should I carry on working? Is it even worth it?

[JustChangingNameForNow]

Sorry I have bombarded you with this on AIBU section! I figured there's more traffic here so I might get better answers.

I work 24 hours a week and my husband works 40 hours a week. We both earn minimum wage, but my husband has to pay child maintenance for his child from his previous relationship which is £180 a month, plus tax and we also have childcare for our child (who is 2) to pay for which is £500 a month. We "supposedly" get 85% of that paid for by Universal Credit but they keep on messing it up and the way the assessment period is, we are constantly short every month. I only got £100 this month! So we still had to pay £400 from our own pocket.

On top of that, we have other expenses coming out like bills, running two cars as we both have different shifts and work in different places... so many other things.

I have contemplated whether I should work full time, but it just means paying more childcare and more tax. It worked out that I would still not be financially better off! I've used the entitled to calculator as well and it says I will get £600 a month on top of my husband's wages IF I do leave employment. I do not know whether this is true but I am really considering leaving my job. I suppose UC will sanction me because I left work on my own terms. I love working and I have always worked but every month we are financially short, always in minus. We do not smoke, drink, we haven't been holiday for a long time and I am always shopping in Aldi and Poundland to keep costs low.

The problem is that we want to get a mortgage. If I stop working and hopefully save on childcare costs, will we be able to still get a mortgage or is it better that both people work, despite our income being shit and our outgoings are higher than our incomings?

I don't know what to do for the best :( sorry this is a silly post, but every day I have no motivation to do nothing anymore because we are working but not gaining anything from it.

If getting a mortgage is your goal, then you'd be better off working more hours. Your childcare bill won't always be so high as you'll automatically save on it when your child is old enough for school, and even the pre school funding will kick in and help soon as your youngest turns three.

I get that it's horrible at the moment when you're working and still struggling, but you have to think long term.

You need to remember that when your child turns 3 you will get 30 hours of free childcare which I think works out much better than UC. You won't be sanctioned by UC for leaving your job as with a 2 year old child you wont have work commitments anyway, you may just need to go for the occasional work focussed interview. I would consider how easy it would be to return to work after a break also. can you consider a job working around your husband hours so that you have less childcare to pay, for example an evening job or weekend work. many couples work like this when their kids are young.

Think long term. The truth is you damage your job prospects by being a SAHM. If you have a job, keep it. As PP said, it's not long until you'll get extra help with childcare. You need to be working to get a mortgage and for your own security.

What Doyoumind said.

Its always been the same.. the system makes you better off by giving up work after children rather than going back to work when you need to use paid for childcare. I have had babies during labour governments and conservatives neither "get it" 🤷‍♀️

Thanks everyone. That's what I was thinking and that's why I will go full time once my son turns 3. My husband is getting very impatient though lol. Every day this becomes our discussion and I am starting to wish it would happen already! We would still have to pay some of the childcare costs from our own pocket because I believe the 30hr funding does not cover term time and summer hols? It will still help, nevertheless.

Another thing to bear in mind is that if you are working then you (and your employer) will be paying into your pension. You don't get the benefit of that now but when you retire.

Sorry too soon! When you retire you will be glad you did!

Just echoing what others have said. You need think long term. Yes it can be difficult in the short term and can feel like one person is working got nothing but it's not that simple and removing yourself from the labour market can have longer lasting effects.

Can you do the tax free childcare? It would save you 20%

@ZippyBungleandGeorge I was on tax free childcare but UC childcare element worked out much better than tax free. I did not anticipate that we would have so much problems with them, though.

To the previous poster who mentioned about pension- I'm currently not paying into one :( I had to cancel it because I couldn't afford to! My husband pays, though. I want to restart paying pension again but even just paying 10-15£ is a lot to lose at the moment as that would approximately cover 2 weeks worth of diesel costs (car is economical, thankfully!)

You would be classed as a dependent on a mortgage application if you weren't working and that would reduce how much you could borrow. NatWest doesn't (or didn't 2 years ago) count childcare in outgoings which helps amount loaned.

I think with discussions such as this you need to look beyond the length of your own nose. Do you want a career, is there progression, have you considered loss of pension contributions, what would happen if you split up, have you worked out the sums for the next 3 years because it may just be the next year that's tough. You need to look at the bigger picture.

You say you both work minimum wage? Is there anything you can do to improve that? Any training you can access or qualifications?

I'm generally of the view that it's better in the long term to stay in work if you possibly. The high childcare costs are for a fairly short period of time in the grand scheme of things.

@Sunshinegirl82 my husband can, and he is planning on doing so in future. Me on the other hand... you'll probably think I am making excuses but I am not academically blessed. I work as a cleaner so not great is it? I've got some qualifications, but neither of them will get me anywhere in life. I have NVQs when I did care work but I had to leave that industry in the end because it was starting to make me feel stressed and ill. I have tried exploring other options to increase my potential, such as applying for vacancies that offer training, apprenticeships, but haven't got anywhere because I do not have GCSE/A-levels. I wouldn't be able to do them. I've tried doing Maths and English, but I just fail

I expect to get flamed for saying this but it would make more sense for you to work full time and your partner part time in order to reduce the child maintenance if you're really at the point where you can't even afford to pay into a pension.

Don’t leave your job. Going to work is about more than what you earn. It gives you financial independence (although I appreciate it might not feel like that at the moment) and you will be entitled to a state pension if you work. A mortgage lender will also look more favourably on a couple that both work.

Running two cars when you both earn minimum wage seems excessive. I appreciate you work different hours and in different places but could one of you find a job nearby or somewhere you could reach via public transport? Cars are a huge drain on your finances.

I did think of that but my husband did not see the point and he'd rather do full time... so his choice! Not helping the matters though.

That's what I'm in the middle of doing. We both work approximately 20 miles from home so I do need to find a job nearby, but it is not easy. Especially as when we do end up getting a house, it will be nearer to where I am already working so we would end up getting rid of one car anyway.

Does your husband work set hours each week? Could you try and find a job around those hours to try and reduce your childcare costs? My husband works during the day and I work In the vending once he is home. I know it's not as easy as just finding a job immediately, but may be something you could look into

Is there somewhere taking on evening/night cleaners nearby?
If you could get 20 hours a week outside of your DH work hours you may be able to cancel out the need for paid childcare altogether as you’d be working around each other.

It works for us doing things this way, I appreciate you might not be able to find work at that time though.

@Bambamber sorry cross post!