childcare from tax credits - is this right??

pebbles88

lkmc01 wrote: »

The close to home jobs are £50 a week in petrol. There is nothing in the local area, under a 1hr drive. The far away jobs involve moving

would it be worth looking into moving? perhaps there are more jobs opportunities for you and your DH in another area?

as others have said, it is a tricky one trying to work out exact amounts when you can only put in what ifs/estimates. and as you are finding, its not an easy or quick task, so you'd be hard pushed to find someone willing to do it for you

Probably worth familiarising yourself with a calculator/program to do with Tax Credits and then working through all your scenarios, but please remember, that the calculators can only go on what you put in them today, new legislation/budgets etc may vastly change the outcome. i have used the dwp benefit advice line before, they have a lot of up to date info & i have always found them helpful 0800 882200.

hope you get the answers you looking for.

flea72

lkmc01 wrote: »

The close to home jobs are £50 a week in petrol. There is nothing in the local area, under a 1hr drive. The far away jobs involve moving

you seem to have your priorities wrong

you are putting more effort into working out what tax credits you would be entitled to for the next 1, 2, etc. years, when really you should have looked at the jobs market, before you started your MSc

why train for a career that obviously isnt out there, and doesnt suit your family situation?

lkmc01 wrote: »

After school clubs were charging a fiver an hour!!

but you dont need them for as many hours, so you end up paying no more than you currently would for F/t daycare

or like most parents who work f/t, you get your kids signed up for every free/cheap afterschool club, playdate, etc. that you can, or find a cheaper childminder. if you say you are paying £100/wk for f/t care for a pre-school age child, that works out at less than £2.50/hr, i every much doubt the same childcare provider charges more than double for afterschool care

F

lkmc01

My career is more important to me than my family

lkmc01

flea72 wrote: »

you seem to have your priorities wrong

you are putting more effort into working out what tax credits you would be entitled to for the next 1, 2, etc. years, when really you should have looked at the jobs market, before you started your MSc

why train for a career that obviously isnt out there, and doesnt suit your family situation?



but you dont need them for as many hours, so you end up paying no more than you currently would for F/t daycare

or like most parents who work f/t, you get your kids signed up for every free/cheap afterschool club, playdate, etc. that you can, or find a cheaper childminder. if you say you are paying £100/wk for f/t care for a pre-school age child, that works out at less than £2.50/hr, i every much doubt the same childcare provider charges more than double for afterschool care

F

My son is at school already, in F2. There are no school clubs until next year and I know they are £5 an hour and they are also waiting lists to get on them.

flea72

lkmc01 wrote: »

My son is at school already, in F2. There are no school clubs until next year and I know they are £5 an hour and they are also waiting lists to get on them.

but you dont have to use the school clubs if they are priced out of your budget, you find childcare that you can afford.

what exactly is the school offering for £5/hr? as thats a similar price to what i would pay for independently run clubs. school ones are either free, or highly subsidised in most places

F

lkmc01

It is dance classes and things like that for an hour after school. Only in the school hall.

lkmc01

The cheapest childcare in my area is £4-£5 an hour using childminders and these are the figures I used to calculate my childcare costs. Costs would be:-

Term time
8-9am and 3-6pm Monday to Friday £4 x 4 hours x 5 days x 38 weeks = £3040

Non-term time
8-6pm Monday to Friday £4 x 10 hours x 5 days x 14 weeks = £2800

This would then total £5840 and is based on a local job and not having to work weekends. Bear in mind that to get into my nearest city it takes 1.5hours and school starts at 9pm, so really I would need to drop son off at 7pm and it may be 7:30pm before I could pick him up.

Dave101t

will only get £540? £540! id love to get £540 for free just for having a kid!

Alleycat

I understand the frustration with trying to work out childcare but a lot of jobs (esp office based) will allow flexi time so you and your partner could share school drop-offs. Alternatively, are there any other parents who would be interested in a bit of spare cash to take your son into to school? Also, a lot of schools now have breakfast clubs. Is there the option of you (when you get a job sorted) and/or your partner doing one longer day per week so you can finish early to save on a day's after school care. How about your partner? If you are likely to be working a significant distance away, would it be more practical for him to collect or drop off during the week?

Sorry, just another thought. You've put childminder down for the full 52 weeks. If you used a term time only childminder for drop-offs and pick ups, are there any play schemes/holiday clubs run by the school or local authority your son could go to in the holidays? They won't charge for bank holidays and you and your partner could use some of your annual leave to cover the rest.

You just need to be a bit creative. For the last 3 years, our 6 year old has gone for a week to my MIL's in the summer holiday. It really does help us to juggle the childcare and DD has a whale of a time being spoiled rotten!

lkmc01

Well I have got an interview for http://www.groundwork.org.uk/jobs--volunteering/current-vacancies/2010/green-doctor-team-leader-kent.aspx on Thursday this week. What do you think? Also bear in mind that we are just about to sign the papers on buying a house in South Yorkshire