To wonder what’s the point when I’m left with this after bills?

Who buys cleaning products every week though? I haven't bought any this week. Pets are a luxury as well, not a necessity. It's about choices some times.

Washing powder is £6 and that's for a small box, nappies are £10, wipes are like £5 bubble bath £3.00 for a decent radox dishwasher tablets are about £6.00 aswell so that's £29 and I'm in a less expensive part of the country.

By the way she's being penalised because as a single mother she is only entitled to 12500 pounds tax free, if it was a couple earning 35k each they would have 25,000 tax free between them. They would also be lower tier tax payers, Same for child benefit she would be entitled to full child benefit in the above situation.

How is she being penalised?

She's choosing what to spend her salary on.

She's choosing the nursery.
She's choosing the house she lives in.
She's choosing the car she drives, phone she has, insurance products, how much she pays for a pension.

She's not struggling, she's not broke, she's spending her salary on what she chooses to.

Now... If she was forced to buy nothing but essentials.. LIKE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.. and she had nothing left at the end, then maybe it'd be different.

If she's getting £4200 a month.
Choosing to pay
£150 for Sky
£100 for an iPhone
£250 for a car
£80 a month for a.gym
£500 a month to a pension
Etc and.etc

That's on her.

If she's spending £10 on bubble bath every month. That's on her.

If you can't live a good life with £4200 a month, that money is going somewhere.

Washing powder is £6 and that's for a small box, nappies are £10, wipes are like £5 bubble bath £3.00 for a decent radox dishwasher tablets are about £6.00 aswell so that's £29 and I'm in a less expensive part of the country.

They've changed their mind but I've seen what you mean, they were worried there would not be enough places so your right they were critical of it, my appologies

OP - you have my sympathy. The Tories have dramatically increased taxes on working people and the removal of child benefit is vindictive and counter-productive.

It will get better after nursery/school, but for now the amount you have to live on is shit. Hang in there, it does get better.

Well if that's how you slosh your money about, no wonder you're struggling.

That lot shouldn't cost £40 pm let alone £40 pw. What on earth are you buying and doing with £40 for those things every week?

@Ithinktomyselfwhatawonderfulworld how?! Washing powder, bubble bath, nappies, wipes, dishwasher tablets… that’s already the best part of 40 quid a week?

Didn't they want to fully fund childcare, I will have a quick Google but I really don't think this is the case.

@Ithinktomyselfwhatawonderfulworld how?! Washing powder, bubble bath, nappies, wipes, dishwasher tablets… that’s already the best part of 40 quid a week?

I’m not in London either but a 2-bed semi will set you back £260k, and that is miles cheaper than London.

A £250k mortgage over 35 years will set you back £1100 a month. She could have been 35 when she took the mortgage out, meaning 70 when it’s paid off. .

I think I'm severely disabled and my health limits what I can do 👍

So basically if you haven't heard about something it's not true ?
Labour was extremely critical of 30 hours for working parents and they were strongly opposed to it's extention to younger children.

UC does pay 85% childcare costs but not on all childcare costs. Precisely it's 85% on up to £1,014.63. Full time nursery costs at least £2000 a month where I am (not in london).

Even if you take into account 30 hours it's sometimes impossible to spread them over the year. That means single parent will end up with many weeks of inflated costs which could leave them worse off.

For a semi where i am nothing special its about 160 and for a terraced about 115. Its not the monthly amount that makes me think shes in london its the length of the mortgage. Either shes already 40 or shes had to entend the length of the mortgage as its a very highly priced house.

So basically if you haven't heard about something it's not true ?
Labour was extremely critical of 30 hours for working parents and they were strongly opposed to it's extention to younger children.

UC does pay 85% childcare costs but not on all childcare costs. Precisely it's 85% on up to £1,014.63. Full time nursery costs at least £2000 a month where I am (not in london).

Even if you take into account 30 hours it's sometimes impossible to spread them over the year. That means single parent will end up with many weeks of inflated costs which could leave them worse off.

So basically if you haven't heard about something it's not true ?
Labour was extremely critical of 30 hours for working parents and they were strongly opposed to it's extention to younger children.

UC does pay 85% childcare costs but not on all childcare costs. Precisely it's 85% on up to £1,014.63. Full time nursery costs at least £2000 a month where I am (not in london).

Even if you take into account 30 hours it's sometimes impossible to spread them over the year. That means single parent will end up with many weeks of inflated costs which could leave them worse off.

She pays £2700 of it to a nursery and mortgage, so your saying she should opt out of a pension that I can afford to pay and have a terrible retirement, instead of getting the help she rightfully deserves? Should she keep paying for all of us, whilst she has nothing? Does that sound right to you? She's left with £1500 to pay everything else, that's if she doesn't have student loans... and that's without a pension. Somehow I don't think she's paying £250 for a car and £150 for sky, but given the eye watering tax and ni she pays, she should be able to it's scandalous that she can't

@ReLOa I completely empathise OP. CoL has meant that what was affordable and within budget is no longer the case. It is depressing and leaves me feeling extremely vulnerable. The financial book also stops at me so I have no one to turn too plus on paper, our income is too high to receive any help. My job is too support people, many in dire situations, and I find myself having to use every ounce of strength to leave my worries elsewhere so I can focus on them.

Ok, you're either in a very very cheap area, or haven't taken on a mortgage recently and haven't seen how much it costs now.

For a 30 year mortgage at the moment, including a 10% deposit, you're looking at a £200k property if you want to pay about £900 a month (what the OP pays).

In my not hugely expensive (comparitively) area, that equates to a 2 bedroom flat or v budget 2 bed terrace. Not recent indulgent for a mum and child.

In somewhere like Bristol, again similar. In Birmingham you can get a rough small 3 bed or a nice 2 bed for that.

Regardless, it's certainly not a London level mortgage.

No uc does not calculate half of the childcare. They pay 85%. As far as I'm aware there has been no criticism of funded hours by labour either. The majority of your post is incorrect.

When your a working couple not entitled to UC, your correct sometimes the cost of childcare out weighs the benefits of working more. When entitled to claim childcare on UC which is anyone earning under £40,000 either alone or as a couple you get 85% paid.

Now with funded hours most mums should be able to work 30 hours from 2 years old.