MSE News: Budget 2012: Child benefit cut partially reversed

MF2015

unkle wrote: »

I most certainly did!

i think even with just the £15k per annum I could buy, yes BUY, a £200k home and run it, all paid for by the state, in fact I could rent a room out and make even more!

Please tell me were you can get a mortgage for 200k on a 15k income?

MF2015

shop-to-drop wrote: »

I'm talking his net wage after tax/NI. 20% goes in maintenance he keeps 80%. Plenty to fund a second home for one. He would probably make savings on travel costs to work too by being able to live closer to his workplace.

Excellent, and your kids are going to love you so much for leaving your partner to save money....

Also there standard of living has dropped by seeing the children less, living in a small house, were by they will have extra costs to go and pick up the kids, as they have moved closer to work.

Give me a break...

zagfles

unkle wrote: »

JimmyTheWig, the above post was very much tongue in cheek, i've no intention of moving out (although if my wife see's the numbers involved I may well have my bags packed for me!). Another tongue in cheek comment..... with the size of those benefits I could buy the house next door!

However, your post is actually wrong regarding being a couple etc, all of the benefits I mention are to do with living arrangements, not if you are married or in a relationship. If my wife lived alone with the children, regardless of if she was married to me, or just in a relationship with me or anyone else she would get those benefits and more (I just realised there would also be £1200 worth of free school meals a year). Nobody says just because you are married or in a relationship you have to live together.

I was simply trying to illustrate that despite what government says about families matter etc etc, when it comes to finances we clearly don't. I still reel at a few people I know who chose to split up/divorce and simply because they made that decision the tax payer is funding them (usually the mother) with considerable amounts of money. I knew one couple who split, husband went to America, wife and children moved out of family home (which they owned with no mortgage) to only rent it out at £2,000 a month (expensive part of London) to only be able to receive housing benefit! You couldn't write it!

So a family that decides to live as a family receives nothing from the state, whereas a family that decide not to live together (salary/jobs dependent) get a stack of money...... Does that make sense to anyone?

No, it's completely mad. The Tories were always going on about removing the "couple penalty" in benefits but haven't done anything about it yet - in fact they've made it worse with the child ben changes.

It wouldn't be so bad if tax was assessed on family income like benefits are, then at least you'd be able use your partner's (and maybe kids') tax allowance against the family's income, like you can in most civilised countries.

We have joint assessment for benefits, but individual assessment for tax. Screws single earner families, which is why we have such a sharp divide between 2-earner households and no-earner households.

unkle

MF2015 wrote: »

Excellent, and your kids are going to love you so much for leaving your partner to save money....

Also there standard of living has dropped by seeing the children less, living in a small house, were by they will have extra costs to go and pick up the kids, as they have moved closer to work.

Give me a break...

Why are they living in a smaller house, the wife and kids aren't going anywhere! They are lapping it all up!

Look, I don't want anyone thinking I am serious about this! Just trying to show how ludicrous the latest child benefit cut is on top of all the other mad benefits that are handed out. But I suspect there are people who will........

Let me put it another way to you MF, I'm married, have 2 lovely children and my life is rosy. I currently receive zero from the state (CB aside)

But do you think it fair that if my wife's had enough of me (or vice versa) YOU (in the taxpayer sense of the word) funds us to split up to keep the lifestyle we had when we were together by paying £15k+ in benefits per year? If we chose to split up that's for us to decide, for us to work out and for no doubt me to pay for!

unkle

MF2015 wrote: »

Please tell me were you can get a mortgage for 200k on a 15k income?

My income's not £15k it's £60k+ (hence no more CB!) Only last week my bank said I could have a mortgage of £340k......... the £15k relates to the benefits my wife would be getting, in fact she could probably now get a mortgage as well...... we'll have a property empire!

MF2015

unkle wrote: »

Why are they living in a smaller house, the wife and kids aren't going anywhere! They are lapping it all up!

Look, I don't want anyone thinking I am serious about this! Just trying to show how ludicrous the latest child benefit cut is on top of all the other mad benefits that are handed out. But I suspect there are people who will........

Let me put it another way to you MF, I'm married, have 2 lovely children and my life is rosy. I currently receive zero from the state (CB aside)

But do you think it fair that if my wife's had enough of me (or vice versa) YOU (in the taxpayer sense of the word) funds us to split up to keep the lifestyle we had when we were together by paying £15k+ in benefits per year? If we chose to split up that's for us to decide, for us to work out and for no doubt me to pay for!

You yourself would be living in a smaller house, your wife and children would be living in the old house minus a father and husband.

Do I think it is fair the way the system is now? No

Trust me I know very well about how unfair the system is, someone very closely related to me has done the very same thing you are describing.

And I'm seen as the mug for working my butt off, even though I gave up a job on a very similar "decent" wages that they earn to go to uni, lose out on 7 years of good pay and come out of it with 20k in debt.

But it will catch up with them, sooner or later.

MF2015

unkle wrote: »

i think even with just the £15k per annum I could buy, yes BUY, a £200k home and run it, all paid for by the state, in fact I could rent a room out and make even more!

Here is your quote for getting a 200k mortgage on 15k.

sly_dog_jonah

I think we've diverged from the topic somewhat. Can we stick to Q&A about the CB changes?

Just seen this new article from MSE:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/reclaim/2012/03/budget-2012-what-the-child-benefit-overhaul-means-for-you?utm_source=forum&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=box

JimmyTheWig

zagfles wrote: »

Yes, except there is that funny about union/police contributions which I don't understand. Some union contributions are tax deductible (though mine aren't), but it looks like if they are ,they get added back in.

That's why I said when I first commented "pretty much for most people".

royalsteve

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Funny how they don't want to look at a couples combined income when it comes to deciding this alteration to child benefits

because they are morons

Me - £60600 salary - £0 benefit
Family B £49999 salary each parent - Full benefit

How is that fair! I am NOT rich!!

Mr Osborne you are a moron

Say goodbye to my vote next time