Universal credit/need to earn more money

[Imustbemad00]

I’m a single parent and universal credit tops up my wage. I’ve always been quite supportive of universal credit on the whole whereas most people seem to hate and have endless problems.

For me, it’s always worked fine, no hassle and I like the fact it just increases or decreases depending on your wage that month. Although claiming childcare is a hassle.

My total income per month is around £1750 give or take. My outgoings are around £1450 at the moment meaning I’m not left with a lot to live on. Have no savings and things coming up plus kids birthdays and Xmas.

Was thinking of taking on some extra hours at work but it just seems pointless. If I work the extra day a week I only end up being £14 a week better off. If I worked all hours possible and used full wrap around care I still wouldn’t be much better off.
I understand they can’t just keep giving me the same amount of benefits if I’m earning more and that I’d be better off as in relying on the state less. But Aibu for not wanting to work for £14 a day or put kids in full wrap around care and run myself ragged to be hardly any better off?

It's really difficult to juggle. I had to turn down a better paid job because with extra child care I was worse off and couldnt afford to be.

Luckily for me the company came back to me, 6 months later with a better job with a big uplift in pay. Which mean I was better off. But I had to wait along time to become better off.

Not in UC but Tax Credits for child care and feel the same way. No better off and have worked myself silly. Sadly work doesn't always pay if your single x

I wouldn't work for 14 pound a day, deduct fuel and packed lunch or any costs your no better off

If you can work then you do. Benefits are a top up for when you can't.

Outgoings of £1450/month? What is that being spent on?

Yes I know what you mean, when I've added in extra childcare and travel I've barely broken even in the past. I have done it for around the same gain as you though, the £14 a week added up and gave me a buffer for Christmas. It was worth it to me, but I do realise everyone is in a different situation. I too have had to turn down a job that was technically better paid but in reality I was worse off and as everything was already going out it just wasn't possible to absorb the shortfall.
That said it has worked in my favour in the long run, I'm in a slightly better paid job, and 80-90% of my income is now from my job, DD is older and so no childcare costs, and the graft, sweat and tears I've put in has paid off and it looks like it will continue to. I've managed this year to pay for a couple of courses online that will enhance my career and could lead to better pay in a year or so. It's a long game - at the time it seems soul destroying but in my case anyway, it was worth doing, without I'd still be in the same situation now as 5 years ago.
Don't give up, I know it's so hard, it's awful sometimes, working yourself into the ground, missing children, exhausted doing everything, but it sets you up for a better future

What you mean OP is that you were supportive of UC until it directly affected you personally.

Is the £14 after the childcare you'd need for the extra day? If so I'd go for it personally. That's an extra £60 a month - that would easily pay for the kids' birthdays and Christmas.

So this Universal credit hasn’t turned out to be lark you thought it was has it. It’s nothing but an absolute night mare for people.
The I’m alright Jack attitude is fine until it effects you, I see.

If you can work then you do. Benefits are a top up for when you can't.

I get that and I do work. But I’m my position, single parent to 2 kids. Would you really take on an extra day or extra hours which would run me even more ragged and probably affect my mental state, and be detrimental to at least one of my kids who really struggles in school and would hate full wrap around care, for £14 a day?

Outgoings of £1450/month? What is that being spent on?

Rent 650, council tax 70, broadband 16, sky 17,car insurance 80 and tax 13, congestion charge 15, parking permit 15, petrol varies, 2 big shops not including top ups 200, tv licence 15, kids clubs 30, breakfast club for one kid 40, breakdown cover 5, water 35, gas 50, electric 50 plus a catalogue debt for a new kitchen appliance.

@HelenaDove Are you ok? You seem a tad annoyed

I forgot to add it wouldn't be a permanent thing so I couldn’t be squirrelling that extra little bit of money away every month. I just wanted to try and pick up some over time.

So this Universal credit hasn’t turned out to be lark you thought it was has it. It’s nothing but an absolute night mare for people.
The I’m alright Jack attitude is fine until it effects you, I see.

I don’t really see it as universal credits “fault” it would be the same on the old benefit system universal credit actually works well, for me at least. It’s more to do with just being stuck in a rut of not earning enough to be able to break over the threshold of not needing it. It’s quite reasonable for universal credit to decrease as wages increase. Maybe it shouldn’t be by quite so much though, more of a gradual thing. Not really sure what the answer is.

