Cannot afford to live together

ciderwithrosie_2

balletshoes wrote: »

that figure is not correct - the threshold figure for child tax credits is still a yearly joint income of under £41,000 as far as I can see from a quick google.

Got a letter here in front of me from HM Revenue & Customs which states my Child Tax Credit will cease from April because the income limit for single or joint households is 26,000 (sorry haven't got a working pound sign on this keyboard).

sassyblue

thorsoak wrote: »

How many others feel like me, that it is so sad that today, being able to "afford" to live together because of losing entitlement to benefits outweighs the fact that people love each other?

When we were planning our wedding/marriage getting our home, apart from thinking "we're going to have to be careful with our money in order to pay the mortgage", I don't think being better off together/alone was ever thought about!

I agee with you. I couldn't believe it when the OP said they were BOTH earning £17-£18k a year.

We earn a little less than that between us and have a great standard of living!

If losing benefits is one of the reasons the OPs other half won't move in together then l'd let her carry on being the sponger she is and dump her.

These days people think 'what can l get' rather than 'what can l save for or earn' it's appalling, this thread is an example of that.

DylanO

sassyblue wrote: »

I agee with you. I couldn't believe it when the OP said they were BOTH earning £17-£18k a year.

We earn a little less than that between us and have a great standard of living!

If losing benefits is one of the reasons the OPs other half won't move in together then l'd let her carry on being the sponger she is and dump her.

These days people think 'what can l get' rather than 'what can l save for or earn' it's appalling, this thread is an example of that.

While I agree with your wider point, your earnings and lifestyle have very little to do with the thread. Presumably your mortgage is far smaller than the OP's, and you may live in a cheaper area and have cheaper commuting/work costs.

balletshoes

ciderwithrosie wrote: »

Got a letter here in front of me from HM Revenue & Customs which states my Child Tax Credit will cease from April because the income limit for single or joint households is 26,000 (sorry haven't got a working pound sign on this keyboard).

thanks and apologies to the other poster then, the HMRC site needs updating I think .

gibson123

FBaby wrote: »

But of course, life as a single parent is very very tough as we hear over and over....until they want to do things rightly when they decide to move with their boyfriend and suddenly realise that they will be worse off as a man/wife couple....

The reality is that single parents do very well indeed, and so it can be a shock when suddenly they have to lose out all their benefits.

Most single parents are NOT single by choice, but because of death, divorce or desertion, many single parents DO NOT get benefits or only get them for a short space of time when the children are small. Most single parents work and manage their families on their own and do so on limited budgets. Why don't you stick to the facts and your own experience!

jellyhead

It is sad that people are better off living apart if there's a child involved, but luckily my husband decided that I was worth the financial loss, and decided to marry me (and my child).

I know 2 women who continue to live apart from their boyfriends even though they have had children together! Yes okay they are better off financially, but at what cost?

OP is she 'the one'? Do you imagine having children with her?

FBaby

gibson123 wrote: »

Most single parents are NOT single by choice, but because of death, divorce or desertion, many single parents DO NOT get benefits or only get them for a short space of time when the children are small. Most single parents work and manage their families on their own and do so on limited budgets. Why don't you stick to the facts and your own experience!

What difference does it make whether it is by choice or not? I am not judging single parents, I was one for some time. What I am saying is that for many single parents, especially the more children they have, life is not as tough financially as it is often made to be believed.

The reality is that as a single mum on benefits, you might not get a massive income, but you will have much less outgoings than if you were working. Take an average earning mum with children in childcare who earns just enough to not be entitled to financial help and housing benefits. By the time she has paid her rent, childcare (whatever she has left to pay when you take away tax credits), travel costs etc..., she is likely to be no better off, if not worse off than a mum on benefits with no childcare costs, rent and council tax paid, no need for a car etc...

I was one of those mums earning a very decent salary, but once all my work related expenses were paid, I was not much better off than someone on benefits. When I moved with my partner, we indeed were better off because we lost nothing much in benefits. However, take a mum who relies totally on benefits for a similar disposable income who is about to lose most of it moving with her partner and this results in a much more significant financial adjustment.

Dontknowanymore

I've always been better off when working as a lone parent, even if it was by £20 a week (in reality it was about £50 a week), that is still better off.

FBaby

It depends on a number of factors, how much you earn, how much you are still entitled to tax credits/housing benefits, how much you have to pay to travel to work, how much you are left to pay childcare, whether you have children with disabilities (where you might be entitled to carer's allowance if not working) etc...

But whether you are better off or not is not really the issue here, what is is that if you get a certainl level of disposable income via working, this less likely to go down by moving with a partner, whereas it will if you were getting the same (or less) via benefits.

Dontknowanymore

Well I used my car for work and was still better off.
As I have already said, being a 2 parent stable family would be worth far more than any amount of benefits.
I think it is sad that this is what people are thinking about before their own happiness?