Help Needed, what are we entitled too

Mollycat13 · 22 December 2017 at 10:48AM

Another thing to consider is whether the area you live has rolled out Universal Credits. If so, you husband would be required to earn at least full time minimum wage. Therefore, working 24hours a week on minimum wage would see you considerably worse off.

If you do an SOA, the lovely people here will help you to budget for your current income.

Even if Universal Credits is not live, tax credits could (and probably will to line up with UC) change the hours required in order to qualify for WTC.

clairec79 · 22 December 2017 at 7:09PM

Your main issue is the travel, so the sensible options are either a) move closer to work or b) get a closer to home (fulltime) job

Or you could work parttime when he's at home to prop up your income (however if he's working a distance the commute time will cut into that opportunity)

We were in a similar situation with three children (and similar income) several years ago - but could cope mainly because we have a low mortgage (because when we took out the mortgage prekids we knew we ideally wanted someone at home with the kids) and only had one car - to be honest you only need the one if he is working and needs the car for work what do you NEED it for (not what do you use it for - a lot of what you use it for could probably be done using his or walk to/public transport - or just not done - if you had to)

iammumtoone · 22 December 2017 at 8:18PM

I decided to be a SAHM gave up a good job. My ex earned enough to keep us all and it would have stayed that way but we split up which left me a single Mum having to go on benefits.

At the time I was not worried I had a good job previously I expected to walk into another one. Big mistake I had been out of the workplace for too long nobody would touch me.

Eventually I got lucky on a wage much less than I had previously, it took me further years to start to earn more. I am still not at the level I would have been if I had not given up my previous job.

Being out of work/on low wages is a trap that is very hard to get out of even if you are capable of more.

I can tell you from experience if you have held a relatively well paid job, it is virtually impossible to get a min wage job in a supermarket etc (I naively thought it would be easy). Think about it, why should a supermarket employ someone with no experience of working in supermarkets when there are lots of more qualified people with the relevant experience applying for those roles.

Alice_Holt · 22 December 2017 at 10:07PM

iammumtoone wrote: »

I decided to be a SAHM gave up a good job. My ex earned enough to keep us all and it would have stayed that way but we split up which left me a single Mum having to go on benefits.

At the time I was not worried I had a good job previously I expected to walk into another one. Big mistake I had been out of the workplace for too long nobody would touch me.

Eventually I got lucky on a wage much less than I had previously, it took me further years to start to earn more. I am still not at the level I would have been if I had not given up my previous job.

Being out of work/on low wages is a trap that is very hard to get out of even if you are capable of more.

I can tell you from experience if you have held a relatively well paid job, it is virtually impossible to get a min wage job in a supermarket etc (I naively thought it would be easy). Think about it, why should a supermarket employ someone with no experience of working in supermarkets when there are lots of more qualified people with the relevant experience applying for those roles.

Brilliant post.

And I can tell the OP from my experience of advising at my local CAB - you really do not want a life on benefits.

FBaby · 23 December 2017 at 11:05AM

I can tell you from experience if you have held a relatively well paid job, it is virtually impossible to get a min wage job in a supermarket etc (I naively thought it would be easy).

This is a very good point and something I've experienced too. When my first was 4 months old, we had to move and therefore gave up my job. I applied for many jobs related to my education/experience, but there were not that many so in the meantime, decided to apply for low level entry jobs assuming I'd have no problem getting one, but they are not stupid and knew that it was only a temporary measure. Training is expensive and they had nothing to gain employing me for me to walk out in just a few months. I didn't get one response from any of these jobs I applied for. Thankfully, I get my break through a few weeks later, although it did involved 1 1/2 travelling there and back which I did for three years. Not fun, but no regrets as I wouldn't be where I am now if I hadn't done it.

meer53 · 23 December 2017 at 11:46AM

I'm a single Mum with 2 children, ex went off with someone else, i was working at the time but only 20 hours a week. I didn't need the salary at the time. All of a sudden, no money, (he decided he couldn't pay me anything, i told him thats OK, i'll manage without you) no choice but to work full time or lose my home. I never claimed anything apart from Child Benefit, this was pre Child/Working Tax Credits.

I managed, it was hard but i did it by living within my means. OP, this is what you need to look at, not "exploiting the system" for your own gain. Get rid of the second car, what do you need it for ? Money saved instantly, post a SOA, loads of help and advice about making savings there. OR, get yourself a job, my children have blossomed as a result of being able to mix and interact with other children/adults from a young age by going to nursery/pre school etc, you might want to be a SAHM but you need to face facts, you may be better of in the short term financially but you're not preparing for the future by thinking about claiming benefits.

