To wonder how I can afford to go back to work?

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DH earns £1600 a month.

Outgoings:

Phone bills: £50 a month

Groceries: £200 a month

Water bill: £250 every 3 months

Train fares: £550 a month (cheapest rate)

Paying back loan: £120 a month

Rent: £925 a month (cheapest in area)

It just all seems impossible and each month we struggle.

I'm on ML, due to go back in 9 weeks time. I don't earn enough to cover my train fare to the job, let alone childcare for our DC.

DH can't change jobs and move to a job closer to us and not London because he kept losing jobs at one point and can't leave this one otherwise it'll be a terrible career move and will look awful on the CV. He has to stick it out for at least a good year.

What do I do?

Go back or stay at home?

Childcare is a fortune here too.

DH refuses to consider moving to a cheaper area of the country. He won't do it, that's that. Although this area is far from 'nice', it's just close(ish) to London so more expensive for what it is.

If you earn less than the train fare (£550 a month?!) how can you?

Is that right?

Cherry Sorry, that was misleading and not true. I earn around £1300 a month so it would cover train fair actually but wouldn't cover both train and childcare

Yes yes I know some posters will say the childcare element is DH's to go halves with but it all goes into the same pot anyway so makes no difference

If dh is 1600 and you are 1300 you will likely get some tax credits. Have you done an online calculator with projected childcare costs in?

What about all your other outgoings? Gas, electric, tv, Internet, council tax etc? How do you afford those?
If you’re not going back to work you need a plan on how you’re going to cover all your outgoings
Would you qualify for tax credits? Could you find a different job closer to home? I know that’s easier said than done but should be considered if you’re not even covering the cost of getting there

What do I do?

Go back or stay at home?

How can you go back? You can’t pay the travel to work!

Full time minimum wage has to be more than 550 a month...child tax credits? Isn't there a childcare element?

Could you go back part time? What would the childcare costs and travel be like then? Would it put you under the WTC/ HB threshold then? You’ll get child benefit too which while not a fortune helps.

I think a lot of people find themselves in this predicament, OP, sympathies

Do you want to go back?

Hi all, sorry to derail again. Just feeding DC!

We aren't entitled to any tax credits at all. None.

We are only getting child benefit.

I haven't mentioned gas/electric etc etc because I didn't want to bore with long lists but as you can imagine, we are just about keeping heads above water right now So goodness knows how we'd survive if we took a financial loss by me returning to work.

I would work opposite hours to DH and work evenings/nights in something else if need be but I wouldn't cope. I suffer from CFS, badly. It would burn me out.

Ahh xpost.

Combined income of £2900

Minus your expenses leaves about £972 left per month.

How much will your childcare cost?

Oh, plus child benefit of £80ish a month brings it to about £1050

It’s shocking you should be getting child benefit and I would check whether you would be entitled to WTC and CTC which may help. But I know some areas have introduced WTC.
If you can afford to it may well be worth staying in the labour market longer term as soon you may qualify for some free childcare when they are a little older.

Dolphin I do not, no. But I know I must, really

Travel to work is around £550 a month. Childcare is about £900+ a week here at the best rates.

I'm already out of pocket with those figures alone

Again, no tax credit entitlements

Could you get a job closer to home with lower transport costs?

*that should say £900+ a month, not a week!

Some of your bills seem very high,

why is your phone £50 a month? Sim only deal about £8

Water bill! We’re on a metre 3 bed detached house 4 occupants £17 monthly so £51 every quarter unlike your £250

You need to look where your money is actually going and if you can swap to better tariffs to keep out goings down

£900 a WEEK

Ignore my calculations OP! I have no idea how you can do it. How does anyone do it with those fees??

Oh ok, ignore my previous post!

£900 a month looks just about doable OP

Ana I could, but my pay band would be even lower if I took away London waiting salary, plus childcare would still cost the same

Could you look for a job which is more local to you?

Can you rejig your loan for a while to get it at a lower repayment rate.

Could you look for a job that fits around his job so maybe nights/ weekends so that you don't have childcare to pay?

What did you plan to do before you decided to conceive a child?

Can you cycle or walk to work? If he gets a better paying job then surely the cv doesn't matter, he just had to stay in the new job. Perhaps you could work in the evening instead?

For example, my current salary is about £21k.

If moving out of London, about 18k at very best.

Travel to local hospital would be about £70 a month, so not too bad. But childcare is about £920 a month here.

Plus my DH's salary doesn't cover all bills at all anyway