MSE Parents Club Part 12

BeenieCat

Ooh Sami i totally would have forgot toothbrush LOL. Thanks

Also thanks re. engage, i will give it another week and then cancel just to be on the safe side

There was no HiP when i had DS, and i wasn't entitled the the Surestart grant and i was on £3.25 an hour working 40 hours, and then £100 p.w maternity pay for 6 months. I wasn't entitled to Housing benefit either so my rent was £240 a month. Something to do with the fact i didn't have to pay council tax cos i wasn't 18 they said. But you just manage don't you... when you have to. He was born April 2003 so i think CTC & WTC had just come out? I got a payment of £1200 when i finally got it awarded and i thought i'd won the lottery when i saw my balance on the cash machine :rotfl: I went out and bought some furniture for my front room and a 28" telly, i felt like a millionaire after being homeless and crashing at people's houses for my whole pregnancy. :rotfl:

Luckily my friends were brill and i got loads of stuff given for baby. I bought the pushchair new though, £200 a HUGE 2 in 1 that's still in the shed. Should freecycle it really.

got-it-spend-it

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

Sami, I am a 'high earner' and I know very clearly how massive the reduction in wages is. But I don't feel the state owes me anything and I don't begrudge others getting assistance. I just think that if you are 'bright' enough to earn 50k between you then you should be bright enough to know that kids cost money and take responsibility for that.

I sincerely hope I haven't offended anyone. If I have please give me the opportunity to explain either by pm, in person or on here.

Very nearly deleted this and still unsure if I should post...

I'm not offended in the slightest as I am a firm believer that life would be very boring if we all had the same views . However I do disagree!

£50k between a couple is a lot of money, but when you take into account tax, NI, student loan, pension contributions and also the cost of travelling to and from work, the take home amount is suddenly a lot less. Add into the equation people like OH and I who (perhaps foolishly) bought our house close to the top of the market then disposable income very quickly diminishes.

I am personally, like Aless, very grateful for the relatively small amount of assistance we've received. I am also fortunate enough that my OH works in a job where he can always grab some extra overtime to make up for any income gap that may occur as a result of the 'emergency budget' so I guess I shouldn't moan too much. I guess a lot of people aren't so lucky.

ladybirdintheuk

DKAM that does sound complicated. (and stupid... does she not know that dna tests exist?!) Don't worry, you will get there

BeenieCat

Amber's making me laugh. She's feeding but everytime she hears something interesting on TV she turns her head round and watches it for a bit, and then decides she'll have another little drink. And repeat x100 lol. She's a telly addict at 20 weeks

BeenieCat

It's quiet here today

DS's lovely grandma gave me a next stage car seat for Amber, it is as new as it was for her other grandson just in her car which was rare.

However............. it's not a make i've ever heard of (says "Remi 2" on the manual), and it's got really bad reviews. Also found this http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/News_+_Research/Product_Recalls/Baby_car_seat_recalled.html ????

What do i do?! She'd be so insulted if i don't use it. But i don't want to risk fitting it wrong and maybe it's one of those that was recalled?

aless02

BeenieCat wrote: »

Amber's making me laugh. She's feeding but everytime she hears something interesting on TV she turns her head round and watches it for a bit, and then decides she'll have another little drink. And repeat x100 lol. She's a telly addict at 20 weeks

Hehe, Finn does this too. If he's really grumpy, I can put him in his bouncy chair and he'll watch anything on TV! It's sad really :rotfl:

fattybooboo

Hello!! Relatively good night for us, up twice for quick feed and straight back down again, so happy enough with that.

Quiet morning here so far bar me popping to waitys to buy crud... haha. Ooh got a couple of Ellas Kitchen Stage 1 Pouches on offer for 71p each, gonna keep them for taking with me when Im not sure if Ill be back in time for next meal.

We are going geocaching at 3pm!! We are going with our friends and their 1 year old daughter. This will be our first time so not really sure what to expect. Have any of you done it?!

Becles

BeenieCat wrote: »

What do i need to pack for DS?! He's going somewhere (should have really asked the parents where, shouldn't i? LOL) in a caravan overnight and coming back tomorrow at 8pm. It's a motorcross thing cos his friend rides.

2 change of clothes/underwear
Pyjamas
Sunglasses & wellies
Travel sickness tablets

Is that it?!

I'd put a special treat in that he can find and share when he gets there - like a box of Maltesers or something.

I don't really agree with the CTF. I'm concerned that children go through school with no money management lessons and the money passes to the child at 18. I wonder how many are going to think "wey-hey I'm loaded" and spend it all on crap in under a week. Yes I know I'm cynical

BeenieCat

Good idea Becles i'll go to the shop now. Orrrrrrrr i have huge bags of Haribo in the drawer that have been there yonks cos we don't eat them, that would be mroe MSE. How much spending money shall i give him? £5? Or is that too stingy?

I have never sent him away for a weekend can you tell LOL

kindofagilr

Glamazon wrote: »

I thought it was the higher paid people that would lose out on TC and as they probably only get £10 a week anyway its not a massive thing. *shrugs*

I thought that too, I thought they wanted to cut it for people on more than 50k a year

Thanks Som I cant wait till they come and he has them on lol

I found the HiP grant very helpful and would be very sad to see it go...we spent it on baby things that may have been difficult to afford otherwise. There's a lot of people that would never qualify for means-tested like Surestart, but that still need a lot of help. HiP is great for prepping for a baby and CB/CTC are great for meeting the increased financial burden after a baby (not so much direct cost of a baby, but more loss of earnings).

I agree with that Aless, we dont qualify for anything else but are not rich by any means, and that £190 helped us get most of the nursery furniture

MFD I agree with your post about the 50k thing

Hehe, Finn does this too. If he's really grumpy, I can put him in his bouncy chair and he'll watch anything on TV! It's sad really

LOL I do that will elliot too if I need to do something in the kitchen he goes in his swing and I put scooby doo or something on and he watches it lol

Ive just uploaded some pics of Elliot from my phone to FB, here's a couple





I still have loads from my camera to upload as well