Young couple with child advice please

ronaldo53

Hello,we are both 21 y olds with 1 year old lovely son,we live with my partners parents,no problem they are great.But we want to get our own place,if that is possible,we sort of understand the recent changes in benefits but then we dont? We were both students,but had to change our ideas for the future,I look after our son and my partners has a job in sport which is full time,but only pays him 110 /week,other than that we have no skills to compete on the present jobs market.

Are we dreamers thinking we can live safely on our own under these circumstances and difficult times.I have done some, research on housing benefit and other benefits we may be allowed.

Please tell how much would it cost us on a whole, to live on our own (which we are desperate to do) inc average utilities,food etc etc

Any advice would be most welcome.

Jowo_2

You can use the LHA Direct website to find out the maximum rate for a 2 bedroom property in your local area.

Work through the Turn2us online benefits calculator to see all the benefits you are entitled to, which will take into account your partner's income.

Some local councils have a deposit guarantee scheme for those in housing need/low income. Check the criteria.

Many landlords do not like renting their properties to LHA claimants but are more likely to if one works and the LHA is just a top up.

Download the MSE budget planner so you can identify all your income and expenses.

nannytone_2

to be honest, in your position, i'd stay where you are.

you eligability for benefits would be unchanged excepting for housing/council tax.

you have the support iof family, and your son, so doubt, has doting grandparents.

you have all the time in the world to 'go it alone', with all the stress and struggle that will involve.

enjoy the security and help you have for as long as you can!

why not use the time to return to college and gain qualifications that can help you once jobs are more freely available.
good luck!

Errata

Why is your partner working full time in a job that pays him much less than the minimum wage?

Indie_Kid

What benefits do you & your partner currently receive? And any student finance? Student finance (apart from the adult dependants grant) is ignored for tax credits. Some of it is taken into account for LHA and other out of work benefits.

If either of you are full-time students, then you're entitled to a 25% single person council tax discount.

ronaldo53

Is job means he goes training and playing full time i.e 6 days a week,you could sort of say he is an apprentice.

We are no longer full or part time students.

thank you.

Jowo_2

He's either formally an apprentice or he's being ripped off. Which is it? Here are the rules and a helpline number.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/employment/employees/pay/dg_10027201

You should post your household budgeting query for the cost of bills on the House buying forum as lots of people posts similar threads there. Off the top of my head, you could be looking at the following monthly costs but these are going to vary considerably according to your budgeting skills, tariffs and consumption. I'm sure your in-laws can provide guidance.

Per month
- £100 per month council tax (depends on many factors like income)
- £80 gas/electricity (depends on consumption, tariffs, energy efficiency/insulation)
- £250 food (depends on your cooking skills with fresh food or if you have convenience food, can be half that, can be twice that)
- £11 tv licence
- £30 telephone/broadband
- £20 water
- £30 insurance

The MSE budget planner will prompt you for other costs, like travel, social expenses and so on.

Fill it in, work through the benefits/LHA calculators and then come back and tell the forum what your estimated income and estimated expenses are for living in your own place.

nannytone_2

my step son and his girlfriend are in a very similar position, although they havent had their baby yet.
they are both 20. both dropped out of full time education in october. she works full time in a care hone, though as her pregnancy progresses, its highly unlikely that she will be able to do her job to a satisfactory level,, ie lifting.

my step son is in a more complicated situation. he has completed 3 years of college, doing various sporting qualifications.
he currently plays for a team for which he gets paid.....only £25 a game though.
he also attends a championship team. he coaches their youth goalkeepers and in return they pay for his coaching badges.
he also has several coaching jobs, but they amount to only about 14 hours a week.

their choices are........stay living with parents and continue to gain qualifications.
or go it alone and give up everything hes worked for and get a 'proper' job.

wanting something isnt reason enough to have it.
once they decide to be adults and have a baby, what they want is no longer a priority!

tomitma

If I was in your situation, I would stay where I am, and not think of moving until the day I can pay my own rent, with out having to claim a benefit.

Gord times have changed, why do people now include LHA as part of there wages, LHA is a benefit, supposedly meant for people who have fallen on hard times and can not pay there rent. I isn't supposed to be used by people who automatically include it into there wages as an automatic right? When did the time start that people automatically thought "OH the Government will give me money?" Where have all the people gone, that would never think of asking for benefits, and worked there !!!! off to provide for there family? No wonder this country is in such a bloody mess.

There are others who actually ask before they move into there first flat/house, what help can I get to carpet and furnish my house, well if you need to ask for charity, don't bloody move until you have saved enough money to buy your own carpets, curtains, washing machine, and all the other luxuries, that you cant do with out.

Plans_all_plans

While I sympathise with your situation, I must say I agree with tomitma in part. My now husband and I were both students when I fell pregnant. We didn't have a job between us. I moved back to my parents (200 miles away from my husband) while he left student digs to move back in with his parents and complete his degree. I found a job and worked full time while my mum provided childcare and my husband got a part time job and sent us most of his wages. I earned around 20k before tax and in 2 years I'd saved 30k for a house deposit. Our daughter is now 4 and we moved into our (mortgaged) home earlier this year.

I think the lad needs to look for another job ASAP and keep saving up. Fair enough you might never be in a position to buy if you're in London but you need more than £500 a month to live on! Even an unskilled worker can bring in more than your household income.

I don't mean for this to come across as a dig at you, but you need to find a better job and then think more seriously about moving out (whether renting with LHA or buying)

DX2

tomitma wrote: »

If I was in your situation, I would stay where I am, and not think of moving until the day I can pay my own rent, with out having to claim a benefit.

Fall out of bed this morning?

The Op will always be entitled to a benefit of some form