When to start a family? Can we afford to?

daphne_descends

Are people seriously asking how to get 'their' tax back if they don't have children? Child benefit is £18.80 per week. I find that quite bizarre...

To the OP, go with your heart on this, really I have not long had my first baby at 27 - when my mum was my age she had a 7yo and a 3yo :eek: Babies can cost the earth, or they can cost very little, that is up to you. I think if you can afford to save money, you can afford to have a baby.

About work - when you tell your employer that you are pregnant they must carry out a risk assessment of your duties, and find you something suitable to do when the physical work becomes too hard. It is their problem not yours, and if they cannot accommodate you, you do not have to leave, they would have to suspend you on full pay until the time that you would be taking your maternity leave.

affordmylife

i too have always suffered with my skin. however it was never worse than when i was pregnant.

it has finally cleared up in the last year or two. no outbreaks at all now. im 41.

i hope you have better luck.

mariagti

fac73 wrote: »

Are people seriously asking how to get 'their' tax back if they don't have children? Child benefit is £18.80 per week. I find that quite bizarre...

To the OP, go with your heart on this, really I have not long had my first baby at 27 - when my mum was my age she had a 7yo and a 3yo :eek: Babies can cost the earth, or they can cost very little, that is up to you. I think if you can afford to save money, you can afford to have a baby.

About work - when you tell your employer that you are pregnant they must carry out a risk assessment of your duties, and find you something suitable to do when the physical work becomes too hard. It is their problem not yours, and if they cannot accommodate you, you do not have to leave, they would have to suspend you on full pay until the time that you would be taking your maternity leave.

Full pay if they suspend me? Really? I have to clock in and out at work, and they dont pay me sick pay if im off. You only get stat pay after 3 days of being off. My work sucks

miserly_mum

affordmylife wrote: »

im sorry if i caused any problems that was never my intention.

my husband and i both work full time (well i do 9-3 term time only) and we only get child benefit of £120 per month.

hubby only earns £20,000 but does tons of overtime to make a living wage and i work in order to feed our family (which has shrunk over the past few years from 7 of us to 4). we have a heap of a car and one holiday per year of usually 4 days in the UK somewhere.

so im wondering should hubby stop overtime and i give up work and then we claim some benefits?

i dont mean to be infammatory but can you see where im coming from?

Obviously with you and hubby both working full time plus his overtime you are earning too much to qualify for working tax credit.

If hubby cut his overtime out or you left work would you be entitled to tax credits at a high enough rate to maintain your income as it is now?

If the answer is yes then what you really have to consider is

1. Would we benefit as a family/couple having more time together

2 Would Hubby be less tired/stressed not having to work all those extra hours

3Would I be happier at home or do I work because I feel claiming "tax credits" is sponging off the state etc etc

Tax credit is not a benefit its there to help all families who work, even yours

You sound very resentful in your posts towards people who qualify for "benefits" or claim what they are intitled to?

cluuuuur

There never seems to be a right time IMO. I fell pregnant about a year earlier than we had planned, and we're having to sacrifice a few things here and there to get prepared...but it's well worth it. I honestly think that, if we hadn't conceived far, far quicker than anyone would ever have believed, that this time next year we would still be thinking about it rather than actually trying...

JoJoB

fac73 wrote: »

Are people seriously asking how to get 'their' tax back if they don't have children? Child benefit is £18.80 per week. I find that quite bizarre...

Yes, I find that idea a bit strange too. The taxes we pay aren't meant soley for our own benefit but for the communal good (in theory lol, not sure how bombing other countries and giving wedge to supermarkets fits into this). Loads of our taxes go towards paying for things which will not directly affect us, our taxes are a communal fund for running the country, we can't pick and choose which taxes we pay depending upon what we are likely to get back in the future.

moanymoany

If you want to know how to have a baby without spending a fortune - in fact spending very little, I would suggest buying 'The Tightwad Gazette' by Amy Decysy.... whatever! It can be bought from Amazon 2nd hand quite cheaply and the ideas in there will save you lots and lots of cash. Go for the one that combines all three if you can.

The books will give an insight into other ways to save on income. These books and the OS boards have helped dh and I save more money than we could have dreamed of saving before we started to read them and follow their advice.