Of course it’s not worth it
However this is mumsnet and most posts will tell you regardless weather it’s better for you in the long run or not - your wrong for turning down extra work and taking ‘tax payers money’

Do what’s best for you

What are you spending your disposable income on? By your own calculations you have about 300 left over after your bills and food shopping.

Outgoings of £1450/month? What is that being spent on?

What has that got to do with you?

Get your hard hat on, OP. Your budgeting will be picked into a million pieces.

If you can work then you do. Benefits are a top up for when you can't

The OP is working. Do you not understand the benefit’s system? Can you understand that sometimes, even when you are better off, the cost of being better off simply makes it not worth it?

Without coming across as rude, £300 is not a lot of disposable income. It just goes. I have a teen that needs credit on phone and general money for school ect. Extra bits of shopping throughout the month, I try to save £100 a month but end up taking it out most months. Obviously the last couple of months has been the holidays and needing to buy new uniform ect. There’s always something.
I could definitely make savings but I don’t want to lead a completely depressing life. I don’t really socialise so the only joy I get is doing things with the kids.

I think this is a common problem with UC to be honest, if I go back to work we lose all entitlement apparently besides cb so no help with childcare if I make more than £20, my travel to make £20 would be £10, id need a packed lunch and obviously occasionally replace workwear too.. that £20 would go far and I can’t see my employer wanting me to be there 3 hours a week on day when they had me for 44 hours over 4. And to cover that along side dp’s hours (I was nights he’s days) and irregular rotas (made up literally the week before) I’d need 12 hours 5 days a week even if I only “needed” two obviously I don’t expect a childminder to keep a space open for a potential child on the days I’m off and with 7 days notice each week I couldn’t see them filling it either.

And don’t even think about going into detail about why you spend your money on.

It’s nobodies business but your own.

Your asking for help and advice, you don’t need to explain the ins and outs of your private life OP

The answer is a living wage, imo anyway, that people can live on at full time hours without needing top ups for a basic standard of living. Then forcing absent parents to pay their share of the cost of the children they helped create, so that the shortfall between a part time wage (because the main parent does actually need to you know, be there at some point!) And the cost of living is met by the other parent.
That'd be a start and stop people like me being in a situation where no matter how many hours you work, you're still never any better off and sometimes actually worse off because the extra work carries extra expenses.
But that's never going to happen, because no one wants to pay a wage you can live on, or force absent parents to cough up. It'd save money in the long run, though the sainted 'tax payer' (of which I am one, and op may well be if above the tax free amount) won't see a reduction in their taxes, and I can't really see it ending up in education or the NHS or anything like that.
Could you cope short term OP? And even though it's £14, if it were a months overtime, that's £56 towards a birthday/Christmas - for me that'd be a really decent amount and on balance I'd say it was worth it.

£300 a month isn’t going to go far for a full family...at all.

Universal credit doesn’t work. It’s a known fact and has been a well known fact since it was rolled out.

I find most people who think it’s fine and manageable are the people who don’t receive it and don’t know the ins and outs of it.

Universal credit doesn’t work. It’s a known fact and has been a well known fact since it was rolled out.

I find most people who think it’s fine and manageable are the people who don’t receive it and don’t know the ins and outs of it.

Initially, when I heard about UC and the idea that you'd get a sliding scale in real time, I thought 'wonderful! no more dreaded TC overpayments that have to be paid back despite telling them everything and more' and thought it'd be better, simpler and easier to manage than TC. The way I first understood it was your entitlement is worked out as you work, so no overpayment and also no shortfall when hours drop either. So people could pick up overtime without it making them worse off. So initially I was in favour of UC over the old benefits system, especially as it was all in one, so no having to send reams of evidence here, there and everywhere. Though the idea is great, the implementation has been poorly planned and executed, and the people relying on it are the ones paying the price. I probably won't get moved onto it now, DD will either be out of ft education or I'll be earning over the threshold, and I'm glad because some of the stories I have read, and witnessed for myself are so beyond logic it's scary. In principle UC was supposed to make it all easier, more streamlined, help those genuinely in need and also save on the benefits bill. It's far cry from that.

Oh and it doesnt work if you get paid every 4 weeks. When you get paid every 4 weeks, you get 13 pay days a year. So you are on slightly less every pay day than someone who is on the same wage pur paid 12 times per year.

But it's ok because once a year you get 2 wages in one calendar month with only 1 set of bills to pay. Thats great. Once a year you have spare money.

Except that month your UC disappear. So again, that extra touch have been waiting for, accepting being slightly down on your wage each payday, amounts to fuck all.