Looking to the Future ... My Mortgage Free Dream

wendz86

Yay for payday is mine too. I hate paying out for insurance etc grr.

Well done on dooyoo, may have to look into starting that up again.

yukkibear

Dooyoo is building up nicely providing I write in the higher category.

OP being an idiot and crashing today when I have almost completed surveys which is annoying.

Still NSD day today

yukkibear

Bah to tax credits, lower amount today from last month. That affects my budget quite dramatically, still I wont be beaten and we'll carry on somehow.

OP is being really slow and crashing on me. There is over £1 worth of surveys so I am trying to get them done.

wantabetterlife

Hi Yukkibear, i hope you dont mind me asking, but was your tax credits much lower this month.........i am wondering how it will affect us. We just receive the basic amount plus the baby element. As far as i know they are phasing out the tax credits for anyone over 40k income and completely doing away with the baby element. Just thought you could maybe shed some light on it?

Thanks

yukkibear

It was about £70 lighter than normal. We aren't anywhere near the £40k limit either. What we do get barely covers nursery fees, this month nursery fees were £100 higher than Tax credits

I didn't actually think I was going to be affected as our combined is only around £28k, but perhaps I was being a bit naive

CathT

I was ok this month, in fact I had an extra payment i think. Yukkibear, also hope you don't mind me asking (can PM the reply or ignore if you like!) but our joint income was around 32k for 2010/11 and I think the cut off for WTC towards nursery costs is £30k although with me going on maternity leave this year and DH's new job which is 2k less a year we will possibly qualify which would be great esp with 2 children. I am also thinking that if 2011/12 is less than previous year they will amend our payments for this year. I am just wondering how it all works really? Do they pay you and then you pay nursery then provide CTC with proof of fees?

However it works is going to sway my decision between taking 9 or 12 months maternity leave.

CathT

I wouldn't have thought your payments should be affected? Ours is dropping £80 but that's due to aound 10k increase in wages as i was a student for the last calculation. I never understand how they work it all out!

yukkibear

Not sure why is was decreased, will wait and see what it's like at the end of april or when the renewal comes through I guess.

Re nursery, we receive the payments and then pay nursery. I just tell them her average weekly childcare cost and they work it out on that. I have never had to prove it, but I know from administrating on the other side of it for a holiday club, tax credits do write to childcare providers occasionally and ask for details and payments about random children.

I know when DD was three and we claim her funding through nursery so of course it went down then,

Cath - Tax credits told me when I claimed after being on maternity leave thay they don't take into account payments over a certain amount per week. so for me when I received the basic statutory mat leave I earnt say £5k that year and tax credits only took into account £2k so our payments were good that year.

yukkibear

after all that £1 on OP with another 30p in surveys that I haven't had time to do. Oh how well I live

yukkibear

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mummies reading.

I've been spoiled with flowers and chocs this morning which was nice. We went out last night and took respective mothers as well for dinner, and today we're having a nice roast lamb for lunch at home. No wonder we're so skint.

Last night's dinner was only £3 over budget and we got a free bottle of wine with a voucher so not too bad there. Spent another £21 on groceries yesterday which is over budget for the month.

Have to take my car to be dropped off for MOT tomorrow, fingers crossed it passes.