Also, West Sussex give away nappies and so do other councils and county councils. Presumably it is cheaper than disposing of disposables. Phone round and ask. Your local NCT or library should know.

ceridwen

Taxes going to the communal good - that is true. Unfortunately we are all in the position of money being taken off us for things we dont agree with (invading other peoples countries comes instantly to mind and supermarkets having helping hands and quite a long list of things in fact).

The problem with not getting back what one has paid for at a personal level if one remains childless (and some people are by choice) arises if one is at a low income level and even 2 x £18 odd per week of ones income tax coming back to you at some point in your life for a period of some years does come to quite a sizeable amount of money by the standards of a low-earner (who may well at the same time have to cope with the extra costs involved in living in a dear area and/or being single). It is not so much that one begrudges the money - as that you need your money yourself - as you are struggling financially yourself and cannot afford to pay out for something for yourself - but never get it.

What is needed is for each individual to be able to nominate a portion of our tax as being refundable to ourselves at some point of our choice over the course of our lifetime. Those who choose to have children will receive it as child benefit/those who dont might opt instead to receive additional State pension in their latter years or some money towards further education. That way - fairness lies - everyone receives back their "personal" element of tax whatever their respective choices in life are. No choice is seen as more or less worthy of support than any other way - its just that - personal choice.

"Blue skies thinking" as the phrase goes - some would use their "personal" element for having children/some to reduce their University loans repayable/my personal choice would be to take back my "personal element" to subsidise my pension (as it will be based on a low income). Indeed there will be many people who have never claimed child benefit and have worked full-time throughout life and come retirement wont have enough to live on and could do with receiving their "personal element" back then on top of their State Pension.

No condemnation of anyone - just scrupulous fairness.

daphne_descends

ceridwen, what strange logic you use. I'm not sure where to begin picking holes in your post.

Just to make a correction, £18.80 is only for the first child in a family, it drops to £11? for the second/subsequent children (not sure of the figure as I only have one child) - I assume that's what you meant by 2x£18?

Ok, let's talk about fairness. You mention low-earners. They pay less tax than me (average-earner) in the first place, so not sure why they should receive the same amount as me (using YOUR logic, not mine). Some people earn so little as to not pay any tax at all. Are you suggesting that they shouldn't receive any benefits at all?

I'm using £18 a week to pay for things that my baby needs (so putting money back into the economy), if you need more money to put into your pension why don't you do what I would have to, and get a higher paid job? Why should you get to subsidise your pension when I don't?

I am raising a future tax payer, why should you get a bonus for not? My son might be someone's doctor or lawyer one day, and you want your tax back? How much do you think one person's food (when he is older obviously) and clothes, school uniform, school books, trips, etc cost?

Tell you what, you stump up these costs for my child and I'll give you my child benefit.

In the meantime if you don't like giving supermarkets money, then don't! But understand what you're talking about when it comes to child benefit before you mouth off again?

I think you misunderstand what 'fair' means, it is not every having an equal slice of the pie, it is having what you need. No child = no child benefit, the same way employment = no jobseekers allowance.
Sorry to the OP for the hijack.

pukkamum

fac73 wrote: »

ceridwen, what strange logic you use. I'm not sure where to begin picking holes in your post.

Just to make a correction, £18.80 is only for the first child in a family, it drops to £11? for the second/subsequent children (not sure of the figure as I only have one child) - I assume that's what you meant by 2x£18?

Ok, let's talk about fairness. You mention low-earners. They pay less tax than me (average-earner) in the first place, so not sure why they should receive the same amount as me (using YOUR logic, not mine). Some people earn so little as to not pay any tax at all. Are you suggesting that they shouldn't receive any benefits at all?

I'm using £18 a week to pay for things that my baby needs (so putting money back into the economy), if you need more money to put into your pension why don't you do what I would have to, and get a higher paid job? Why should you get to subsidise your pension when I don't?

I am raising a future tax payer, why should you get a bonus for not? My son might be someone's doctor or lawyer one day, and you want your tax back? How much do you think one person's food (when he is older obviously) and clothes, school uniform, school books, trips, etc cost?

Tell you what, you stump up these costs for my child and I'll give you my child benefit.

In the meantime if you don't like giving supermarkets money, then don't! But understand what you're talking about when it comes to child benefit before you mouth off again?

I think you misunderstand what 'fair' means, it is not every having an equal slice of the pie, it is having what you need. No child = no child benefit, the same way employment = no jobseekers allowance.
Sorry to the OP for the hijack.

:T :T :T :T :T