Could I survive on this?

[Oatypancakesforbrekkie]

Live abroad, thinking of returning to the U.K. with toddler Dd.
It would be just her and I.
The salary I’ve seen is for £25 thousand, how would we be able to live on that amount, would we be ok? I have no idea of prices of things, bills etc, nowadays.
I imagine an average mortgage would be £800? then with bills, food etc.
My position would be a lower one than my qualifications, but would fit around my Dd at school etc by then
Would you get any help for being alone and on that salary?

*School holidays

As a Londoner I don’t actually know where in the U.K. you could buy a place for 100k, but paying cash would get around the mortgage problem. You could always apply for a mortgage once you’ve been there 6 months.

As a heads up property prices are rising here terrifically fast, so it would be advisable to buy ASAP.

Sorry,I meant to also say that my rent is just under£800, and my salary is around £33k... I have two children, but with bills, food, petrol, etc I am getting by. Okay, we could tighten our belts if necessary, but a big bill for car repairs over the summer worried me more than I'd have liked. On £25 (or rather £18k in actuality) you'd need to live in a much cheaper area, and utilities etc are sky high everywhere.

You would get paid in the holidays as in they split your paycheck into 12 equal amounts. But 25k pro rata means if you were to work 37.5 hours a week, 52 weeks of a year.

Typical TA pay is around 15-18k a year and doesn't typically increase. Unless this is a private school you are looking at? Worth noting it is a competitive job to get, more people wanting to be a TA than there are positions. In my area anyway

After 100k is spent
You can try applying for universal credit (tax credits no longer exist)

Will you receive child maintenance from your ex ?

You’d be alright up north.

This might be worth a read www.tes.com/jobs/careers-advice/teaching-assistant/teaching-assistant-pay-and-conditions

(Depending on location of course)

I wouldn't rule out renting. Have you looked to see what a 2 bed would cost in your chosen area? Things will have changed even if you're returning to a previously lived area and it'll give you a chance to really look at your own pace, get finances/UK paper trail etc sorted. Plus perhaps might be sensible to rent for two years then look for a teaching job and affordability will be better. I believe £100k in the north west is a really decent deposit.

Look at www.rightmove.co.uk

Look at property auction sites (all money has to be paid with 28 days or their timescale or there will be a daily late payment fee) + solicitor + auction fees

25k sounds high for a HLTA in the north west?

Are you sure the job is £25k? School term time jobs are generally advertised as full time salary pro rataed. Once you've deducted the 13 weeks holiday the salary may not seem as attractive.

[quote Oatypancakesforbrekkie]@V0lcanoicD1srupt10n What about after I’ve used it to buy the house?

Dd would be in the school with me, breakfast club in the morning and after school club (for a short while) when school finishes.

They’ve assured me I’d get paid during holidays too[/quote]
You don’t get paid during holidays. They just pay you 1/12 of the pro-rata salary each month.

I think it means - You get paid every month is what they mean. Calendar months. But its still pro rata. They work it out annually and divide into 12 payments.
At least check with them, maybe its different in your school

@Fdksyihfd

I think you’d get tax credits for that; you can go on the government website for that. Have you also checked online what you would be left with after tax and national insurance? It then depends on if you have to pay childcare and mortgage very much depends on the area you live in and size of your home

No one can make a new claim for Tax credits anymore, it is now Universal credit. To claim benefits in the uK when you have not lived here for some years, you would need to pass the habitual residence test, so benefit top ups will not be guaranteed immediately.

@Embroidery

I think it means - You get paid every month is what they mean. Calendar months. But its still pro rata. They work it out annually and divide into 12 payments. At least check with them, maybe its different in your school

Hard to imagine it would be. A state school would have to pay in line with national pay scales and I can’t see private schools giving up to 18 weeks of paid holiday!

The North West is your best option. Do you teach something that would lend itself to tutoring? It might be a way to make bring in some extra income and you could do it from home. so no need for childcare.

South West and North West cover wide variations in housing costs. If you have a specific town or county in mind, we might be able to advise further. Once you know the area, you will be able to calculate wrap-around care (if it's available!), council tax, commuting bills etc.

[quote Oatypancakesforbrekkie]@ArianaDumbledore Not even with a sizeable deposit?
So, the alternative would be renting for a few years? Opening a bank account on arrival etc?[/quote]
The bank thing can be a problem . After 28 years of marriage I found out that I had only been a secondary card holder on our credit cards and had to start again and build up the credit limit . This was with the same bank who were sitting there with a massive deposit by myself - seemingly "their " credit cards are issued by Mastercard who have nothing to do with their bank. Obviously a current account was no problem although there can be issues with you not having a regular monthly income into it ( which hopefully you will have ) .

[quote Oatypancakesforbrekkie]@Woeismethischristmas That’s reassuring, thank you! I was beginning to lose hope. So how long were you in the U.K. for before you could get a mortgage?[/quote]
It was a year after I bought the house but no one mentioned minimum time to me. I did maintain a UK bank account when I was abroad which I think helped certainly to open up my current account. When I first took out mortgage it was 130 and my wages were higher at 40k. My mortgage provider (Santander) don’t do credit checks apparently. So it’s not all about the credit score.

My mortgage broker recommended I take out a mobile phone contract and start using a credit card (I had taken one out for emergencies but it was sat in a drawer) Apparently it’s good to have debt to show you can handle it responsibly.

I think you are overestimating salary for HLTA… I’m a secondary cover supervisor on £18k and a HLTA would earn less. Be aware that most roles are advertised at FTE and you then have to pro rats for term time only

I live in the north west, you can buy a nice 3 bed semi in a decent area for £160-£200k pending on what you wanted?

Breakfast and after school club at our school would cost you £14-£18 pending on how early you’d need to drop them off/pick them up.

Electricity&gas £77 (but we have solar panels, my sisters is £120 for 3 bed semi)

Water £60

House and building £30-£40

Council tax depends on where and what your buying (we pay £200 on 4 bed detached, paid £160 on 3 bed semi)

Then car, groceries etc.

You’d definitely be entitled to child benefits, but not sure about anything else.

Are you already in negotiations with a school, therefore? It's not a given that a HLTA would get holiday pay.

State benefits may not be an option if you have come from abroad. This is a complicated area involving two tests - Right to Reside and Habitual Residence.

The only way you would get £25k as TA is if you were level 3 which means you have some additional specialism or you have SEN responsibilities as part of your role. And that is the full time wage, which you would not be doing.
Also, if the school are able to pay someone less who has just come out of uni they absolutely will.
I'm in the Northwest and earn much less than £25k as a single mum if one, so it is definitely doable. I just don't think you have realistic expectations of even getting this job and salary, let alone being offered a mortgage or even the opportunity to rent given that you have been living abroad. You have to jump through hoops now to be considered a good prospective tenant, including credit checks and having a reference from your previous landlord. If you didn't have a landlord, it proves even more difficult.