First baby on the way and so very confused

pukkamum

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

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.

I'm pretty sure that paying rent and buying food IS money being spent on the child after all the child will be living in the house and eventually eating food, what a daft statement!

MissMoneypenny

pukkamum wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that paying rent and buying food IS money being spent on the child after all the child will be living in the house and eventually eating food, what a daft statement!

The parents are already in the house and paying the rent. Your post just fuels my fear that the money is not getting to the child (to stop child poverty) and that child related benefits should be given in vouchers (with stipulations) and not cash to the parents.

We see lot of posts on here where parents ask what other benefits they can get now that their child has left home and their child tax credits and child benefit will stop, as they can't live on the money they will have coming in. It speaks volumes.

tjp1510

Karenx is right you probably wont get anything till 11 weeks before the babies due date when she will get maternity allowance ( if she has worked for 26 weeks within 66 weeks before the babies due date) she can apply for this when she is 26 weeks pregnant, if she hasn't worked 26 weeks within 66 weeks before due date she should get employment & support allowance, then after the baby is born register him/her asap coz you need birth certificate to apply for child benefit and child benefit number to apply for child tax credit, then with being first baby she can apply for sure start grant (£500) before baby is 3 months old. I was 4 months pregnant when made redundant and this is what i got , hope this helps

SuziQ

Your post just fuels my fear that the money is not getting to the child (to stop child poverty)

The worst child poverty I see as a Health visitor is poor housing. So benefits are very well spent on decent housing for a family with children in my opinion. Doesn't mean that the OP couldn't find something cheaper, I just can't agree that it is mismanagement to spend benefits on the home- when anyone is given debt advice the first consideration is keeping a roof over the family's head!

jordanchaos

Moving house costs alot of money, we would need to find a deposit to put on a cheaper property, thats still going to be £1000 we dont have, not to mention that as I stated before we would be breaking a contract with the landlord, as it is now we are just selling anything we cant afford to own, be it clothing, furnature or electronic goods. Brighton is an 'in' city, its where we both worked so thats why we moved here (southern trains are pretty expensive before 10am)

I'm not looking for money to pay for a blu ray player, or a holiday, this is to stop me getting evicted.I think paying rent is ESSENTIAL - I cant not pay rent, being homeless isn't going to help my newborn when she comes... the due date is nine weeks. and we have just been turned down for maternity allowance.

Shandygirl

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

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.

What a silly thing to say.I would say a priority is paying your rent,your child has somewhere to live.
Next pay bills and buy food.All this is money spent looking after your child.

pmlindyloo

Your OH may qualify for ESA. You shouldn't have to apply - this should automatically take place if she has been turned down for Maternity Allowance. You may want to give them a call to check they have done this.

You say that you cannot move. I do not know what contract you have but it may be worth exploring this issue. Although it is true to say that you are legally obliged to pay rent until the end of your contract it is entirely possible for your landlord to give you permission to leave. Have you approached your landlord? If you explain the situation he/she may be sympathetic. After all if you can't pay your rent he/she will not be a happy bunny!

You say that you could go and live with your parents/get a cheaper place. These are options that you really need to explore. Your rent is your main problem and, in my opinion, seems unsustainable in the near future.

You do not want to have these money issues facing you with a new baby. It is hard enough without fnancial worries!

Get in touch with one of the free debt agencies (lots of information on the DebtFree Wannabe forum) and get your debts 'sorted out' while things are so financially tough.

Good luck!

Vincent_Buenisedes

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

The parents are already in the house and paying the rent. Your post just fuels my fear that the money is not getting to the child (to stop child poverty) and that child related benefits should be given in vouchers (with stipulations) and not cash to the parents.

We see lot of posts on here where parents ask what other benefits they can get now that their child has left home and their child tax credits and child benefit will stop, as they can't live on the money they will have coming in. It speaks volumes.

Yawn!:whistle:

MissMoneypenny

Shandygirl wrote: »

What a silly thing to say.I would say a priority is paying your rent,your child has somewhere to live.
Next pay bills and buy food.All this is money spent looking after your child.

They are already paying their rent. Did you read the thread?

It's truly disgraceful how many parents' see child tax credits and child benefit as their (the parents) money. This money is given to help the children out of poverty and not for their parents to live on!

If we gave these benefits in vouchers for set things for the children, it would be a better way to reduce child poverty.

MissMoneypenny

Vincent_Buenisedes wrote: »

Yawn!:whistle:

Nuff said. Speaks volumes.