First baby on the way and so very confused

jordanchaos

First time on the forum so thanks for your help.
It's a bit complex so I'll keep it as clear as I can - My girlfriend has had to finish (self employed) work and go on maternity leave as its a job that needs heavy lifting and she is currently 6 1/2 months pregnant. we have applied for maternity pay but as of this week she will have no fuurther income - I get paid £18k a year but we live in a very expensive town so our rent is £895 (1 & 1/2 bed flat) as you can imagine my wage only just covers that and travel to work and council tax,, we have a huge overdraft and loan payments (as we were just getting our finances straight when she fell pregnant) is there any help available at all to me? and where would I go to get it? is it best to just go to the CAB? - we would leave the flat and move back with our parents or even a cheaper place but we cant get out of the contract/ afford to move. we save money every way we can, seems like we live of asda smartprice...

Hmm71

I think it's worth making an appointment at the CAB but in the meantime check out the benefits calculator on directgov.org.uk or turn2us. Also go to your local council and put in a claim for local housing allowance and council tax benefit. There's no guarantee you'll get anything but you might and it takes at least twelve weeks for them to make a decision so the sooner you get that started the better.
I'm sure someone else on here would know about any maternity grants/payments that might be available for your girlfriend to claim.
Let us know how you get on and congrats on the baby.

jordanchaos

I'm glad the CAB visit is a good idea, we both worked so much and we have day jobs as well as homeworking to make ends meet, its only when it had gotten so late we realised that we SHOULD have been applying for things much sooner. - I'll use the benifits calculator, but last time i did it said I was entitled to ZERO :eek:

Hmm71

It's possible that at the moment you might still be entitled to zero but once the baby's born you should, hopefully, see a difference.

skintandscared_2

Wow, your rent is extortionate! We have a 2 bed flat in a very nice, and pretty affluent, commuter town and we pay £750 a month! Unfortunately, the benefits calculator will take no account of your debts/loans. My only suggestion is to contact a free debt counselling service who will suggest you open a new bank account and can help you come to an arrangement to pay off your overdraft and loans. That will free up some of your wages to go on more important things like your utility bills and things for the baby.

Hopefully someone with more info on maternity benefits can help you too. Good luck!

jordanchaos

Thanks, yeah we live in Brighton its not even the most expensive place Ive lived in here, Id like to say it was fancy, but it really really isnt, the rents just gone up loads around here recently

karenx

At the moment you will get nothing. Your partner wont get anything untill 11 weeks before baby is due for maternity allowance. Once the baby is born you will get some child tax credits and child benefit, and on your income I would be surprised if you get anything towards your rent.
Benefits dont take into account debts and loans etc

Hmm71

https://brighton-hoveclaims.teamnetsol.com/

Check this calculator out to see if it's worthwhile putting a claim in now.
karenx, £18K is hardly a fortune, especially with his rent!

jordanchaos

My income would stretch far, if I lived anywhere else, I'm already working two jobs to make ends meet, yes we have debts, we we're paying them off, the baby was just unexpected (but by no means unwanted) yes its high rent but once again, we do need to live somewhere, as I mentioned before its a small flat its not as nice as my grandmothers council house, its just that it's an expensive area - on £18k I take home just under £1200 - so £900 is rent... if £300 a month to cover anything else is a bit of a stretch right?

Notmyrealname

jordanchaos wrote: »

My income would stretch far, if I lived anywhere else, I'm already working two jobs to make ends meet, yes we have debts, we we're paying them off, the baby was just unexpected (but by no means unwanted) yes its high rent but once again, we do need to live somewhere, as I mentioned before its a small flat its not as nice as my grandmothers council house, its just that it's an expensive area - on £18k I take home just under £1200 - so £900 is rent... if £300 a month to cover anything else is a bit of a stretch right?

Indeed it is. However once baby arrives you will get about £20 a week child benefit and about £2500 child tax credits a year so that will be around an additional £280 a month or thereabouts.

MissMoneypenny

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Indeed it is. However once baby arrives you will get about £20 a week child benefit and about £2500 child tax credits a year so that will be around an additional £280 a month or thereabouts.

Child related benefits such as these, are given to be spent on the child, not on rent or other things for the parents'.

Can you move to a cheaper area Jordan? Brighton does seem to me one of the "in" places at the moment and it must be a struggle to live there on your wages.

Perhaps take a look on https://www.rightmove.co.uk to get an idea of how much areas let for and also download http://www.property-bee.com/ as this will tell you things such as, how much the rent has dropped; how long the landlord has been looking for someone (you can make an even lower offer). You can also use the areas council's LHA rates to get an idea of what property in that area usually lets at.