Benefits for working families

Dave101t

when i have kids and look to dodge paying my own way, ill look this thread up for pointers.

SingleSue

My example though is very extreme as my two younger children were disabled (now all 3 are!) and my now ex husband a brittle diabetic with addisons disease which meant that even if I hadn't been working, I would have been running around like a headless chicken.

My example is luckily not that common.

I didn't go back for financial reasons, yes hubby was on low pay but we managed on that (and once we found out about them, a top up of tax credits) because we never purchased items on credit, thus, didn't have to find the money to pay it back each month. We only ever purchased what we could afford and with cold hard cash...a lesson taught to me by my parents.

Ok, we didn't have posh holidays or new kitchens (my current kitchen cost £50 from the local paper nearly 13 years ago) etc or nice new cars to show off in but we were happy with what we had and proud of ourselves.

No, my reasons for going back to work was for a break, a break from the monotony of being a carer, someone's parent, someone's wife....I needed my own identity.

We did initially lose out, I had to give up the carers allowance and of course, whatever I earned, came off the tax credits but earning money is like a drug to me, I love it, it gives me a high and of course, I took it to the extreme......others wouldn't which means that others may not become ill like I did.

The reasons for me becoming ill is not the norm, my own situation was rather extreme and I may not have become ill if only I had listened to others about overdoing it in a bid to prove I was superwoman and my love of earning money.

I know you can't turn the clock back with the debts you have but you can do something about the future but it is a hard, long and sometimes difficult road to travel but it has to be done for the future happiness of your family.

And it feels good too to say goodbye to creditors.....and hello to a healthy bank balance.

judy2357

When I was in a similar position to you I took an evening cleaning job, working a couple of hours from 6 till 8. You may not want to work evenings but at least this would bring in a small amount of money to help your situation and meanwhile you would still have part of your evening together when the kids are asleep.

I dont know what time your OH gets home but perhaps this could fit in with your hours, many cleaning jobs are open to negotiation in relation to hours worked. At the time my partner worked in a local factory and I was cleaning in the factory offices. This worked well as sometimes I would actually pass our daughter over to her dad in the factory car park. He would take her home bath her etc and then they would come and pick me up in the car.

paddedjohn

ceejaydee23 wrote: »

i was paying ALL my bills and had no outstanding tax infact when we applied for the council tax and housing benefit we were in credit, by £192 but like most people would have done, we claimed that back, and it went into a savings account for help towards our childrens christmas presents (is that so wrong?) i was up to date with my rent too, even paying what i thought i should be paying whilst my benefits were being sorted out, as i was told id have been getting £85 a week, but as i said that turned out to be wrong, as it was an error that they then admited to, so it was AFTER the discovery and reclaiming of benefits that we are now in trouble. YES we got carried away with "spending on plastic" that was when we were both working, and NOT LIVING together! we have only been living together for the last year, and it has been a bloody struggle we've had to cut bk on so much from living 2 seperate lives, and now because of this mess up we're now realising just how badly things had got.

WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

All of this is in the past, whats done is done. it might hurt your ears to hear this again but YOU NEED TO GET A JOB.

backinbusiness

Seems to me like the OP still hasn't really had their light bulb moment full on yet!

Sixer

OP: I would suggest visiting the Up Your Income board and investigating the work-from-home options listed on some of the threads there. There are several which can be done at times to suit you (eg AQA 63336, Lionbridge, Butler Hill, eDigital Research). There are also telephone-based jobs you can do at home (eg Sensee, Optimum Contract). You could also try mystery shopping. Most of these would fit in with your circumstances and the time you want to spend with your child and your partner. Sign up for everyone that will have you and you might well find there's a reasonable income to be had. I can't vouch for any of these opportunities personally, but if you search the forum, you will be able to assess other MSErs' experiences.

There is usually work to be found that will fit in with any circumstances if you try hard enough. And it won't be forever, will it? Just until you have paid off your debts and are back on your feet.

Best of luck with it.

PS: If you take on any self-employed work, call HMRC straightaway and DEFINITELY put money away for tax!

themull1

I would have loved to be a stay at home mam, but can't afford it, it doesn't make me less of a mother because i have to go out to work, either lose the luxuries, get a job or go away, you've already said that you won't be replying to the thread, and then you did!! Ive worked since i was 16, 26 years, and the only benefit ive claimed are child benefit/tenner a week tax credits.

ceejaydee23

I have said thanks to those posts I have found useful, basically those that havent deemed make make me feel insulted, as I've already said that I hadnt been sitting on my bum, as for the last 6 months id been doing an avon business, yes im registered as self employed! I had already told my area manager i was leaving but this morning, have notified her that I will be trying to do things differently this time, instead of trying to push myself harder then i could cope with and concentrate on the customers i DO have. I'm also going to contact as many of our local shops as possible to see if they might have any saturday/sunday hours available. As i put to my other half last night if i was to work at least some hours, it would work out better financially then him to keep doing overtime. and as someone else had mentioned even if i am only making 20-30 every 3 weeks its something! As before my other half had said that any money i made from it was mine and mine alone, but we cant afford to do that now!

Fridge2

ceejaydee23 wrote: »

I have said thanks to those posts I have found useful, basically those that havent deemed make make me feel insulted, as I've already said that I hadnt been sitting on my bum, as for the last 6 months id been doing an avon business, yes im registered as self employed! I had already told my area manager i was leaving but this morning, have notified her that I will be trying to do things differently this time, instead of trying to push myself harder then i could cope with and concentrate on the customers i DO have. I'm also going to contact as many of our local shops as possible to see if they might have any saturday/sunday hours available. As i put to my other half last night if i was to work at least some hours, it would work out better financially then him to keep doing overtime. and as someone else had mentioned even if i am only making 20-30 every 3 weeks its something! As before my other half had said that any money i made from it was mine and mine alone, but we cant afford to do that now!

Look, I appreciate what you are saying, but I still don't think you are appreciating the gravity of the situation.

Working as an Avon Lady is simply not going to cut it I'm afraid...there is no way that you will ever earn the sums required to address your financial situation, and you need to get something that will actually make inroads into this.

Also, your OH STILL needs to do the overtime despite you working as if he stops then there is no point in you working extra.

I'm not judging you, but the fact remains that you are in debt by a fair amount due to your own actions and the onus is on you to clear it...your creditors are not interested in the fact that you want to spend more time with your baby, and neither they should be...it's not their problem.

I see that you are getting considerable help from the state to the tune of £700 per month..you cannot count on this in the future as cuts will be coming...you need to deal with this now rather than wait until it will be even harder.

FBaby

Just one thing, yes, going back to work and putting your child in childcare might feel that the worse possible situation at the moment, but you might be surprised that it turns out not to be as bad as you feared. Most mothers coming back to work after maternity leave feel sick about it for weeks before and usually spend the first day back in tears in the toilets, but one day becomes two, baby welcomes mum with a huge smile, and mum start to realise that it's not that bad to have a bit of mental training. Most working mums do enjoy it. At the moment, your priority is to sort out your debts, and doing a few hours there and then won't do it. What have you got to lose giving it a go? If you absolutely hate it and your baby is absolutely miserable, then you can go back to being a SAHM but at least you gave it a try.