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

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

I think they mean the maximum amount offered by UC for childcare per month is about half of what some people pay for a full time place for their child.

Also, UC pay up to 85% of childcare costs but it's another element which is added on to the total monthly award and subject to deductions for wages just like the others.

And there's no 40k income limit for claiming childcare costs. In many circumstances, someone can earn more than 40k and still receive help with childcare costs.

You have to shop around a bit and buying online is usually cheaper

Persil non bio if you want branded is about £20 for 130 washes, or Aldi washing powder is good

Bubble bath - own brand, Aldi do a child's farm dupe or this is £12 for 1.5l

amzn.eu/d/9WBf7fH

Wipes

Again branded but £13 for 1000 wipes amzn.eu/d/fCv51de

I watch Amazon prices and buy when stuff is cheap and use Quidco for cashback on stuff like car insurance, contents insurance etc

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.

Aldi or tesco own brand are £4.60 for a pack

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

What do you mean she's choosing nursery?

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.

As her mortgage will run into her retirement, she needs a decent pension to cover it.

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.

It costs £2000 a month for full time nursery and I'm not even in London. Add 2 kids, commuting, sick leaves and you can easily find yourself in a situation where you lose money by working full time and are better off at home or doing some evening cleaning job around your husband's schedule.
Yes - working is an investment but it's not possible to "look at bigger picture" when you have to prioritise paying your bills and mortgage.

Not to mention single parents on UC. You're supposed be better in work, only UC calculates just half the cost of full time childcare so women are pushed into underpaid part- time roles.

Childcare is a real barrier and we don't know what will happen with funded hours in the future as they have been heavily criticised by Labour.

I've pointed her In the Right direction for help it she's not already getting it. Luckily things are slowly getting better for mums in her position and she's entitled to some support childcare and child benefit wise. I just hope she comes back to read the helpful posts

Do you only buy your food from waitrose? £570 really is plenty if there is just the two of you. And if it's not just two of you why is there not a contribution?

I think that would help her alot, probably make her life a bit less stressful aswell. She came here for help and support and very few people offered that, some like you have though I do hope she comes back and wasn't scared off by the nasty comments

Well I don't agree, you shouldn't have to be on a salary like hers, and left buying mere essentials. If you don't agree that's fine but it's wrong, that if you do well your penalised. It's especially wrong that she's not supported more as a single mother. If she were a couple she would be so much better of there would be double the tax allowance.

We do £90 a week for a family of 5 but we plan meals and prep absolutely everything

Her take home won’t be £4200 if she’s (very likely) making pension contributions and student loan repayments. More like £3.8K, still not much when you have a nursery age child to support and no financial help from anyone.

No that's what she has left to buy food and fuel.

I thought it was just food, fuel as well would definitely not be much. To be honest we can't really know much OP has to spend without a whole breakdown of outgoings. I hope things improve for her soon.

She may have student loans to pay back. We have no idea what her fuel bills are; DH does 100-mile round trip for work and it costs him £70 a week. If she’s had to make a claim on house or car insurance, those premiums will be costly. My house insurance is £38 a month with no claims and was the cheapest by a mile. If she’s sensible, she’s also got life insurance to covet the balance of the mortgage.

There are more things to fork out for than just gas, electric, water and CT.

Gah, it’s so tough, OP. Like PPs have said, nursery isn’t forever and it will get so much easier when you’re out the other side. Keep hanging on in there and it’ll be over before you know it.

To the poster who are saying ‘how do you only have £570 left’, average pension contributions and student loan would take around £650 off the £4200, add in some commuting, insurances, car costs, water/gas/electric/council tax/broadband/mobile. Yeah. I easily see there only being £125 or so left a week after nursery fees and mortgage.

Oh.

In the op it says:
"I have 570 left after all bills and childcare and petrol, excluding food"

So 570 left after all bills but has to buy food from that.

But has an income of £4200 a month.

It's an unpopular opinion on here I think, but..

If you're making bad choices on how to spend your money, you're not.poor, you're not broke, you're not struggling... You're choosing to spend your money poorly.

No that's what she has left to buy food and fuel. God knows what the poor woman will do if she has car repairs or house repair issues.

No one is throwing abuses or prejudices to people who can't work. I dont think its wrong to simply tell people the truth she is paying a huge part of her salary to help others, how does this show prejudice? .However If I were you I would go back and take a look at the abuses prejudices this op has had to endure. It's not luck at all, she's taken the time required and put In the hard work needed for an above average salary, it's cruel to even suggest that was mere luck.

Certainly does! 😆

While I agree that the OP has every reason to feel stressed, exhausted and disappointed at seemingly having little reward for her hard work...
of course luck has a lot to do with it — everyone has different circumstances and a lot of those are outside our control; also, plenty of people on benefits (all the people I know on benefits, in fact) have worked incredibly hard against very difficult odds to survive.
Please don't hurl your prejudices and judgements at others, even in kind defence of the OP.