Mooloo's struggle with babies and bills

Savvy_sewing

Seaxwyn wrote: »

Deirdre Barlow is not such a bad look! My dad used to call her Sexy Specs.

(My own worst fear is that I look like Delia Smith.)

Sorry to hear of the blow of income dropping. That can't be right. Do your daughters get housing benefit also? They should surely be paying a fair share of the rent and bills.

Hi Seaxwyn,
Its one of those things that seem to plague me all the time, the rise and fall of our fortunes.
I do get money out of the twins. I cant get housing benefit for them, we have asked about it, but as we are related its not possible. I get a disregard for them until they are 25 while on benefits. Otherwise I would not get as much as I do get, apparantly.
The girls do give me money towards all the bills out of their money, but half the time there is something wrong with signing on etc, and one of them is paying back "crisis loans", the other had a form go missing and no benefit for the past 3 weeks. I am fed up of it all.
I keep telling everyone that they have learning difficulties and can I not be informed of things that are wrong, but its always a no go. Has been the same thing since they hit 16. I should be used to it by now, but some how it just never seems very just to me. How do some people live like kings on the state? I dont seem to manage it, and neither do most of the people here on MSE or we wouldnt be here!.

Re Dierdrie Barlow, I am hoping I never look that bad again!! It was the style big glasses 10 years ago. Honest. I also had to have National Health ones as I was a single mum then, and so didnt have enough money to buy fashionable glasses. Ah well. Soon I wont have to use that passport, the new one I hope will be back and I can bury it in a draw with the old ones since I was 16. (least I had them before I moved here, dont know if I still have?) Thats the unpacking niggling at me again. Still boxes in a lot of the rooms to sort out.

Been working in the Cowley shop the last 2 days. Much better then the shop I usually work in. If I can get on with all the volunteers, I may very well apply for it permanantly afterall. See how the next 2 weeks go. Not at work now until Friday as I have to work all day friday. So my 16 hours will have been up by then. Decided to take the time off as I have Physio tomorrow and the Nuerologist on Thursday. So I dont want to over do it before I see them.
Just going to see what bargains I can nab on Tesco, while there are a few money off coupons around. See if I can get a few things in before the wages are swallowed up in other things.
I am really trying not to dig into the savings pot, as I want to feel a bit more secure and have a slush fund for accidents and emergencies, as with no credit its scarey not having money in the bank.
Hope all is well with everyone.
Grit teeth and head over onto my other email address so that I can get my tesco order done on line.
A womans work is never done.!!:rotfl: :rotfl:

Savvy_Sue

I'm just thinking a bit more about your girls - it's unclear how bad their learning difficulties are, but it might be worth having a scout around the Public Guardians' Office website to see if there are any helpful options there. Although you'd have to save up for getting Power of Attorney, which might be more than you need anyway!

They have lived away from home, even if they didn't cope entirely with that, but I know when I worked for a Housing Association that vulnerable tenants could give permission for letters to be copied to their support worker / helpful relative etc. Plus we had tenancy support workers who would visit and read letters aloud, give help with filling in forms, and generally try to make sure that vulnerable adults didn't get evicted when all they needed was a bit of support!

Eager_Elephant

Hi Mooloo

Are they definitely using the correct wages for you. If you get paid weekly use your gross figure, deduct tax and NI and half a pension and then that s the figure they should use. If you get paid monthly do the same but with the final figure x 12 and divide by 52 to get weekly.

When you were on SSP you may have been receiving a disabled premium in your applicable amount if you had been off sick for a certain time - obviously when you go back to work you would lose that.

Have the council confirmed what your fair rent is? How many bedrooms do you have and how many do they say you need?

Regarding your daughters benefits could you be an appointee - this is not as official as the Guardianship mentioned above. Here is a link to Newcastle City website http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/core.nsf/a/wr_appointees this gives quite a good guide. I think this is possibly what you need.

If I think of anything else I will come back.

EE

Savvy_sewing

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

Hi Mooloo

Are they definitely using the correct wages for you. If you get paid weekly use your gross figure, deduct tax and NI and half a pension and then that s the figure they should use. If you get paid monthly do the same but with the final figure x 12 and divide by 52 to get weekly.

When you were on SSP you may have been receiving a disabled premium in your applicable amount if you had been off sick for a certain time - obviously when you go back to work you would lose that.

Have the council confirmed what your fair rent is? How many bedrooms do you have and how many do they say you need?

Regarding your daughters benefits could you be an appointee - this is not as official as the Guardianship mentioned above. Here is a link to Newcastle City website http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/core.nsf/a/wr_appointees this gives quite a good guide. I think this is possibly what you need.

If I think of anything else I will come back.

