Universal credit and saving for a house deposit

[Musereader]

I am a single parent with one child, i could not cope without tax credits as my rent, council tax and childcare costs are more than my montly wage so i rely on the tc to cover the bills and food.

I do work in national goverment on the lowest rung in a call centre and have been looking through the releases we get and i am horrified to find out that you cannot claim UC if you have more than £16k in savings. Between £16k and £6k in savings does mean a reduction in UC. This is not the case in tc

A house in my area ranges from £150 to 200k so a 10% deposit is £15k minimum.

Basically as soon as i save any amount of money that looks like a reasonable deposit i have to use savings to pay childcare because my UC would reduce.

So aibu to hope that the goverment does do a uturn on UC roll out which may mean that i never have to go on UC and be subject to these silly savings rules

I agree snow!

I think deserves a bloody medal if she can save that amount of money up.

Gob smacked that people who claim beniefts are supposed to be in their arses and on the breadline

It's her money she can do what she wants with it.

This is mumsnet. Plenty of middle class I'm alright jacks who'll tell you your dream of a secure home is unreasonable. I'm not one of them. I think universal credit deliberately keeps the poor poor and should be scrapped immediately.

ops did say if she really was frugal.so going without etc

its not just what she has over without really trying,there is a differrence

This has to be a joke right! I'm absolutely furious that you are on benefits and have £400 left at the end of the month! It there actually any incentive to work?

No, for many there isn't any incentive. The online calculators help people work out how little they can get away with for the most gain.

Lots of posts and comments can be found on the net re excessive tax credits and what people buy with them.

Makes a mockery of the whole system and shows why reform is badly needed.

Plenty of middle class I'm alright jacks

Nope

HTH

newlove we have two business and my dc go to private school but once upon a time I was a single parent on benefits and it's fucking tough! Clearly op knows how to save and manage her money well!

Good on her!!

Women get screwed at every turn - if this woman is working and trying to save then she should be applauded. Folk need benefits because of poor pay, high childcare costs ect... why not direct your 'boiling blood for the people that trap single parents in the benefit trsp

Lots of people have to pay their own childcare! I spent £45k in 3 years. I'd you have children they do cost money and not all. Of that can come from The tax payer.

You can't afford to buy a house. Sorry but that's the case. You shouldn't be claiming anything and be sitting with thousands in the bank.
Interest rates are going to rise and frankly if you can't manage on your salary now without help what makes you think buying is a good plan?

Just to play devils advocate here. Say low income, and tax credits = keeping head above water. Say you decide to strip it all bare, even more than you have already i.e

*you ran an old banger but now you cycle or walk everywhere
*you already buy value food, but now you cut out meat
*you hardly have the heating on and now don’t use heating at all
*you had a cheap camping holiday but now no holidays
*you had a cheap contract phone, but now no phone
Etc

Basically cut back in every way, and say that money came to £200 a month, and you saved it instead....would that be wrong?

Why would you go to work if your pay is that shit, the gov need to top it up because the min wage isn't covering the living costs ?? [hmm

AND op is actually working !

Why would you go to work if your pay is that shit

Exactly I'm starting to wonder why I don't take on a career as a single parent to a few rich blokes, pocket the substantial maintenance, work 18 hours a week, put the kids in free childcare for 30 hours, and pocket the benefits. Makes far more sense that working full time...

glute no it isn't

The bigger problem here is that with the sums involved, a person without tax credits working 40hrs is worse off than a person working 16hrs with tax credits.
This is what people cannot grasp, it sounds crazy, but is indeed correct.

Loving all the handwringing here. How dare the poor have anything. Ffs

The OP is a single parent of one child and has an income of over £2k pm and hundreds of pounds spare every month. Not exactly poor really.

Yanbu. I get your point and don't think you are being unreasonable.
I did have a friend who got a second house due to her tax credit savings and I thought that was rather excessive. but you are not being unreasonable to save for a house if you can!

new I don't think that's possible because if you look as nasty as you think no one would come near you.

I didn't meet a rich bloke - I was incredibly lucky when some one gave me help in setting up my own business.

Your mind is really bitter.

You actually have no idea how little people get. You shouldn't believe the daily mail rubbish. Do you not think that the gov pay the absolute bare min they can get away with? The fact op can save is fantastic and shows great skill.

Maybe you should start giving shit up that's non essential and you will start seeing the benefits

YANBU.

By removing the ability to save for a deposit then the state will pick up the tab on prolonged housing benefit payments.

Far better (for everyone) that people are able to save and change their situation than stuck in a trap where they can’t afford to do anything but maintain the status quo.

It would be good if there was an exception made for something like a Help to Buy ISA, so that those genuinely saving to buy their first home could do so without being penalised. I think the HtB ISAs have a cap too though.

By removing the ability to save for a deposit then the state will pick up the tab on prolonged housing benefit payments.

exactly

i had a small mortgage then it was paid of,if i had been renting the same house and on benefits i would be costing the LA £1000 a month

I tried to make clear that i do need the tc as i earn £500 less than my minimal outgoings, i really would be on benefits without it.

Am also trying to explain that £400 is the max amount of saving by spending only £20-30 on food per week and taking an hour each way walking to work instead of bus, not buying a stitch of clothing for either of us for years things like that. It is a savings goal i will not make most of the time - £100 is far more realistic

I tried to make clear

Sometimes people don't read though. What you're trying to say is, if you really scrape back to the bare bare minimum, then you can try and save.

Hardly living the high life

Good luck OP. I hope you get yourself out of the cycle, and can one day have a house where you pay less for a mortgage than on rent.

It's expensive being poor.

Of that can come from The tax payer.

Eh..?

I think yanbu op its ridiculous to have a system that stops people bettering themselves and becoming autonomous.

Only managed 400 end of sept due to not paying council tax as the bill hasnt been sent yet and got a run on of hb as have only returned from unpaid maternity at the beginning of sept, hb may as yet be overpaid but they havent calculated yet due to backlog.

Dd’s dad has never paid any maintenance and likely never will as his only job has been where i met him and he has declared he will never give me any money.

I was on income support the last 3 months of unpaid maternity and had £500 for the month with only £200 bills to pay. I didnt do any thing but read or play with dd and didnt go anywhere but my mums who fed us as much as she could and bought most of dds clothes. I dont smoke, drink, game, gamble, go out, eat out, buy takeaways or drive a car. So that £500 a month was plenty for me, but would not last lots of others

Have people really forgotten 2004 so quickly. Families owning a detached £200k house receiving tax credits.,

Well that's still the case. It's fine if your 'savings' are in property but if you are paying £££££ to a landlord each money you need to suck it up.

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