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Original poster

If you had a spare/surprise £500...

150 replies

Ffsffsffsffsffs · 03/04/2021 21:26

I've had a text to say I'm eligible for the £500 tax credit bonus this month.

We live reasonably frugally (I do get some of the working tax credit element and have worked throughout covid) but not as strugglesome as we were 5 years ago due to job changes etc. I'm a single parent, kids see dad incredibly rarely. We have a monthly budget that I always stick to which includes putting money away for things like Xmas, birthdays, car expenses, even holiday/emergency fund. We don't aspire to fancy gadgets, I drive a sensible & reliable car, albeit a bit old and battered, kids recognise that we can't stretch to fancy trainers/brand clothing. I have a mortgage that doesn't scare me any more, and is comfortable in our budget. We do occasionally have treats - takeaways, meals out, cheapo weekends away just the 3 of us, budget self-catering holidays when we're able.

So this £500 is a real bonus. I've got nothing that needs replacing, I'm very OK with getting clothing bargains online and I hate physical shopping for the sake of it. Do I stick it in the holiday piggy bank? Make a payment on my mortgage? Treat for me or the kids? Blow it all on sex, drugs and rock and roll?

If you had an unexpected £500 (that was surplus to your monthly budget), what would you spend it on?

OP posts:
JackieTheFart · 04/04/2021 13:19

I would use it to book a weekend away somewhere. Just Haven or something.

FindingMeno · 04/04/2021 13:19

I like to keep I'd keep hold of it and add it to the emergency fund, but with the year we've had, it'd go on outings, hairdressers and any left on a beauty salon treat.

coodawoodashooda · 04/04/2021 13:21

Save it.

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General money
punkingscissors · 04/04/2021 13:38

No, not a stupid comment at all - WFTC is for families to be able to support their children. If they can afford a new kitchen then why do they need WFTC?

I get WFTC and without it would struggle financially, it pays for the weekly shopping and clothes for my DC. I couldn't afford anything like new kitchens or I wouldn't need it.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 04/04/2021 13:41

@punkingscissors

No, not a stupid comment at all - WFTC is for families to be able to support their children. If they can afford a new kitchen then why do they need WFTC?

I get WFTC and without it would struggle financially, it pays for the weekly shopping and clothes for my DC. I couldn't afford anything like new kitchens or I wouldn't need it.

Not everyone is in the same situation as you, what's difficult to understand about that? Everyone has different outgoings.
JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 04/04/2021 13:42

@punkingscissors the criteria for receiving WTC is, funnily enough, not "can they afford a new kitchen". Just because you can't it doesn't mean other people shouldn't.

As an aside who has said they're gonna get a new kitchen? And what kind of kitchen can you buy for £500? Be lucky to get a fucking Lego kitchen for that price

ZiggyBaby · 04/04/2021 13:43

@punkingscissors

No, not a stupid comment at all - WFTC is for families to be able to support their children. If they can afford a new kitchen then why do they need WFTC?

I get WFTC and without it would struggle financially, it pays for the weekly shopping and clothes for my DC. I couldn't afford anything like new kitchens or I wouldn't need it.

Yes, it is a stupid comment. For the reasons listed above.
punkingscissors · 04/04/2021 13:45

[quote JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows]@punkingscissors the criteria for receiving WTC is, funnily enough, not "can they afford a new kitchen". Just because you can't it doesn't mean other people shouldn't.

As an aside who has said they're gonna get a new kitchen? And what kind of kitchen can you buy for £500? Be lucky to get a fucking Lego kitchen for that price[/quote]
Somebody upthread said they are getting a Wickes kitchen and the £500 will go into that fund.

What is the maximum income for WFTC? I rely on it and can't afford holidays, kitchens or anything else, I thought it was only for people on low incomes or with high child care bills meaning they didn't have much - or any - disposable income.

JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 04/04/2021 13:47

@punkingscissors no idea what maximum income is for WTC - but they are not designed to only just put people above the poverty line. It depends what your outgoings are and they aren't taken into account when calculating.

Seems a pretty sensible idea to put the money into a savings fund for home improvements. Or should everyone in receipt of tax credits like in a hovel?

