Young mum benefits??

scot86m

Hello,

My girlfriend is 18 and expecting our first in a few months but other than my wage what government benefits would we be entitled to or savings could we gain if any?



Thanks in advance

McKneff

Hello and welcome to the boards.

You really need to post more details to be honest.

Do you live together

What is your wage

Rent,

Is she working, is she claiming any benefits now.

scot86m

Thanks for your reply.

That is some more info (posted below) that i have posted on another board here. She was at college last year but done very badly even though she is exceptionally clever she just didn't turn up to things, she has plans to turn upto college next year but i dont know whether we can afford that either or what to do to be honest

ps. she is working in greggs partime (20hours a week) at the moment and works in a Chinese at night ( cash in hand ).

"Hello,

I was just wondering if i gave you my circumstance at the moment it would be possible to tell me a few figures regards to costs that i am un aware of at the moment and if there is any ways to gain/save extra cash.

Me and my girlfriend are moving out. My girlfriend is pregnant ( 2months at the moment ). I have about 15k saved for a deposit depending on whether either of our folks help us out more than they have. So i am thinking if we get something around 70-80k worth the mortgage would be £300 ish. But what extra costs would be have to pay every month and what rate would these be. Im slightly scared that we aren't going to afford this but there is no other option as i can see it. I earn in the mid 20s a year with the chance of going towards the high end depending on bonuses but with all that i have to pay for me, her and the kid along with all the living costs... I assume it is do able as i cant see how it cant be when people must be in worse situations than myself at the moment even though it seems to me that im in a bad situation.

Any help of information would be useful.

The flats/terraced house i have been looking at are in central scotland. Im just unsure as to how much gas/electricity/food/general bills etc will add up to in a average month.



Thanks"

McKneff

So I presume you are thinking of buying a property with your girlfriend or are you thinking of renting.

If your salary is say £25K I would think that you as a couple would get child benefit at least and probably tax credits when baby is born.

As for cost to run a home, its like how long is a piece of string.

Gas/electricty say £80 a month

Mortgage ?

Insurances - mortgage protection, buildings and contents,

Food for your

Food for baby, nappies, the list is endless.

Will your girlfriend get maternity pay from Greggs, does she qualify.

You might be better renting somewhere for say a year and see how costs go and then decide whether you can afford to buy.

Hope things go well for you.
Your not in a bad place, bless you. Youre starting one of the biggest adventures and most rewarding time of your life.
A new baby, a new life, brilliant, frightening but brilliant.

Good luck and talk to your families.

Anie

nikki2804

Between my partner and myself we earn 26k p/a. We were on 34k but I dropped my hours to P/T in a bid to save on childcare costs.

Although I'm renting I can give you a breakdown of our costs if you'd like? On 26k we can save £500p/m.

Rent - £525
Elec/Gas - £77
Council Tax - £113 (over 12 months)
No water rates in Scotland.
Contents Insurance - £8 (if buying a house please remember you will need buildings insurance)
Food shopping - around £150 p/m plus fresh food top ups

Thats the basics (i think) We also have Sky, broadband, phone line, contract mobiles and the odd takeaway. It is doable you just need to make sure you get the best deals going. For instance our Sky package is great atm but its on a F&F discount, when that goes up we'll drop to the minimum etc.

You'll get £81.20 every 4 weeks in child benefit. This comes in handy for nappies (often on offer) and formula milk (never on offer for stage 1)

On my income I get £42 every 4 weeks in Child Tax Credits - again used for baby essentials.

Obviously you would need to big things like a pram, a cot, car seat etc. It may be worth taking 1k out of your savings for this.

Having a baby can be as cheap as you make it.

Also, remember that you'll have solicitors fees and possibly a product fee for your mortgage too.

Its also worth pointing out, I'm in Central Scotland too and every house in the 80k region that I've looked at has been non standard construction.

HTH

summerday

Sorry I can't really help, just wanted to say ypu sound like a great, supportive partner, well done for trying to be sensible and responsible for your future family. I'm sure things will work out okay.

scot86m

nikki2804 wrote: »

Between my partner and myself we earn 26k p/a. We were on 34k but I dropped my hours to P/T in a bid to save on childcare costs.

