To ask what other people's plans are re the 2015 Budget.

[RagingJellyBean]

I'll apologise because I know this is incredibly worn out and very much "done". But I'd actually like to know what plans people have for next year and the money we are all about to lose?

At the moment DH and I get a small amount (about £200 a month) but it helps immensely to pay the £400 odd nursery bill we get, but next year we will get nothing, we're above this new threshold so I'll have to pay the full bill from my £614 a month wages... Most of DH's wage goes on bills & feeding us for the month so he can't help out much with childcare...

What are everyone's plans? I don't know what's going to happen anymore £200 a month needs to cover £20 a week electric and £35 a week petrol ð??? I'm really quite scared ð???

[chasegirl]

Praying the car doesnt break and that inerest rates dont rise. Other than that I seem to be pretty stuck. All the calculations I do for increasing my hours at work and thus increased child care costs do nothibg to make up for the slashing of my income.
I plan to win the lottery :-\

[Babyroobs]

Increase my hours at work and try to work as many hours around my dh's work to cut down childcare costs.

[RagingJellyBean]

I'm much and such the same. Because I get paid quite a small amount any increase in hours would mean more expensive childcare so it kind of leaves me in the same position. I might have to start trying to find another full time job which isn't ideal, unless my boss matches what I might get...

[scarlets]

Do you mean tax credits? What are the new thresholds from April '16? I knew they'd be squeezed but I haven't checked the detail.

[RagingJellyBean]

Well combined DH and I get £24,620 and apparently that puts us above the new threshold. Or maybe it's that we don't get WTC anymore, either way we're no longer entitled to any TC's

[TheABC]

Very little. We are fortunate to be in the position of not qualifying for any childcare credits, etc. Am rather worried about the upcoming 30 free hours of childcare next year as I don't think the nursery will be able to subsidize that amount of cover, especially if the government puts up the base wage but not the amount they pay to nurseries for the children.

[meglet]

panicking at the moment . some cost cutting for my food bill I think. somehow.

and praying things don't break, ever.

[sandyeyes]

I am a lone parent carer and the budget changes won't affect my income drastically, except the overall freeze on benefit rates. But my longer term plan is to return to education over the next few years to try to get off benefits, and probably move in with my boyfriend, because I am sure the cuts won't end here.

[WayneRooneysHair]

My wife is panicking, if the rent goes up we could be looking at around £70 more a week, she's mentioned getting a second job or getting a full time job.

[Snozberry]

We are going to lose £2000 a year in tax credits and there is nowhere to cut back. We don't have anything non essential, we don't drive or have any luxuries to cut out. We already struggle a lot. Our rent is our biggest expenditure and I am scared that it will go up next year because of the changes for landlords which I don't really understand. At the moment I am still in full panic mode but I guess eventually I will have to figure out a plan which will probably be to just never eat.

[WhenMarnieWasThere]

Because we don't qualify for any benefits/tax credits etc, DH and I will actually be UP the staggering amount of £10 a month each.

The cost of the minimum wage rising will push prices up though. I work for the public sector and had my wage frozen for years which has not helped though.

[Giraffodil]

We have decided to start living as if they've been cut now and pay the £200 a month that we'll be losing off a credit card. We have to get used to it so we might as well start right now and hopefully be in a slightly better position in April.

It's not going to be easy. We are going to have to be clever with food shopping money. Clothes are going to have to last longer. We don't drive, go out, drink, smoke or go on holiday as it is.

There's not even any point in me increasing my work hours as they just take even more away.

If anything big gets broken we won't be able to replace it. I'm worried. We won't starve but life won't be easy at all.

[Giraffodil]

^^ also worried about rent going up

[moosehoof]

We are going to look into buying our council house. I understand that won't be a very popular decision, but as it is dh earns 25k and I earn 5.2k putting us just a smidge above the threshold. We have 2 teenagers who have finished education but are unable to find work atm, and living rurally means little choice for work or housing.
The alternative would be me quitting my part time job to bring us below 30k but it's a last resort.

[BettyCatKitten]

I've applied to work for another agency today. I already work 2 jobs, one contract part time and one agency. The problem is the agency work is 0 hours and I have to fit hours in with my main part time job and dh's hours. We both work in care, so it's low paid. DH is also applying for agency work alongside his other job too.
Obviously this means no family time at all, as we aim to be working opposite shifts pretty much 7 days/nights a week.

[mumofboyo]

We've gone through our monthly incomings and outgoings, will reduce what we can - sky TV package, phone tariffs etc and then hope that nothing ever breaks.

We can't afford for me not to work but neither can we afford for me to go full-time; and without the tax credits that we currently get, which is roughly £500 a month and pays almost all of our childcare fees, we can barely afford me working part-time either. We're screwed, basically.

Our plan is to use my family and dh's holiday days as extra childcare so I can work a few more days every so often and to find a way of paying off some outstanding debts now - old credit card bills, the settee finance and suchlike. We'll also have to sell nonessential items of high-ish value, such as my camera and some items of jewellery (which have huge sentimental value but we need to put food on the table rather than hang onto rings I never wear) and save our Tesco points to double them up and but ds' uniforms/Christmas presents.

It's shit - it's really going to hit us hard and I can't see a way out of it until the dc get old enough to not need childcare.

[TheHouseOnBellSt]

It's so annoying. My Mother has wound me up by saying "Oh well I didn't get ANY money from the government when you kids were small....everyone in your position will just have to get an extra evening job"

Oh yeah? Who'se paying for the childcare Mother!!

I just put the phone down on her.

[Goshthatsspicy]

I'm still wondering ...

[Goshthatsspicy]

We will definitely have to adjust our food bill though.

[RagingJellyBean]

It's so sad seeing this. I can't believe how harsh the cuts are going to affect everyone.
I'm really worried because DH and I have absolutely no way of sourcing extra childcare as our parents live too far away and mainly work full time. I just can't see how we are going to survive if we can barely survive at the moment, I'm always in my overdraft by at least £100 which means my wage is always £100 less and the cycle continues

[bloodyteenagers]

Starve.
I am just holding head above water. cannot get childcare for anti social hours so cannot get a second job.

[TelephoneIgnoringMachine]

I'm looking at going back to work f/t. Not sure if it will be doable, with childcare to pay for - we may have to ask family to help. My DM frequently looks after my nieces, perhaps she will be willing to help us too. My MIL is disabled but DH thinks PILs will be happy to look after DD on a regular basis. All this is assuming I can get more hours at work. It's not ideal for me to gor back to work f/t, as I suffer from hemiplegic migraines, which are triggered by stress and the medication which is supposed to control them, doesn't.

[eatyouwithaspoon]

We are losing £200 a month. Im not sure we already shop in aldi and lidl and meal plan. Our elderly dog may need to be rehomed as i will no longer ve able to afford the insurance and food but in reality who is going to want an elderly dog so it may sound callous but i hope we lose him in the next 10 months so he can die at home in peace with us. We dont have sky, flat screen, drink or smoke and no holidays. I donk have new clothes other than off ebay when nthey wear out, hair dressers for me once a year. Will get rid of moble at £8 nbut nothing let to cut and already work full time and another job would mean paying out on childcare. All i can think of is dropping a meal a day will do wonders for the diet and the kids can still eat then

[NutellaOnCrumpets]

Second job. Might see if there's anything I can do from home as already work full time mon-fri and can't rely on childcare at the other times for a second job. So needs to be something that works around me. (God knows what though.)
Cut back on food even more. Stop having monthly takeaway treat. Scale back on Xmas. Pray that my bus ticket to get to/from work doesn't increase any more.

[jazzdancepink]

Im gonna try to give up smoking