Waxonwaxoff0 · 04/04/2021 13:50

@punkingscissors but it depends on your outgoings! I receive a high amount of child maintenance which is not means tested against WTC and my mortgage is small. So that means I am better off financially than my friend who also gets WTC but gets zero maintenance from her ex and has higher rent costs.

punkingscissors · 04/04/2021 13:50

[quote JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows]@punkingscissors no idea what maximum income is for WTC - but they are not designed to only just put people above the poverty line. It depends what your outgoings are and they aren't taken into account when calculating.

Seems a pretty sensible idea to put the money into a savings fund for home improvements. Or should everyone in receipt of tax credits like in a hovel?[/quote]
Of course not. I'm just surprised that it's an option to consider new kitchens given my financial situation and reliance on WFTC. Maybe I need a second job.

JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 04/04/2021 13:51

Well not everyone is on the same position as you 🤷‍♀️

cheerfulpanda · 04/04/2021 13:54

£50ish on a treat (takeaway, day out, theme park, meal out etc).

£450/remainder in the emergency fund.

GravityFalls · 04/04/2021 13:55

People qualify for the £500 if they get CTC but have an income too high for WTC, so that could be quite a high income for a single parent with high childcare costs. For example, I qualify for WTC but in actuality get nothing because my income ends up offsetting all the WTC. But because I get a zero award I still get the £500 as far as I know.

punkingscissors · 04/04/2021 14:18

@GravityFalls

People qualify for the £500 if they get CTC but have an income too high for WTC, so that could be quite a high income for a single parent with high childcare costs. For example, I qualify for WTC but in actuality get nothing because my income ends up offsetting all the WTC. But because I get a zero award I still get the £500 as far as I know.
Now that makes more sense, thanks for a helpful reply.
LizB62A · 04/04/2021 15:04

Any extra I get comes straight off the mortgage - every £500 brings my retirement 2 weeks earlier (it's still years off mind !)

PussyCatEatingEasterEggs · 04/04/2021 15:08

Blow it all on sex, drugs and rock and roll?

Sex, obvs. Easter Wink

or bung it in a savings account - that way when something goes kaboom and smoulders in your kitchen/living room, you have the funds to replace it.

BertieBotts · 04/04/2021 15:16

Replace dishwasher
Replace oven
Replace boiler in bathroom or get it a decent service
Fix DS1's computer
Stick in maternity leave fund
Pay off some of overdraft
Replace my phone
Replace DS1's car seat
Top up the savings for DCs' next birthdays and Christmas

That's what I'd do - one or two of those, it wouldn't cover all of them! But assuming you don't need to do any of these things, my next option would be to stick it in a days out/nice clothing/takeaways fund and fritter it.

BertieBotts · 04/04/2021 15:17

Emergency fund is already funded thank goodness :) Which means we can technically do one of the above already. Waiting to see if we need to continue remote schooling after Easter, in which case it will be the computer.

MonaChopsis · 04/04/2021 15:18

I'm buying a good quality second hand BBQ from a friend and going camping for our first holiday in two years. The remaining £200 will go into my savings.

Tana433 · 04/04/2021 15:24

Molton Brown products. They are so expensive and i feel really guilty buying them so usually just use xmas ans birthday money but they are so beautiful and make me ridiculously happy that i would feel no guilt spending an unexpected windfall on them.

TillyTopper · 04/04/2021 15:26

I'd put it in a stocks and shares ISA and leave it there for a few years. Pick a large balanced fund and do it quickly before end of the tax year.

MyDcAreMarvel · 04/04/2021 15:32

@Ffsffsffsffsffs it’s not an extra £500 though , you will actually be £540 worse off via wtc than last year.
April 2020-April 2021 you had an extra £1040 in wtc. This year ( as a one of payment) will receive an extra £500 in wtc.
The only people for whom the £500 is a bonus is those that qualified for wtc but earned too much to receive monetary payments.

Gingerkittykat · 04/04/2021 15:44

How old are your DC?

I would personally use a portion for a nice day out, something like a trip to the safari park or a theme park.

The ISA someone else mentioned sounds interesting and I'm going to look it up. Even sticking half in for each of the DC will give them a nice little bonus when they are older.

punkingscissors · 04/04/2021 16:28

@Tana433

Molton Brown products. They are so expensive and i feel really guilty buying them so usually just use xmas ans birthday money but they are so beautiful and make me ridiculously happy that i would feel no guilt spending an unexpected windfall on them.
How will that benefit your children?