To work or not to work: That is my question!

annie1975_2

bridgemant wrote: »

We don't EXPECT it, we are entitled to it according to the Government. It's not your money, it's coming out of our wages in the first place. We pay our taxes thanks.

Yes you are entitled to it just like everyone else is.
Theres plenty of people who are getting a hell of a lot more than you are in benefits,and paying nowhere near in taxes than your husband is.
Try the calculators, you might be surprised if one of you dropped some hours,you might not be any worse off.Good Luck.

sniggings

LisaW123 wrote: »

And how dare that family expect £60 a week in child tax credits and child benefit payments on top, paid for by the rest of us?

Blame the government, there is an easy answer, get to grips with the house and rent prices in the country then a 2 person working family will not need be to given these benefits, just to live.

LisaW123

bridgemant wrote: »

We don't EXPECT it, we are entitled to it according to the Government. It's not your money, it's coming out of our wages in the first place. We pay our taxes thanks.

And, what are you contributing towards your state pension, your family's healthcare, education etc? You must be paying in a hell of a lot to cover all you are getting out.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown put this country in hock to pay for ridiculous and unaffordable goodies like child tax credit.

OldMotherTucker

bridgemant wrote: »

We don't EXPECT it, we are entitled to it according to the Government. It's not your money, it's coming out of our wages in the first place. We pay our taxes thanks.

'Entitled to' is not the message we want to teaching our children though is it?

Doggedness.
Innovation.
Determination.
Independence.
Innovation.
Enterprise.
Responsibility.

Wow - I'm a walking Thesaurus!

I know its hard - the main reason I don't have a partner now is that I simply don't have enough time in my 'budget' to entertain anyone else's needs.

168 hours in my week - I have to spend them wisely!
The job I have now which facilitates an easier lifestyle for me didn't happen overnight - but nothing worthwhile is ever easily come by!

Good luck Bridgemant - every year with children is different. Nothing stays the same!

LisaW123

sniggings wrote: »

Blame the government, there is an easy answer, get to grips with the house and rent prices in the country then a 2 person working family will not need be to given these benefits, just to live.

Houses are cheaper now than they were 5 years ago, considerably so in some areas. If people cannot afford to support a family, they shouldn't have one.

Anny_2

pacific4130 wrote: »

Where the hell is it written that raising a family is supposed to be easy?

Seriously, just what is it in the UK fuelling this daft notion that you can grow up to work in low-income unskilled jobs yet still have all the trappings of being rich and successful? Can people not realise that the 'ideal family life' is not a option to be chosen, and paid for by the state, but the result of hard work to better ones situation?

When our time comes, my partner and I will both be busy Doctors with precious little time to spend with our children. Should we expect a free au-pair? Or benefits because we don't like working 14hr days and on-calls? I think people would find that laughable - and it's certainly not an attitude I subscribe to.

My partner and I joke that our children won't know us and we'll communicate via post-it notes on the fridge door! Our children will probably think everyone is raised by Grandparents! It upsets us, but we do what we have to do - work for a living!

We don't want our children to struggle through bad comprehensive schools like we did. We don't want them growing up in a cold house eating left-over-left-overs or missing school trips. We don't want them to watch me struggle to pay the mortgage as I have done (I'm a mature student).

So what did we do about it? Ask the state for a handout? No, we used every hour in the day to work hard to earn that family lifestyle we aspire to. I've seen my partner a few hours this week due to her shifts. When I do see her we have our heads in books. Our only social time together is walking the dog! So be it... at the end of that long hard slog will *fingers crossed* be a better life for our family.

Apologies for the rant OP, but it just really gets on my nerves. I'm slogging away trying to get into a well paid job, all so I can pay for people to stay home and watch Jeremy Kyle with the kids. All the while I'll be coming home when my child is asleep and leaving before they wake. Gotta love the welfare state, eh?!

!!!!!!...that is one hell of a rant!

"We don't want our children to struggle through bad comprehensive schools like we did. We don't want them growing up in a cold house eating left-over-left-overs or missing school trips. We don't want them to watch me struggle to pay the mortgage as I have done (I'm a mature student)."

I went to a 'bad' comprehensive school that was invaluable in teaching me about 'real life' and I grew up in a cold house (apart from two coal fires) I actually loved the Sunday leftovers of bubble and squeak and sausages on a Monday night and was also quite partial to other leftovers, when jazzed up by our mum. I missed the school trips to Switzerland and France...but adored the family holidays in a caravan at Scarborough...eating corned beef and pickle sandwiches and drinking pop on the beach. I was totally and utterly surrounded in love and care. Our mum worked part-time but was always there when we came home from school and if we were ill she was always there to wrap us in that special care that only a mum can give. My parents never claimed any benefits other than perhaps family allowance and although not wealthy we were rich in terms of love and care.

