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

But if you worked you would be contributing to the tax system. You could pay someone to look after your disabled son, then you would be providing another tax payer with employment, while also contributing yourself.

Are you paying tuition?

OP I know it feels like a slog now but do keep going. I know how hard it is. You're absolutely at the hardest point with taxes, no child benefit and doing everything yourself. Years and years with no one to even make you a cup of tea.

In 5 years you will look back, a big chunk of your mortgage will have been paid, your pension pot will be growing, your child will be a bit older and you will be able to breathe a little.

@Vettrianofan If I remember you receive quite a lot of different benefits which I imagine brings you closer to what OP earns. Not saying you don't deserve it or you shouldn't get it but easy to tell someone to manage better when you don't have travel or childcare to pay for?

So you missed out all the top ups you get. You came here just to stick the boot in. Without people like the op - you’d have to work and be a carer. No tax payers funding more than they take out - no welfare.

my mortgage is due to be paid off when I’m 70!

You have a £1600 a month nursery bill which will end long before you're 70.

Use it wisely. Spend half, invest half to overpay your mortgage. You'll take years off.

I study part time and also am a carer to my youngest who is classed as disabled.

What’s the alternative??? Pack your job in and try to scrape by on benefits??

Nursery isn’t forever. I’m at the age where friends are divorcing and the ones who are coming off worse are the women who stalled or left careers to look after kids… keep your job, keep your career, it gets better!

@Vettrianofan

Race to the bottom. 70k salary in a stressful job, likely no headspace for doing things like batch cooking and other cost saving strategies that cost bandwidth.

Your husband may also have a stressful job, but lucky you are at home picking up all the wife work.

Why are you economically inactive ? Why aren’t you personally contributing to the tax system ? Does it not pay to work ? Would you be no better off if you had to pay for childcare? Is it better to be subsidised by tax payers ?

Thank you I appreciate that

Less than 20% of claimants are still on legacy benefits now when you look at the numbers. It's probably just your specific area where it hasn't started being rolled out yet.

Depends on the area I guess. It was rolled out in 2018 where I live.

Ironically you are far better off than us and we receive UC too. I am sure OP is just having a little moan.

Ha ha ha, er no. Over the last decade or so, 'government worker' pay has fallen way behind inflation and that of the private sector.

What do you think all the strikes were about a year or two ago? There's a massive recruitment crisis in the public sector because graduate professional jobs sometimes pay not much more than NMW and it can take years for any meaningful progression.

On the matter of length of mortgage term, it doesn't necessarily have to be shorter. That is the ideal of course, but it can also be lengthened to help with the change in circumstances eg the OPs temporary high childcare costs.

But the term of the mortgage is shorter than before....

Borrowing £250k over 25 years is the same as £150k over 15 years.

But you actually pay off more capital towards the end of a mortgage, due to interest. So, in the example above, you wouldn't actually pay off £100k in the first ten years.

Inflation and pay rises are the things that make a mortgage easier over time, but the only people that are guaranteed to get above inflation pay rises are government workers.

I hear you @ReLOa i am sorry it’s a race to the bottom with some of the posters on here. Yes things are incredibly tight for you financially and you will not be able to afford a decent style of living on that disposable income. Hang on in there, childcare will get better once dc is at school. Your wages will rise. Things will get better.

Because you borrow less each time you renew. So if you bought for £200k and paid off £40k of equity in 10 years, you only need to borrow £160k at your renewal and you should be earning more than 10 years ago.

16 hours was mentioned because I specifically know someone who only works 16 hours a week, therefore has no need for childcare. I had no idea it used to be a specific limit.

The person I know is taking home in the region of £2700 a month before CM because she’s getting around £1700 a month in benefits for her and her two kids and she’s not paying a penny in tax. Compare this to the OP, who is paying close £20k a year in tax.

And wash powder dishwasher tabs nappies and wipes. Could easily be bought for less than£20 . Don't buy bubble bath waste of money!

Look at if you can reduce any bills

Sim only phone
Freeview tv/internet
Shop around on insurance/utilities

Do you have single occupancy council tax?

Are you using tax free childcare and saving 20%?

Food - get supermarket brands only , shop at Aldi or Lidl

Get clothes from Vinted- cheaper and better for environment

Remember childcare will get cheaper, can you condense your hours at all?

I have to agree with @SilentSilhouette- with a take home pay of that, after mortgage and nursery fees you have £1700 left. I'd look at the expenses you have, with your bills because if your bills alone are taking £1200 a month, there has to be something there you can cut down on.

So sorry, I've been back and re-read I miss understood what you were trying to say. You were trying to say you were better off working and you were absolutely right my apologies. Really sorry

There are children in developing countries without food on the table, clean water or healthcare. How dare you come on here crying poor me? You have roof over your head, running water, you're not starving!
There are mothers with 3 or more kids who live only on small benefit payment. How dare you complain on your salary of 30k and UC top up? Don't you see you're being offensive?

See where that goes?!

The fact is that a man on 70k would pay same tax as OP while not paying 1700 in childcare. If he was married he would get double tax allowance while same is not granted to OP even tho she's a sole breadwinner with high nursery fees.

The fact is UK is extremely stuck against women and especially against working mothers to the extent that just doesn't happen in other first world countries.
If someone on 5% top salary still is not comfortable where is a chance for you? Or me?
And it's people like OP paying taxes for your UC top up. Do you think it makes economic sense they don't feel like their job is worth it? I know several women who left their high flying careers and now work less while claiming UC top up. All admit to being happier and less stressed, and because they rent they are better off with UC then paying full time childcare for 2 kids.
Do you think it makes fiscal sense for high tax payers to leave their jobs and go on benefit top ups? Because I can tell you it doesn't happen anywhere else except UK and it's bad for economy which means it's bad for all of us.

OP never complained that she is impoverished or that there are no people in worse predicaments. She simply questioned whether her stressful, demanding job is worth it. People don't become high earners by chance or in order to be grateful they can afford food. People motivate themselves and make many sacrifices because there supposed to be a reward.

But of course on those type of threads there is always army of women who have unstoppable need to tear other successful women down. Sometimes I wonder if it's just understandable bitterness or some toxic case of vulnerable narcissism.
Honestly this behaviour is so ugly and distasteful that even if I had those type of urges I would just shamefully hide them to myself.

Oh and I unfortunately had experienced being a poor single mother on low income. I understand what it means to skip meals and cry when something breaks. Don't assume people are clueless.

No but you do tend to live to your means, my own income has increased in the last 2 years and my spending has increased to match 😆 much to my dismay haha. It's natural. When she started out on her journey to motherhood she likely wasn't a single mother and had no idea nursery would cost as much as it does (it shouldn't it's scandalous) in my area it's no where near the amount she's having to pay, its half (something else that's unfair) it's not easy to adjust quickly to the exteme change in circumstances she has faced since needing childcare. I've been at the lower end of the budget, I know the struggles but should I go back to that tomorrow it would take time to adjust. There are loans you take out as a couple that still need to be paid back when it's over. There are credit cards you could easily afford when your income was more that still need paying when your income drops. It's not as simple as it sounds.

I know a lot of people on benefits, and those of us on UC are in the minority.

Why do people on this thread keep saying the early years of a mortgage are hard?

Most mortgages start on a good fixed rate. If you took out a mortgage 10 years ago the interest rate would been a lot lower than it is today. I’m lost.