SAHM/P question? (personal)

[waitaminutenow]

Going off another thread and because I am extremely nosey...lol
My question is if you are a SAHM (or SAHP)...
How long have you been at home?
How many children do you have and what ages are they?
What does your OH do and what is they're pay (v personal I know!)?
Do you receive wtc ctc and cb?

I don't want this to turn into a bashing thread for or about anyone. It's genuine curiosity of how others live that is all.

stars and adorable I know it's not the same but we lived in trinidad (hubbys work) for 4 years before coming home. I really miss that part of the world, we have friends in Venezuela.

As a pp has stated it is so interesting to see others financial positions etc. We were very luckt to be able to buy our home outright when we returned so having no mortgage is a big bonus. My hubby also has a second property which is being rented. I worked before mat leave and have some savings and investments.

Where do you find the DPs on 100k? I want one!
Just kidding I do love my poor one

waitaminute we used to go to Trinidad in holiday a lot, I have one memories of it. It is such a different world, living abroad, isn't it?

snarfeson you don't find 'em, you make 'em, Lady Macbeth style . Actually in our marriage DH was the golddigger, if only he was a toyboy then the stereotype would be complete,shame he's older than me...only joking . I've always thought of all of our assets as shared assets, everything is in joint names.

Oh stars....it is So so different...I do miss it but I couldn't have my children there I would be too nervous

SAHM for 5 years (children 5 and 3)
Husband earns £80k gross
No wtc, ctc or cb
I am returning to work pt term time only in sept and will earn £8k

waitaminute I've spent most of my adult life living all over the world, came back to the UK briefly a couple of years ago and hated it, vowed never to return. We have three giant breed guard dogs, guns and a lot of ranch hands, plus where we are is so remote you'd have to really want to get to us, so I feel pretty safe. If we lived in a city I think I'd feel very differently.

Stars we moved from Chile. I've loved the little I've seen of Argentina. Only been To El Calafate in the south, unfortunatley, I woud love To see moré of the country.

Also Spent a very short time in Venezuela many years ago, Pre DCs.

Dp was a stay at home dad for 5 years although worked part time for some of that.

he started when DS1 was 10 months and DS2 was born 3 months later - we did it because his salary as a nurse only just covered child care for 2 and when you added in travel etc costs it was a no brainer. He worked a Sunday and a couple of evenings so we were effectively better off financially. This was 15 years ago, at the time I earned about £28k. We moved in the middle of that so DH couldn't do that job anymore, I was earning slightly more and he did occasional shifts with the nurse bank. We got cb and ctc but DH never claimed any other benefits.

When both were in nursery (afternoon places), I switched hours so I could collect them and did nurse bank back shifts sometimes and then got an early evening office job.

He returned to work full time when youngest started school and we did breakfast club for the morning and I continued to pick up after school. I also used to travel away a lot when kids were toddlers and we did not live near family so it was our only real option. It worked for us. they are 15 and nearly 14 now and we get cb but nothing else. My salary not much more than it was 15 years ago as I am effectively part time and DH on not much more than half what I earn but in a job he loves. I don't love mine but it supports the family.

Adora I've only spent a little bit of time in Chile but I loved it. Argentina is amazing, we love it here and I've lived here previously too (pre DH). I really do feel at home in Argentina, I get a sense of belonging that I never had in the UK or anywhere else really, except perhaps Cuba, though that was for different reasons (ex fiance).

Sorry to derail OP

SAHM nearly 2 years. DS is 20 months (I finished a fixed contract job when 7 months pregnant).
DH is a part- qualified actuarial consultant. Salary £70-100k depending on how much he works. It will be less next year as we're trying to spend more time as a family.
No cb

2 years
Kids 15, 10 and 20 months
DH works in city and earns enough for v comfortable lifestyle
We are not entitled to any benefits.

SAHM for 2 and three quarter years, same age as DS. TTC no 2 for ages now.
Was earning a good salary (60k) jn the past but gave up stressful job due to mental illness.
DH is self employed (barrister) and typically makes around £150k a year. We are very fortunate, although we do live in central London where housing costs are extortionate!

