Nice People 12: Nice in Nice

SingleSue

LydiaJ wrote: »

Hope everything goes well for you both.



Congratulations on earning enough not to get CB. Not that I'm surprised. You are obviously very capable, so hearing that you're successful fits in with what else we know of you. :T

Sorry to any NP who may have felt it was insensitive of me to forget that CB isn't universal any more. I've never been within sight of failing to qualify, so that end of it isn't on my radar.

Must admit, I forget about that too....if me and hubby had still been together, we wouldn't qualify either just based on 2005/6 salaries!

silvercar

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I've not even gone back to work yet, but there is no help at all with childcare from benefits as far as we're concerned - and we don't get child benefit now, either. For either of our two darlings!

michaels beat me to it, suggesting buying childcare vouchers. It is meant to be tax efficient...

The only help we received for the children was child benefit. The rules changed (that would have made us ineligible) a few months after DS2 left school.

silvercar

michaels wrote: »

We currently live on an income it seems most would struggle with in order to qualify for child benefit with and pay rises, bonuses etc all going into pension which makes fiscal sense but means our income is gradually squeezed by inflation, the answer has got to be for DW to find a school hours only job....

There are other answers, sounds to me like the tail is wagging the dog. The difference between what you could earn if you set your mind to it and what you forego is beyond the range most would consider acceptable.

Out of curiosity, does rental income effect your child benefit entitlement? Or for that matter CTC/ WTC?

silvercar

Was going to post something then decided the other side would be safer. If you have a moment I'd be interested in opinions.

LydiaJ

michaels wrote: »

You and NDB should probably pay yourself via a company and have 'grandfathered' childcare vouchers which your nanny could then have registered to accept.

We currently live on an income it seems most would struggle with in order to qualify for child benefit with and pay rises, bonuses etc all going into pension which makes fiscal sense but means our income is gradually squeezed by inflation, the answer has got to be for DW to find a school hours only job....

I don't understand that. In order to qualify for CB you only need to be below £50k. That's way more than median income, so it can't be an income that "most would struggle with" because it's an income that's more than most get.

I understand that I only have 3 people to support rather than 5, but I've never been anywhere close to £50k and I consider myself quite well off. I wouldn't have described myself as "struggling" even before getting the capital from the accident.

lostinrates

LydiaJ wrote: »

Congratulations on earning enough not to get CB. Not that I'm surprised. You are obviously very capable, so hearing that you're successful fits in with what else we know of you. :T

Sorry to any NP who may have felt it was insensitive of me to forget that CB isn't universal any more. I've never been within sight of failing to qualify, so that end of it isn't on my radar.

When it was universal it was not mandatory to accept it. But the child doesn't get sent a national insurance card/ number automatically , so that needs to be sorted out.

If you wanted to drop out of 'the system' I'm guessing it would be a good way to start.

Doozergirl

As someone who struggles to pay private school fees, I guess struggling is what ever you feel struggling is. . I don't need Caribbean Holidays or Hermes handbags and eating baked beans on certain days is a little closer to home than I'd like it to be.

lemonjelly

lostinrates wrote: »

Coastal interior ideas for pn's browsing

http://www.housetohome.co.uk/room-idea/picture/coastal-living-room-design-ideas-10-of-the-best/2

Pinched for summer house ideas

zagubov wrote: »

Dunno but I've always wondered about what other weird dish- serving combinations were tried out and failed e.g. porridge in a string bag, etc.:)

Our first house had a scary electric cable going out to the garage, which came down in a thunderstorm, but it wasn't anything like as scary as the wiring system you described. I did wonder if some people lack the genes that permit fear.

When I realised what they'd done, I started feeling very unsafe, even just stood on the grass! Completely nuts!
Now all disconnected, & a full electrical test showed all to be ok (the place was rewired within the last 12 months!)

lemonjelly

LydiaJ wrote: »

But I was talking about council tax and out of work benefits that PN could claim now without waiting until she's found a job. I thought capital was taken into account for those?? My general impression was that capital is included in means testing when the DWP does it, but not when HMRC does it. But I admit that the only benefits I know anything about are CTC/WTC, CB and WPA, never having claimed anything else. (Well, not unless you count claiming HB for a few months in 1986-7 before all the rules changed.)

Yes, but I did say the limit for council tax benefit has gone up to 16k in my post.
Your general impression is broadly correct (pension credit is the anomaly) regarding capital.
Arguably, PN could claim WTC now as a self employed person on a ridiculously low income if she chose.
Alternatively, there is no reason whatsoever that PN couldn't claim JSA either, as the capital limit for JSA is also below 16k.

lostinrates

Doozergirl wrote: »

As someone who struggles to pay private school fees, I guess struggling is what ever you feel struggling is. . I don't need Caribbean Holidays or Hermes handbags and eating baked beans on certain days is a little closer to home than I'd like it to be.

I think there is struggling to meet obligations of choice, and......not having choice. The latter is the real struggling IMO. However tough we find it to make things make sense financially at times we try to remember we are lucky to be making the choices we've made. Hard at times, but true.

I do agree with pastures though, that in many cases benefits are making un up equitable society that working people on top of trying to provide the same provision of housing/ etc ( though think they are making different choices) they are losing something infinitely harder to value: time. The system of so much eligibility for something little back, IMO, is convoluted, but keeps many not complaining too much for fear of losing their bit too, which is understandable.