Housng benefits help!

doveman1234

Ok will try and get to the point and not drag this out.

My Wife resently had a baby (3months ago) and is on SMP, i work 31 hours per week get paid £341.88 but after tax get £263 a week but from December when my wifes SMP stops we will be unable to pay rent or anything else as my wages are not enough to pay for rent, bills etc etc. She wont be going back to work so it will just be my wage in the household.

What help is there for someone like us and would we qualifiy for housing benefit. Would we be able to apply for a council house or is that just for pregnant single woman

Need help urgently as we cant afford things now let alone when December comes round. Any help much appreciated.

Caz3121

put your details into http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx as if her SMP had stopped.
You will need to find the LHA for your area first http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_196239
Council houses depend on available stock - most councils have waiting lists of years if not decades

missbunbury

You should be able to claim child tax credits, I'd expect that would be an extra fifty-odd quid a week. Plus I assume you are getting child benefit by now?

Oldernotwiser

How much rent are you paying?

doveman1234

Thanks for the website Caz it has helped, do you think i can make a claim now so they are prepared for when December comes round or will i have to do it all in December when her SMP finishes.

And Miss Bunbury, i am getting child tax credit and child benefit however its only a very small amount of help when you have so many bills, petrol, and rent to pay, not including food, nappies and baby milk.

I pay £600 rent with £110 council tax so £710 in total inc council tax.

missbunbury

So you get £1100-odd a month wages plus an extra £250-odd from the CTC and child benefit giving you a total of £1350 a month to play with? This should be enough for three of you if you are a seasoned money saver.

If you have debts to pay (cards and loans etc) hit these first. Plenty of advice here about negotiating lower repayments if you are in financial trouble.

Next, look at obvious ways to reduce outgoings - cancel Sky, get pre-paid mobiles, shop around for lower energy bills, sell expensive gadgets you don't really need and so on.

If still struggling, go to the debt free wannabe board and read some inspiring stories of people managing to live practically on fresh air in order to get themselves back on track. It's worked for me, I am in much better financial shape since becoming a regular reader and I paid for my own wedding last year by scrimping and saving according to advice on here.

Worst case scenario, if none of these tactics work, it won't be long until your partner can look at earning to help out, you obviously aren't keen on this and I can understand that but don't discount it entirely if things are really bad, especially if you have family who could offer support with childcare.

doveman1234

Ok lets brake this down a bit as you think you can live off £1350 a month.

Rent - £600
Council tax - £110
Gas - £60
Electric - £60
Water - £20
Petrol - £120
Food - £120
Baby Milk, Nappies etc - £120
Car insurance - £70

Thats the necessities and comes to 1280. Thats not including, mobile phone bills which are also needed, house phone which is needed, car tax, travel costs, clothes. I Dont know what person can honestly live off of £1350 a month for 3 people. So with my necessities being paid for i have no money left for any of the above. what a great life.

My wife cant go back to work as there is know one to look after my boy and no family around us.

paddedjohn

since you only work 31hrs, why not get some extra work to get some more cash.

doveman1234

@paddedjohn iv tried to find a new job that works around the job i have at presant iv sent out endless cvs but unless you are fully flexible they arent interested iv also looked into a total new career but iv had no luck!

viktory

Did you not consider the financial burden of having a child before your wife conceived? Seems awfully short sighted to be worrying about paying for the child after the fact.

doveman1234 wrote: »

Ok lets brake this down a bit as you think you can live off £1350 a month.

Rent - £600
Council tax - £110
Gas - £60 - very high; can you not change suppliers?
Electric - £60 - as above. I only pay £83pm for both
Water - £20
Petrol - £120 - sell the car and either use public transport or buy a smaller engined car.
Food - £120 - This is high. See the Old Style board for eating on a very tight budget.
Baby Milk, Nappies etc - £120 - Put the baby into terry nappies and he'll be weaned soon I would have thought.
Car insurance - £70 - See above. Either lose this completely or a smaller car will be cheaper to run.

Thats the necessities and comes to 1280. Thats not including, mobile phone bills which are also needed, house phone which is needed, car tax, travel costs, clothes. I Dont know what person can honestly live off of £1350 a month for 3 people. So with my necessities being paid for i have no money left for any of the above. what a great life.

My wife cant go back to work as there is know one to look after my boy and no family around us.

Mobile phones are not essential, but if you must have one you can buy a PAYG for £10 from Tesco. Clothes - not necessary. Make do with what you've got. Fact is, you need to cut back whether you like it or not. Your wife should start looking for work in the evening and at weekends - you can look after your child.

My family lived off a wage not much higher - and there are three adults living here, two dogs, two rabbits and a cat. We managed with no tax credits, no child benefit and not Government support. You cut your cloth.

merlin68

Most people don't have money left over. Your unlikely to get housing benefit on that income. I live on £1360 and we do fine and I have 2 kids. We don't get Hb.