EE

Morning Eager Elephant,
The workings out at the moment are just mine. I have sent a copy of my wages off in the post to the HB department, and will have to wait for them to get back to me. As I am currently a NT payer, even though the difference has to go out to the Insolvency Agency representative instead, the council do not account for this, so my current income is proportionately higher than it would be once the tax has to start being paid. I did mulitplyand divide my figures as you have stated.
I am not aware of any Disability premiums, I had SSP of £72.55.
The fair rent was confirmed at £1.500. The landlord had asked for £2,000. The house has been described as 6 bedroomed. Although really the sittingroom and dining room have been advertised as bedrooms, and the kitchen and garage have been knocked together to make a openplan kitchen living room. I think they have allowed me the full quota of rooms.
I have read your information on being an appointee. I will try and discuss it with the girls/and Twin2's social worker, to see what is best. We have currently got a solicitor working on her debts and her problems which had arrisen from the council. So hopefully that will all work out in the end. I just feel that I have so little left to work with these days. But I suppose I am not the first and wont be the last who has had to make changes to the financial detrement, to look after family.

Eager_Elephant

Hi Mooloo,

Once you have your figures for your income from wages you need to deduct a disregard of £25.00 because you are a working single parent.

If you include this disregard I think the part you need to pay is about £65.00 and not £90+ per week.

With reference to the NT tax code, this query was raised by me a while ago but I never got a proper answer. I will try to look in the huge guidance manual tomorrow and see if I can find out the correct answer. When I raised it with a team leader he seemed to think we should allow for Income Tax as you are NT tax code for a reason and it wasn't like you are gaining from the extra money.

Hope this is a bit better news

EE

Hope you

Savvy_sewing

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

Hi Mooloo,

Once you have your figures for your income from wages you need to deduct a disregard of £25.00 because you are a working single parent.

If you include this disregard I think the part you need to pay is about £65.00 and not £90+ per week.

With reference to the NT tax code, this query was raised by me a while ago but I never got a proper answer. I will try to look in the huge guidance manual tomorrow and see if I can find out the correct answer. When I raised it with a team leader he seemed to think we should allow for Income Tax as you are NT tax code for a reason and it wasn't like you are gaining from the extra money.

Hope this is a bit better news

EE

Hope you

Thanks. I shall be hoping that the information I gave HB will be sorted out soon. At least if I try to budget the higher figure, if it does come in at the lower one I will be happy.
There is a thread on here about the NT, but I dont know how to post a link. I logged on to it once so now am subscribed. there are various differences around, but I have asked my solicitor to look into it, and I had copied a bit of the posts and given them to him. It seems to be a bit hit and miss. I really appreciate what your doing for me. Thanks.

Keeping_Motivated

Hi Mooloo I've not posted for a while but I'm still reading. You are doing really well I know you feel you've still got alot to do but you've already done so much I mean moving house, starting back at work, keeping you relationship going and prioritising time for it, looking after the girls and helping with the children and also trying to keep your son on the straight and narrow, sorting the finances... All up there with the stress factors so cut yourself some slack and realise how much you have achieved.

I have no idea what is exactly wrong with the girls but could you claim carers allowance for them? Just a thought.

KM x

Savvy_sewing

Tried to post 3 times this week and lost it everytime, as I was logged off again before it went on the thread!.
Just a quick line to let people know that I still havent heard anything from the council or anything back from the solicitors etc. Infact nobody seams to be answering me, but there is good news on the off. I have been offered the job as Manager of the Cowley branch of BHF starting on Monday. And I can build my hours back up as I have been doing. So I am over the moon.
Havent got much time this evening I am cooking the dinner and then off to see DBF, its his daughters 15th Birthday today so I am taking over her present and card.
Will catch up with the finances etc, when I get the time.
Thanks for all the comments. I am working my way through all the options and suggestions, and have a learning disabilities assessment going on for twin 2 at the moment. Wish they would do twin1 as well. I did ask?
But the powers that be are slow to move.

Js_Other_Half

Excellent news about the job!

You may find that once the assessment of twin2 is carried out that they might be able to do twin 2. Ask whoever carries it out to ask questions about twin1 at the same time;)

Savvy_sewing

Been to work at the new shop today. Not sure it feels like my shop yet though. Positives from the volunteers has helped. Actually overheard the area manager telling the assistant manager that I was a good manager and that she would learn a lot from me. Gosh praise!. Now will I be able to live up to it.
Had a call from social worker asking who I had been in touch with within the council when I had to move. She has had a letter from my solicitor. So they are trying to find out what was said to me, and what was documented. Still awaiting that assessment. Least there has now been a contact from them with my twin2.
Nothing much else to report. Hope we all get a good weekend. I am off now hopefully we are going out to the quiz again. Not that we win but hey its the getting out.