Benefits & a baby!

Jo4

jellyhead wrote:

have to admit i'm curiuos though lol! when he said to get pregnant did he mean that it would improve your health in some way? or just that if you wanted to do it it was best to start sooner rather than later? hope you don't think i'm being too nosey lol!

i did survive on benefits, luckily i don't smoke and i don't drink, i'm allergic to smoke so i'd already stopped going to clubs.

when working out our budget for the baby we thought that we could buy all the equipment using the extra £545 tax credit we get for having a baby

you should be better off than that, with the £500 grant, child benefit plus some more on top in either IS or tax credits, good luck :-)

No, I don't mind you asking. I didn't ask either doctor about getting pregnant!! They both suggested it to me. The reason the doctors are suggesting to get pregnant is because they reckon I am gettting too old, I turned 28 3 weeks ago and because my health is not going to get any better and because being a diabetic makes it harder to conceive especially when you are a diabetic as long as I am.

Neither hubby or I smoke or drink, I do not like the smell of smoke and I go faint with the smell of it.

Where is this £545 tax credit coming out of or who is entitled to it, if you don't mind me asking of course?

jellyhead

£545 a year is the amount of child tax credits hubby and i get for having a child, then it will be doubled for the first year of baby's life then drop back down to £545. tax credits amounts are different for everyone though so i couldn't say if you'd get it or not. for my own personal budget, the extra £545 until the baby is one can be used for the cot, pram etc. because they overpaid me so i already have it sitting in the bank. then i was hoping that the baby wouldn't cost much more than the extra child benefit i'd be getting. the only thing that will throw my budget out of the window is if i can't breastfeed and have to spend a fiver a week on tins of formula lol!

i think my diabetic friend was around 28 when she had her daughter. it took more than 3 years for her to concieve although she thinks that was due to her hubby drinking too much!

so yes, you will get more money. the amount of money people spend on their babies varies enormously and i think the huge figures you see quoted in the press include nursery fees, not everybody uses nursery. a girl in the playground spent more than 500 on her pram but i wouldn't spend anywhere near that amount, cots vary a lot in price too and some people buy a whole nursery full of co-ordinating baby furniture but i really don't think the baby minds if his cupboards match or if they're cheap argos ones lol!

good luck with it all :-)

Jo4

I am just after entering our details on the Inland Revenue site for Child Tax Credit. When it asked for the childs date of birth, I entered 01 April 2005 and it says we would be entitled to £2712.34! That works out at £52.16 a week, could this be right? Is this site accurate?

jellyhead

hi, it could be right yes, tax credits are generous when your income is low. there's another site, entitledto you could try for comparison.

Jo4

Would I get £17 Child Benefit as well as the possible £52.16 a week for Child Tax Credit, total of £69.16?? Would I still be entitled to the £500 Sure Start Grant?

jellyhead

surestart grant yes i'm pretty sure, but child benefit i don't know, it was just income support i was on back then but they deducted the child benefit from your income support. i don't know how the new system works sorry ... there must be someone on here on the current IS system with children who could help though?

Lyndsay_21

yes if your on income support you still recieve the £500 sure start even if u get CHtax credit. just make sure you send off for it you dont get it automatically and u have to waith till your 28wks (i think) till you can send it off.