, he is getting IB ESA, yes we are recieving HB and CTB

shazza71_2

well cod, our est income for this year will be £3400, so we should be ok, even when hubby was working didny come to even half the 50k

AnxiousMum

Are you getting full housing benefit/council tax?, or if not, how much out of the £200 do you have to contribute towards it?

Just wondering, as we are a double income family with five kids, and if I honestly had to cut back to surviving on £200 per week after rent and council tax was paid, it would be doable - no luxuries for sure, but we could do it with some budget planned meals, elminating unnecessary car trips etc.

Have you been over onto the old style money savings board to see how you can budget a bit more until your new tax credits kick in?

How old are your kids? There are many LEA's now where public transport is free up to Sixth form or college - particularly down in the southeast, so that in itself could save you £9 per day if available in your area.

shazza71_2

i have to pay £6.90 rent, no council tax..£200 a week is just not do-able..£9 per day to send kids to school and college,weather is a bit warmer so its only about £50 per week gas and electric so doesnt leave much for anything else..if i go shopping it costs nearly £4 busfare, double tht if i take hubby to so we can carry more, our local shop is a co-op which is expensive so cant afford to shop there. its a nightmare..

sharon

AnxiousMum

You don't mention anywhere which part of the country you live in - have you looked into free public transportation for the kids? With the co-op - if you head down there around 4'ish in the afternoons, you will find alot of reduced price items, with even more at 9 pm - loaves of bread for 10 p, things that the display until date is the following day - still perfectly good to use though, as best before date is some days after that.

Your son in college - he should apply now for EMA as well - I never thought it could be applied for part way through the year, but apparently they can. It's £30 per week that is meant to go towards the costs of education for those in post 16 and in a low income family.

Are you on a prepayment meter for your gas and electric? Are you paying back past due bills or something on it as well? Maybe see if you can renegotiate the extra payment with them for the time being? Our old place was on a prepayment metre and when heating was off we were only using about £20-25 per week - and that was using the washer/dryer at least twice a day.

Even if you deduct the £45 school transport and £50 for gas/electric, and your £6.90 in rent - that still leaves £90 per week for food and your bus fare - more than doable for a family of four. If you have other non priority debts, phone them, write to them, and make an offer of £1 per month till you are on your feet.

kingfisherblue

£50 a week gas and electric :eek:

I only spend £100 a month on gas and electricity, and I have the heating on day and night as cold air compromises my son's breathing. I also use the washer and dryer constantly, as he is doubly incontinent and he vomits most nights. I can't leave wet washing around as this affects his breathing too.

Surely your figures for fuel are an error?

shazza71_2

no kingfisher my fuel figures are not in error, i dont use my dryer, but my washer is on at least 2 times a day..
Anxious Mum,
i live in the north east of england, my son pays £3 a day busfare to get to college, my younger son goes to a PRU school so gets a taxi which i dont pay for but he still needs dinner money..
yes i am prepayment meter but dont owe a penny to any of them..

WOW £90 per week left...that will go far to clothe and feed us and 17 and 15 yr old boys, specially when they may be classed as children but their clothes are adult prices...
My husband has worked for yrs, i have never claimed for anything myself, just been a stay at home mum who`s lived on hubby`s wages and just made do...
WTH is happening with this country?....

AnxiousMum

But Shazza - it's temporary! What clothes do they need in the coming weeks? Surely they can make do with what they already have for a few weeks? Then you will have your TC renewal pack, be able to get your claim in order and have additional monies coming in. Two of my kids are also 'adult', so I'm not speaking without any experience!

When we first moved here, hubby was on emergency tax till his NI number came through - but while on temp one he was on emergency taxes - meaning that his take home pay was about £1100 per month - of which £650 was rent for a house that was way too small for us. We moved here with clothes alone. Our house was furnished as and when we could get bits together, and much was from freecycle. We weren't aware of local housing authority or council tax rebate, we didn't have vehicles. We had been unemployed back in Canada for two years prior to our move here, and as we were coming to a guaranteed job, made the move and pretty much used up our last remaining savings to do so. We were surviving on £550 per month, plus about £220 in child benefits. It wasn't till we'd been here for about six months that we learnt about child tax credits. By then I'd started working as well, and hubby was off emergency tax.

It can be done - especially when you know that it's temporary.

You have more available to you now than we did working and having five boys - but you have to be creative and look for ways to do it.

Packed lunches - alot cheaper than school dinners - What you spend in two days on a school dinner can provide a healthy lunch for a week.

Dinners - do you want some sample budget meal ideas? You say that getting kids to school costs you £9 per day, but one pays £3 for busfare, and the rest is for a school meal? What school meal costs £6?

Not jumping on you here - just trying to help - and the help is all over this forum if you want it. It's not easy.....but it's doable especially TEMPORARILY!

shazza71_2

ok right, my kids have never been on free school meals in there lives, trying to get teenagers to make such changes is hard, school meals are crappy so they wont eat them so i give them £3 a day each to buy there own which fills them more.. theres no way packed lunches would be cheaper for me bloody hell they are 17 and 15... they eat like men

What clothes do they need in the coming weeks???, this has been going on since the end of november so its been awhile now, shoe sizes are 9 and 10 thats enough...
sorry but this post was about potenetial payments of TC and not about the ins and outs of my life.. when u have 2 teenagers so close in age and have always had a working spouse maybe u would realise how hard it actually is..

sharon

AnxiousMum

Sharon - I do have two teenagers, and three younger ones......have also been in a situation where we had no income for two years, and the Canadian benefits system is nowhere near as generous as here. We used ALL of our savings and retirement savings during that time and came here to a job and were exactly in your position - wondering how to feed and clothe five children - two of whom eat like men.

I was only offering you suggestions on how you might be able to get by for the next few weeks till your new TC's kick in - obviously you're not looking for help or advice on how to get by. I've offered you several bits of advice on how you can get by - and if your sons are in fact 'adult' - then they need to face up to the fact that things have changed and they may have to make changes as well. Sorry for trying to help you out.