Work for about 4 hours a week term time only for 8 years so I do consider myself to be a sahm

Gave up full time work 16 years ago when ds1 was born, the other two children are 13 and 12

DH is an accountant and earns circa 100k

Not entitled to benefits

I have just got myself an 8 hour a week job so I suppose I'm a working mum now

Wow. I didn't know MNers were so rich.

I got made redundant in pregnancy so was a SAHM when DS was born. XP earned about £12k. Seven years ago. We claimed WTC, CTC, HB and CB (well everyone had CB then). I think my Maternity Allowance ran out by about 6 months but can't remember.

Then left XP, was a single parent, CTC, CB, HB and IS. Did not feel able to leave DS so didn't work. Went to university part time when he was 2, started working part time when he was 3 and now DH had just moved in. DH earned about £14k. I earned about £4k. WTC, CTC, HB, CB. I would have worked more hours but if I'd worked more the WTC would not have made up the difference, childcare cancelled it out and we were not making bills as it was. So not an option.

Now live abroad and although we are on about the same amount of money minus tax credits and housing benefit etc (doesn't exist here when you work) we are far more comfortable than we were in the UK, not struggling, not even considered to be that low waged - we can pass credit checks easily here for example. And we're hardly aeons away - we are in Germany.

It makes me wonder why on earth such a high amount of money is needed for a basic standard of living in the UK.

It always absolutely amazes me that one family can live on 5-10 times what another family lives on. I suppose when you've always had a low income a higher income sounds unbelievably rich and I always wonder what on earth it gets spent on. Ten times what we have seems as though it would be impossible to spend. I know people tend to spend within their means so your outgoings increase relative to what you have, but it's just baffling.

Maybe I ought to start a nosy thread of my own

I'm a sahp but will be returning to work in 4weeks.

I've been at home for 4 years, dc's are 2, 5, 9 & 12 years old.
Dh earns approx. 38k, we receive cb and some tax credits.

SAHM for 2 years (I'm dating from when my last maternity leave finished and I became technically unemployed) because we moved abroad for DH's work. Children are 4 and 2, and I'm planning on returning to work when we get back to the UK next year.

DH is an architect, earns about £60k. No benefits here, and we wouldn't get any in the UK either.

SAHM/Carer since DS1 was born. Eldest is 11.5. Both boys have neurodisabilities. DH is a programmer, earning, even after significant overtime, last summer, below HR tax threshold (he could earn a lot more, contracting, but wouldn't get to work on the full project lifecycle of the sort of stuff that he does and it's not steady work in this part of the world). As one boy attracts the disable child allowance and the other attracts both that and the severely disabled child allowance, we do get some child tax credits, plus DLA and Carer's allowance.

I do "work" outside the home 8-10 days a year (voluntary, but receive travelling expenses and a token remimbursement for my time) and DH has to take time off work to make that possible.

SAHM since DC2 (2011), having worked full time for five years then 80% between DC1 and DC2. I picked up a very pt professional job whilst pg with DC3 and work one (short) day a week from home. Three DC from toddling to top infants.

DH earns around £55k basic I think plus overtime for on-call. Our household income is in the region of £65k and we're in the North West so really mustn't grumble. We've never qualified for tax credits, and claim cb for me that DH has to repay through his tax return IIRC (to maintain my national insurance or something).

We wear second hand, holiday in a tent, and shop in Aldi and Morrisons. I have no idea how the government expects £23k to stretch round a whole family.

Oh, sorry, DH is a senior developer (can't remember his job title but it includes the word manager).

SAHM for 7 months, gave up job earning about 45k.
1 DC and pregnant with the next.
DH barrister earning around 150k gross. Not in central London although was until fairly recently.
Obviously no benefits.

For what it's worth both DH and me are traditionally labour supporters; believing those who can should pay higher taxes.

Was sahm for 5 years
Ds is now 10
Dh is construction manger for FPSOs and Oil rigs earns between 700- 1000 per day depending on contract

Virtually a sah for 11 years. 3 kids 11 9 and 2. Dh accountant earning 60k ish but has now jacked his job in with no job to go to as he is about to inherit some money and hates his job. Can see mysrlf heading back to full time work shsrpish if he doesn't find work.

LLJ4 you don't have to receive the child benefit to get your pension credits. You can register and then tick the box to not receive payment (or stop existing payments). It's the registration that's important.