I find it hard to have any sympathy for anyone who chooses this lifestyle.

parkrunner · 26 December 2017 at 5:34PM

gemmajones1221 wrote: »

Im a bit of a situation and her is the background, I live with my partner in the south west and have two children, a 6 month old and 3 year old

At present my OH works full time to support us on a salary of £28’000 which brings in £1700 after tax, I don’t work as im a stay at home mum

The issue you we face is the fact his job is 40 miles away so he does 80 miles a day which is nearly £300 a month in fuel plus £50 car insurance and £20 tax as we have to have two cars

After he has paid to get to work we are left with about £1350 - £1400, from this we pau £750 rent, £130 council tax, internet, phones, plus other bits making us left with about £300 a month which is then used to buy food at around £70 so we are really struggling to get through

Now before I start I don’t want anyone thinking we want to go on benefits as we are a very proud family, however this cant be normal, to be so broke every month

My questions are as follows:

How does all this tax credits work, as some people have mentioned we would be better off just working 24 hrs between us both and getting the top up? Is this right?

Would we get help with housing benefit too?>

If my OH just took a local job on min wage for 24 hours, how much do you think we would get combined with all benefit help?

Does anyone know what options we have?

Ive tried the online calculators but they always give different figures

Thanks

Why do you have to have two cars?

RachelN76 · 27 December 2017 at 10:38PM

I feel for you.

I work full time, and earn a little more than your husband (but not much). My husband has just given up work to stay at home to sort out childcare issue for our two children who have special needs - nothing major, but enough to make childcare really tricky.

We have nothing left by the middle of the month. Nothing. Our savings have all gone, and I’ve just come on here to see how I can possibly manage to earn or save a few extra quid each month.

My husband doesn’t drive, so we don’t have the expense of a second car - but I’m not convinced that getting rid of that would help you a great deal because it costs us £9 for a bus ticket just for him to take the kids swimming.

Could you maybe get a part time job a couple of evenings a week? Would that help at all?

I don’t have any great advice for you, but I hope you can get through this part, and your situation starts to look up soon.

kingfisherblue · 28 December 2017 at 10:37AM

RachelN76 wrote: »

I feel for you.

I work full time, and earn a little more than your husband (but not much). My husband has just given up work to stay at home to sort out childcare issue for our two children who have special needs - nothing major, but enough to make childcare really tricky.

We have nothing left by the middle of the month. Nothing. Our savings have all gone, and I’ve just come on here to see how I can possibly manage to earn or save a few extra quid each month.

My husband doesn’t drive, so we don’t have the expense of a second car - but I’m not convinced that getting rid of that would help you a great deal because it costs us £9 for a bus ticket just for him to take the kids swimming.

Could you maybe get a part time job a couple of evenings a week? Would that help at all?

I don’t have any great advice for you, but I hope you can get through this part, and your situation starts to look up soon.

Rachel, if your children have special needs, you might be able to get Disability Living Allowance for them. This then increases the amount of tax credits that you receive, and your husband might be able to claim Carer's Allowance. Yours is a different situation than the OP, especially as childcare for children with disabilities can be nigh on impossible to find in some areas!

Also, depending on your childrens' needs, they might qualify for bus passes in their own right. Some areas have a companion pass, so an adult companion can also travel for free, but this isn't the case in every area. You usually apply through your local council. In Merseyside, you apply through Merseytravel and as well as buses, you can travel on trains or the ferry as well.

I would also suggest that you post a Statement of Affairs on the Debtfree Wannabe board - you don't have to be in debt to ask for advice. It's amazing how the posters there can help you to sort out your finances and make money stretch further.

Jenniefour · 28 December 2017 at 1:22PM

gemmajones1221 wrote: »

and the kids spending god knows how many hours with a stranger in childcare.

Gemma, think about this. Everyone who has anything to do with taking care of children - teachers, teaching assistants, providers of childcare, football coaches etc. are all strangers until we get to know them. It's a reason that simply does not stand up.

You need a much longer term plan here, not just one for the next few years, to make sure your future together as a family is not going to be permanently blighted by decisions you make now. Relying on benefits, when there are other options, is very hard to get out of once done, not least because you and your husband will have made yourselves much less attractive for future employers (any employers) and you will have probably seriously damaged your future earning potential. Since you're both in your late 30's you also need to consider future pension provision - there's nothing worse than being poor when you're old. So I wouldn't advise that your husband pack in his present work unless/until he can get a good job (not just minimum wage) nearer home in his profession.

Yes, it's hard for couples with young families and it always has been unless one or both parents are in the very small minority of very high earners. But try to avoid decisions that might come back to bite you later and make a different plan for getting through these next few years.

Help Needed, what are we entitled too

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free