Although I'm renting I can give you a breakdown of our costs if you'd like? On 26k we can save £500p/m.

Rent - £525
Elec/Gas - £77
Council Tax - £113 (over 12 months)
No water rates in Scotland.
Contents Insurance - £8 (if buying a house please remember you will need buildings insurance)
Food shopping - around £150 p/m plus fresh food top ups

Thats the basics (i think) We also have Sky, broadband, phone line, contract mobiles and the odd takeaway. It is doable you just need to make sure you get the best deals going. For instance our Sky package is great atm but its on a F&F discount, when that goes up we'll drop to the minimum etc.

You'll get £81.20 every 4 weeks in child benefit. This comes in handy for nappies (often on offer) and formula milk (never on offer for stage 1)

On my income I get £42 every 4 weeks in Child Tax Credits - again used for baby essentials.

Obviously you would need to big things like a pram, a cot, car seat etc. It may be worth taking 1k out of your savings for this.

Having a baby can be as cheap as you make it.

Also, remember that you'll have solicitors fees and possibly a product fee for your mortgage too.

Its also worth pointing out, I'm in Central Scotland too and every house in the 80k region that I've looked at has been non standard construction.

HTH

thank you for your positive comments they have been very useful

regards the house's / flats im looking at i do agree with you in the average town/city in the central belt the house at 80k bracket aren't the best but in the Falkirk region they do seem a bit better value for your money as opposed to where i stay with my folks at the moment. Hopefully i can get a bargain out there somewhere

nikki2804

scot86m wrote: »

thank you for your positive comments they have been very useful

regards the house's / flats im looking at i do agree with you in the average town/city in the central belt the house at 80k bracket aren't the best but in the Falkirk region they do seem a bit better value for your money as opposed to where i stay with my folks at the moment. Hopefully i can get a bargain out there somewhere

No problem, .

There is bargains to be had. I found a lovely house for £85k, completely fell in love with it only to find out it was steel construction and this meant it was pretty much non mortgage-able (if thats a word?) Always worth asking for the home report before a veiwing.

If your near Falkirk then Mallys on the Grahams Road is brilliant for baby items. The owner is lovely, you can pick your items then pay the balance up over the course of the pregnancy (interest free) I got a few bargains as some of the items were ex-display.

Primark and Matalan are all good for baby vests and baby grows (no point in paying a premium for something thats just going to be covered in baby sick!)

Also, check your companies policy for paternity leave, you may find you need to budget for 2 weeks paternity pay if they only pay the minimum. You may be lucky and they will pay full pay.

Good luck

scot86m

nikki2804 wrote: »

No problem, .

There is bargains to be had. I found a lovely house for £85k, completely fell in love with it only to find out it was steel construction and this meant it was pretty much non mortgage-able (if thats a word?) Always worth asking for the home report before a veiwing.

If your near Falkirk then Mallys on the Grahams Road is brilliant for baby items. The owner is lovely, you can pick your items then pay the balance up over the course of the pregnancy (interest free) I got a few bargains as some of the items were ex-display.

Primark and Matalan are all good for baby vests and baby grows (no point in paying a premium for something thats just going to be covered in baby sick!)

Also, check your companies policy for paternity leave, you may find you need to budget for 2 weeks paternity pay if they only pay the minimum. You may be lucky and they will pay full pay.

Good luck

Thanks for the comments. Yeh im really going to have to rely on my father who used to run a house construction company to make sure i dont get anything not suitable.

Yeh, it looks like the experience can be as cheap as you want it as you can by plain items for a fraction of the cost for something that isnt going to have long life span.

Unfortunately i get the basic paternity leave my company arent very good with things like that

Marisco

nikki, do you get your water free in Scotland??? :eek:

nikki2804

Marisco wrote: »

nikki, do you get your water free in Scotland??? :eek:

Its calculated and included with the council tax so just one payment per month to the council.