I was also later, after the 'bad' comprehensive, a mature student...but never felt that gave me the right to 'put down others' which you seem to be struggling with.

Regarding you 'paying' for others...there are no doubt many taxpayers (on both high and low incomes) 'slogging away' who have paid towards your education to get you and your partner to where you now are.

Many parents work...some in low income unskilled jobs and their contribution to society is no less then that of a Doctor or a Solicitor or an Accountant...we all need the other to function and survive.

Joking that your children won't know you is really not funny, and does not bode well for their futures...and will, in my opinion, be far more damaging then the things you write about above that you do not want them to experience.

If seeing very little of your family is your idea of an 'ideal family life' then I doubt many will choose that option, that does not necessarily mean they are 'living off the state', it just means they have different priorities to you and may take other routes to 'better themselves'.

I have no doubt you will be high-earners, but at what price? money is not everything and family life should be. You have not 'arrived' yet and plenty can happen before you and your partner qualify...so being a little more humble would perhaps be wise and would certainly be a good attribute in your new career.

Murphy_Gooner

Some of you on here need to get of you high and mighty horse.
Your taxes pay for this, your taxes pay for that...so what.
Like alot of us, we pay taxes aswell.
So you think if everyone who is getting a handout suddenly stops getting benefits and works that David & George will say heh hard working people of the UK, we can lower your taxes because everyone thats on benefits has gone down?? haha pull the other one.

Just too add that i have worked full time since i was 16yrs old and paid my taxes etc so, so what if im getting child benefit or tax credits?
I have no issue of benefits going too people who need it and i would go on to say even for people like OP who may be better off not working as i always felt a parent should be at home looking after the children if they are a young age rather then this society we live in where both parents have to be out at work, working full time, whilst the child is in private child care.
What good is that for a child not seeing either parent all day everyday?
If thats your choice, then its entirely your choice. But i wouldn't want my kids growing up not knowing me or my partner because were wrapped up in work all day everyday.

And too the doctors, not everyone has the privilege or the success of being a doctor.
But whilst your moaning about people not aspiring too what your doing, weren't it the doctors having a massive moan about pensions not so long ago?

We live in a rush rush society where no one has anytime for anything or anyone.
People work and pay taxes and pay for overpriced fuel, overpriced bills and overpriced food and see nothing of it once everything is paid for.
For anyone who is on a average wage, that is the reality of it all.

Lets not forget its the banks which have got this country into a mess and us paying for stupid pointless wars.
Maybe if the celebrities and banks and the likes of Tesco's paid the tax they should be instead of having offshore accounts, this country would be a whole better prosperous place too live in.

colleensims

bridgemant wrote: »

We don't EXPECT it, we are entitled to it according to the Government. It's not your money, it's coming out of our wages in the first place. We pay our taxes thanks.

Yes......... but It wont be coming out of your wages if you dont work! It will be coming from the people that slog their guts out so you can watch daytime telly.

The taxes you pay in are not intended to be a 'safety net' for when you decide you dont want to work anymore, they are for other things like transport, health and education etc.

Yes we do get tax credits to help towards childcare. Thats all!!

Well that says it all. You say 'thats all' but you are the one who decided to have children, not the taxpayer, You.
So you are the one who has to provide for them. Why should my taxes pay the cost of looking after your children?:rotfl:

Murphy_Gooner

colleensims wrote: »

Yes......... but It wont be coming out of your wages if you dont work! It will be coming from the people that slog their guts out so you can watch daytime telly.

The taxes you pay in are not intended to be a 'safety net' for when you decide you dont want to work anymore, they are for other things like transport, health and education etc.

Yes we do get tax credits to help towards childcare. Thats all!!

Well that says it all. You say 'thats all' but you are the one who decided to have children, not the taxpayer, You.
So you are the one who has to provide for them. Why should my taxes pay the cost of looking after your children?:rotfl:

So what would you have her do then?

Just so you know around £21billion of taxpayers money is spent on family and children where as around £85 billion is spent on the elderly.
So when OP's kids get older, it will be them who paying for the likes of you to be getting your state pension and free bus pass etc. Swings and roundabouts, swings and roundabouts.

sniggings

LisaW123 wrote: »

Houses are cheaper now than they were 5 years ago, considerably so in some areas. If people cannot afford to support a family, they shouldn't have one.

the average house price is more than 5 times the average wage, try and get a mortgage for more the 2 times your wage, you will be lucky.

You can argue all you want but the facts are these benefits are given which tends to suggest wages are to low and house and rents to high, when more housing benefits are given to those in work than out of work, it doesn't take a genius to work out what the problem is.