MSE Parents Club Part 12

BeenieCat

The HIP grant should be the first to go. Nobody needs it, because i was on benefits when i was pregnant and got the £500 Surestart grant AND i was already getting Healthy Start vouchers to eat healthily with.

Also the christmas bonus that some people on benefits isn't really necessary.

aless02

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).

The problem with means-tested in this country is it takes into NO account cost of living...a £20k salary in north England is a completely different ballgame than £22k in London/the South East ("London weighting").

My_Fathers_Daughter

Oh Sami, if we didn't try to send 90% of our population to uni then we couldn't moan about the 'immigrants' coming in to do unskilled and semi-skilled jobs that we think we are too good to do

I agree with the initial point that it is interesting times but I am not convinced that anyone on 50k should need help from the government...


Hubby home, he is amusing the kids and waiting for the Tesco order whilst I have a bath, bless him.

Did anyone see BBC breakfast this morning? A study suggests that couples where the man helps with the housework have less arguments - no !!!!!! Sherlock!

Sami_Bee

Fitz I'm not sure from your post if you know this or not but just in case, if you don't put the CTF voucher in somewhere within I think 2yrs the gov put it in one for you so no child misses out (well they miss out on 2yrs worth of interest but you know what I mean )
I remember on a documentary about teen mum's there was a girl who wasn't allowed to put her childs CTF in anywhere because she wasn't old enough to open one, she had to leave it to the gov to put it in the automatic one then could change it when she was old enough! the only way round it IIRC was for her to give someone older (ie her mum or dad..) parental responsibility for her child then they could open one. How ridiculous when she is obviously the target market as it where!

Fitzio

Sami_Bee wrote: »

Fitz I'm not sure from your post if you know this or not but just in case, if you don't put the CTF voucher in somewhere within I think 2yrs the gov put it in one for you so no child misses out (well they miss out on 2yrs worth of interest but you know what I mean )
I remember on a documentary about teen mum's there was a girl who wasn't allowed to put her childs CTF in anywhere because she wasn't old enough to open one, she had to leave it to the gov to put it in the automatic one then could change it when she was old enough! the only way round it IIRC was for her to give someone older (ie her mum or dad..) parental responsibility for her child then they could open one. How ridiculous when she is obviously the target market as it where!

No, I didn't know that Sami, thanks. I don't think it was like that when first started was it? Ah well, that's good to know.

BeenieCat

Aless, i know i've already asked this but i can't remember the answer lol.

You know the boots vouchers from engage? How long after the first DD went out did they send them out? I paid a £20 DD on May 1st and am wanting to cancel it before i forget but worried i won't get the vouchers if i cancel it before they send! Do you think i'm safe to cancel it now?

BeenieCat

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?!

My_Fathers_Daughter

aless02 wrote: »

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).

The problem with means-tested in this country is it takes into NO account cost of living...a £20k salary in north England is a completely different ballgame than £22k in London/the South East ("London weighting").

Whilst I appreciate what you are saying, that isn't the purpose of the HiP so you could argue it isn't working

And for a lot of people to live in London or not is a choice. I would only relocate to London for a significant increase in salary because of that reason. Actually, I prob wouldn't even then, I would be too peed off at feeling constantly diddled!

Sami_Bee

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

Oh Sami, if we didn't try to send 90% of our population to uni then we couldn't moan about the 'immigrants' coming in to do unskilled and semi-skilled jobs that we think we are too good to do

:rotfl::T

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

I agree with the initial point that it is interesting times but I am not convinced that anyone on 50k should need help from the government...

Me too but I'm a bit torn, devils advocate warning: I mean should we expect higher earners to not buy a nice house and car (with mortgage and loan to match?) and put away lots of savings to pay for any children they may have but lower earners can just claim TCs when they choose to have a child?
Higher earners are worse affected by the drop in pay while on mat leave because its much more dramatic. If SMP were an annual wage it would be around £6.5k pa (pre tax and NI)

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

Hubby home, he is amusing the kids and waiting for the Tesco order whilst I have a bath, bless him.

Did anyone see BBC breakfast this morning? A study suggests that couples where the man helps with the housework have less arguments - no !!!!!! Sherlock!

:rotfl:what a worthwhile use of time and money, I could never have guessed that! :rotfl:

Sami_Bee

Fitzio wrote: »

No, I didn't know that Sami, thanks. I don't think it was like that when first started was it? Ah well, that's good to know.

I'm not sure, I think so but thats just an assumption, I know my ditzy friend forgot about her first born's until she got a letter saying she had 3months or something before it happened (she is 5yo)

BeenieCat wrote: »

Aless, i know i've already asked this but i can't remember the answer lol.

You know the boots vouchers from engage? How long after the first DD went out did they send them out? I paid a £20 DD on May 1st and am wanting to cancel it before i forget but worried i won't get the vouchers if i cancel it before they send! Do you think i'm safe to cancel it now?

I just cancelled it when I received the vouchers, i'd only paid one DD and I remember I didn't 'need' to rush so I'd guess it was within 2 weeks of the DD going out ??

I see what you mean MFD but in practice how easy is it to get out of london? I mean I personally wouldn't move more than around 1hrs travel of here because its home and if we were in council housing not home owners I'm thinking it would be very difficult to get another house in another part of the country?

Sami is feeling a little devilish today

eta - beenie moto x things are often muddy affairs so I wouldn't send him with his best stuff (if u were thinking that) and make sure he is wrapped up warm with a waterproof jacket and don't forget his toothbrush