£35k tax free for working 20 hours a week....

[BitchyWitchy]

In response to the 'Benefits' thread, I thought I would post this...

We took the decision to reduce DHs hours a few months back as we realised we are better off with him working part time than full time and this is what we get WEEKLY (4 DCs):

Wages (20 hours per week) £209
Housing Benefit £188 (leaving £7 for us to pay)
Council tax benefit £19 (leaving £3 for us to pay
Tax Credits £196
Working tax credits £13
Child benefit £60.50

Thats over £35K tax free! DH's fulltime wage was £34k before tax.

Also get free prescriptions and dental care, discounted kids activities and leisure centre membership. DH is home 5 days a week and I am loving having him around to help out with the DCs and doing stuff with them which he could not do when he worked 50 hours a week! 3 DC are at school so we get quality time with the youngest.

We are also doing free OU degree courses so we can get better paid jobs in a few years.

Wish to bloody god we did this earlier when we were BOTH stressed out working fulltime and brought in LESS that what we get now after childcare.

We shall enjoy this until 2013 I can tell you! I don't give a monkey's what anyone thinks of us. DH is still working after all and who would really continue working fulltime knowing they get all this? It may not be right but while it's on offer, should we refuse it?

You know I was brought up to work hard and never ask anything of the state as was DH.

Where did it get us? No bloody where. Stress, no time to help the DCs with homework and still could'nt afford to have the heating on.

Do I feel bad now that I can afford to - NO.

Do you really think that if we did not claim this, that the money would then be shared out among lesser fortunates?

It is the system that is in the wrong. Not us for taking advantage of it.

Please also bear in mind that DH does still WORK! We do not claim IS or JSA. All the benefits we claim are available to all who WORK.

Plasma TV is on my Xmas list btw .

Four Kids, why not go the whole hog and claim one or two of them have ADHD and get a carers allowance for them. Heard it pays.

I'm with you, Mamatomany....I'd love to sack most of this work lark off, but you just have to keep on ploughing your furrow.
Now is NOT the time to take a break.

I know it's hard work mino - I remember it well, but being able to support ourselves felt 100 times better than being sat where I am now, with the future that currently lies ahead of me - still reliant heavily on high tax payers to keep a roof over my head

OP, the reason people are brought up to take as little as possible from the state is not because it will get us somewhere, but because we feel that people who are fit and well and in the prime of life should be contributing as much as they can in order to support people who are ill, seriously disabled, have mental health problems, are elderly or are children.

So I think you are intending to anger people by being a little smug about getting more than people who work. That isn't what irritates people about people who claim benefits when they could contribute more. What is rather sad is that you are taking money that could be going to truly vulnerable people. But perhaps you and your DH contribute in other ways, through voluntary work for example.

Actually DH's work is such that he will not have a problem increasing his hours again with the same employer. It is highly skilled and he will not lose anything in career terms. I highly doubt it will be affected by job cuts.

The OU courses will definitely improve both of our career prospects when we finish them though when DC4 starts school in two years.

Still feel no shame sorry!

But you'll be building something for yourself Mamo - you're on the flip side of the coin to the OP here....on the wrong side of a flawed system.
You'll be paying your way the best you can, with the best options available to you in the area you live in, not opting to step off the treadmill just because you can.

I say again, do you really think that if we did not claim WORKING benefits that the government would give MORE to people who need it? I really do not think it works like that. They would just cut the budget and add it to their expenses claims probably.

I don't know BW. I think we all have to trust in each other and in our society that we are going to do our best to support each other. We all have an individual responsibility to do that. It isn't just about the Government.

I think you're being a bit hard on yourselves anyway. You're not just doing 20 hours a week; you are also raising 4 children and doing 2 degrees. That is a lot of work.

In the good old days if you decided to shorten your hours to get a better quality of life, you just tightened your belts and managed on less money. Now the state apparently pays you to do this.

What a rotten system.

Don't blame you, OP, but it does leave a sour taste.

I cannot imagine bringing up 4 children on benefits. It must be tough. In fact it must be soul-destroying.

Milking the system - fine, we've debated the ethics of that - you don't have an issue with it.

If you are real, which I doubt, the problem is with the poverty of your aspirations.

no - she's not working 20hrs a week - her DH is.

Boohoo to her looking after 4 kids with her DH at home most of the time,and doing an OU course on top.

I would play hard work top trumps based on me finding work next - but tbh I can't be arsed.

Save your tears. US. This is a troll. Or a loser someone whose only ambition in life is to milk the state for all it's worth

I don't believe you get that much housing benefit on that much income. I think you've posted this to wind people up.

Don't blame you either BW.

I assume when your husband had been working 50-odd hours a week and not seeing his children that he had been doing this for a number of years, and paying into the tax system?

I don't believe you are scroungers at all. I think some posters on here are a little jealous of the time you get to spend with your children.

hmm come to think of it neither do I SP - if they only reduced his hours a few months ago their current tax credits will be much lower due to the fact that he earned so much last year.

MissTFied - why woud I be jealous when I'm at home all day with my DS's????

Quattrocentro - what was soul destroying was both working fulltime, never having any family time and still struggling with the bills. If you read my post properly, you would see that we have more money now than then so living off 'benefits' is not that hard.

We have aspirations which is why we are doing OU courses. Could never afford to or had the time to do any studying before!

We do not laze around all day. In fact I have not watched Jeremy Kyle for ages. We go to the gym, swim, go walking, play football/tennis/basketball/Monopoly with the DCs. In fact I don't know how we are going to fit in working when the time comes.

well of course i am jealous i dont get to spend time with my children, as a single parent who works 32 hours a week + a 10 hour commute, but i would lower myself to the OP's standards, i will happily provide for both me and her family. its called morals.

We actually did it in April to take advantage of the new tax year MaMoTTaT, never miss a trick see! So I admit more than a few month ago OK.

Yes, DH has been working full time from the ages of 18-41. Me from 17-37. Maternity leave excepted. Oh but I was still paying tax then on my maternity leave was'nt I?

ROFL at 'I have not watched Jeremy Kyle for ages'. Shouldn't that be 'we have not watched Jeremy Kyle for ages'. After all you've cunningly arranged your life so that your DH doesn't have to work much, so surely he's there for all those key milestones?

I do think that the first duty of trolls is to be funny. Keep it up!

Bw .you just made it much worse for benefit claiments .did a good job there ...I'm impressed ......not

wouldnt lower myself

Probably take 2 and half years out in total. Bloody terrible is'nt it.