Getting married, joint finances who pays for childcare?

krustylouise

onlyroz wrote: »

In that case I'm not quite sure where this "I'll be worse off by £624 a month" comes from. And presumably you only have to pay the holiday club for a maximum of 14 weeks a year?

I'm not entirely sure where the confusion is coming from?

My tax credits are currently £624 per month, when OH moves in we won't get that. My childcare is £12.50 per week x 39 weeks a year and £100 per week x 13 weeks a year. I will foot the entire bill for this with no tax credits. So technically I will be £780 per month financially worse off.

Does that make sense now I've broke it down?

ETA - I looked into Childcare vouchers but I was entitled to approximately £18 a month as they can only give you the difference between your wage and NMW.

purpleshoes_2

krustylouise wrote: »

I'm not entirely sure where the confusion is coming from?

My tax credits are currently £624 per month, when OH moves in we won't get that. My childcare is £12.50 per week x 39 weeks a year and £100 per week x 13 weeks a year. I will foot the entire bill for this with no tax credits. So technically I will be £780 per month financially worse off.

Does that make sense now I've broke it down?

But surely you'll get a contribution to the bills that you wouldnt be getting if he wasnt moving in, I know your food costs will go up, but other bills will go down, fuel, council tax.

Tax credits arent guaranteed to stay at the same level every year anyway, they could go up or down and with the new universal credit system coming in (if it does), you might have got less as the years go on.

Plus, at some point you might get a better paid job which would wipe out your WTC altogether.

krustylouise

the joint bills atm work out as approximately £570pm, if I lose £624 plus have to pay £140pm childcare then I do lose out.

bryanb

krustylouise wrote: »

Ok, so how would you do it so it sounds like a marriage? That would be advice...

I'd like it to say

"We are getting married and will be combining our incomes/assets"

Rather than we'll be splitting the bills etc.

Your thread title said Joint finances, why not do it?

But if it works for you - Have a happy marriage! I hope it lasts.

krustylouise

bryanb wrote: »

I'd like it to say

"We are getting married and will be combining our incomes/assets"

Rather than we'll be splitting the bills etc.

But if it works for you - Have a happy marriage! I hope it lasts.

Thank you, and thank you for your advice.

onlyroz

krustylouise wrote: »

ETA - I looked into Childcare vouchers but I was entitled to approximately £18 a month as they can only give you the difference between your wage and NMW.

Who is "they"? I get £243 a month in childcare vouchers which saves me around £50 a month in income tax.

I also agree that you'll be saving money in other ways by living as a couple - only one set of council tax to pay and the heating bill will be the same. Perhaps the water and electricity bill will go up a bit, but it's more efficient to cook a meal for two than to cook two meals for one. Etc etc.

Poppie68

We have been married 23 years and have always held separate bank accounts with which we split the bills and whatever is left in both accounts is used by both of us..i can't see your marriage lasting if you actually go through with maintaining both your accounts and whatever is left after bills is only available to the account owner..it's a huge recipe for arguments.

krustylouise

onlyroz wrote: »

Who is "they"? I get £243 a month in childcare vouchers which saves me around £50 a month in income tax.

I also agree that you'll be saving money in other ways by living as a couple - only one set of council tax to pay and the heating bill will be the same. Perhaps the water and electricity bill will go up a bit, but it's more efficient to cook a meal for two than to cook two meals for one. Etc etc.

as mentioned above I will be losing money, I will lose £624pm tc plus have to pay £140pm childcare. He will be paying £570 towards joint bills. There is a deficit £194. I went onto Kiddicare vouchers. Currently my work and OH's work don't offer them, however they are looking into this for me.

LannieDuck

purpleshoes wrote: »

I think the person who needs to be bearing more of a share of the costs is the childs father. Im not sure that the new husband should automatically pay half the lost working tax credits. Its not his fault that the system is set up in a way that its means tested.

I do agree about merging the finances if possible.

I didn't think working tax credit had anything to do with children? So nothing to do with children's father.

OP is going to be £600 worse off if her OH moves in. That's not her fault anymore than its his. Presumably he wants to live with her, and she wants to live with him, so makes sense to me that they should split the cost of their new arrangement.

krustylouise

Poppie68 wrote: »

We have been married 23 years and have always held separate bank accounts with which we split the bills and whatever is left in both accounts is used by both of us..i can't see your marriage lasting if you actually go through with maintaining both your accounts and whatever is left after bills is only available to the account owner..it's a huge recipe for arguments.

I never stated that what was left was purely mine or his.