To ask you to help me work this out?

[Lulu2021]

My head is a mess as I'm going through some relationship difficulties with a young baby and I'm trying to make sense of my entitlement to financial help.

I've done a UC calculation a few times but it comes out with an amount that i think is an overestimate.

My details are;

• FT salary of £47,126, net monthly income £2,516 after deductions.
• 2 DC (ages 15 years and 6 months) - no childcare costs for eldest, costs of £700 pm for youngest when I go back to work from mat leave.
• child maintenance of £120 pm for the eldest child only.
• private rented property
• no other benefits claimed
• no significant savings

It's telling me I'd be entitled to in the region of £650 pm as a single parent. Does this sound right? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

@HalzTangz

I don't understand how you can claim any UC at all on your earnings. I couldn't even get tax credit when i earned half what you do

Yes, like you, I didn't expect to be entitled to any help. But this is the figure the online calculator is retuning.

Then you need to reduce those bills and outgoings, there will be loads you can cut down on

@SickAndTiredAgain

Do you use tax free childcare? The government will pay 20% of childcare costs (up to a max of £500 every 3 months). It’s easy to set up and definitely worth doing if you don’t already.

I don't use anything at the moment as I'm still o. Mat leave. This will affect me in a few months when I go back to work and have to pay for childcare. I thought tax free childcare was only 20% off the monthly bill? In which case UC would be a better option for me? As I'm aware you can't claim both.

Have you factored in tax free childcare, so that bill will be £20 lower.

Plus you will need to find a way to cut other bills, eg basic phone contract are £7.50 a month. Take packed lunches etc.

@QuestionableDanceMoves

I can't thank you enough for your support on this thread and for not wishing ill of me simply because I earn a higher salary. I'm still a scared mother ( battling PND) worrying how she will make ends meet for her babies. You have no idea now much your support has meant on this thread when I'm simply trying to get some more info and clarity. Thank you

There's some shitty tones on here and it's disgusting. OP I'm glad you have stuck up for yourself! You don't have to explain where the child of your father is it's non of anyone's business... bloody cheek. You wouldn't dare voice that IRL. He could be dead or anything.

Back to OPS question though you can obviously see OP is unfamiliar with how benefits work.
www.entitledto.co.uk/

This is the most simplest benefits calculator. If you Google your local council it should give you the maximum amount for your area and show you what you would be entitled to.

In answer to posters suggesting to reduce outgoings. A lot of that is furniture / purchases for the baby that my (soon to be ex) DP and I bought together on finance. I got them in my name because of his crap credit rating and he obviously contributed financially to them each month. On my own I'll struggle with it all, but I can't return them - they are credit agreements. I've already cancelled a gym membership.

I thought the take home pay was low relative to gross, but you’ve explained that.

Ignore the poster who hopes you won’t get anything. That’s very unkind.

@Pea22ches

Thank you for your kindness. You're right I'm very unfamiliar with the benefits system, I've never needed it before now. The link you shared - that's the calculator telling me I'm entitled to £650.

OK I've just put in the details to a calculator and got the same.

Definitely worth putting in an application.

@catfunk

Was also going to ask about CMS for youngest - is that a possibility ? Would help towards childcare.

I can't rely on it as he has found a loophole to avoid paying for his other child

@Strangevipers

Life is hard !

Have you asked the father of your youngest for cms ? Has he proved he is u reliable. If so then get a detachment of earnings providing you are being honest about him not paying and you have giving him the chance to.

Let the father and you pay for your child not UC

FFS. This comment is really below the belt. Mind your own. OP must know if her OWN child's father is unreliable. It's not unusual many men can be

@Lulu2021 not a problem, UC is a minefield so happy to help.
Student loan repayments are not taken into account when doing a UC calculation so you need to know your take home pay after tax, NI and pension only.
Are both your children female? If not you’d be entitled to 3 bed lha rate

@Thadhiya

How does someone on 47k qualify for UC!? That's financial assistance for those in need, not bonus payments for people earning far, far above the national average.

And before you get all righteous, I'm not far off that salary myself and would never dream of taking from the public purse when I didn't need to.

Good for you.
I do need help.
So that's why I'm looking into it.
read the OP. I'm not looking for "bonus" payments to go on little holidays.
Im looking for what help I can have to support me to pay for childcare to enable me to keep the career I've worked for my whole life while my DD's dad swans off and pays for nothing and his life remains unaffected.

Keep your judgement to yourself.

@Dishwashersaurous

OK I've just put in the details to a calculator and got the same.

Definitely worth putting in an application.

Thank you - I'm definitely not going mad!

You can call Citizen advice bureau and they can work a calculation out for you they are a great help. £650 does seem a lot given the figures you put.

@Pea22ches @QuestionableDanceMoves @Dishwashersaurous

Thank you all you've been very helpful

Op got shitty tones for assuming other people struggle because they didn’t work hard enough

That sort of thing gets peoples backs up

The poorest people work a lot harder for their money than the richest.

Im sorry your scared op it’s a lot feeling alone with your kid.

With that much salary you’re doing better than most of the population so I reckon you might need to cut your outgoings down like everyone else who is struggling

• but you’ll be ok

I earn 10k less than the op and my tax credits ended this year. Abs

God what a horrible lot of posters on here

OP my sister is recently single in the south west, left with debt taken out in her name by her ex and two children nursery age.

She earns similar to you and was also surprised to find she qualified for some assistance. She actually found them quite helpful with supporting her application and taking her through the process

Good luck. I'm sure no one plans or wishes to end up single and supporting two children so looking for support where it is available is absolutely the right thing to do 💐

@Pea22ches I suspect £650 is unrealistic. Entitled2 and the other benefit calculators are renowned for over estimating.
Without knowing ops lha rate and take home pay before student load deductions we can’t do an accurate calculation for her

And I also have 2 dc but lower child care costs

@ANameChangeAgain

I certainly hope its wrong. Most families bring in less than that as a household income and don't claim UC!

Why would you hope this is wrong, what a horrible thing to say

A small proportion is debt yes. Some of it car finance, school coach to get my eldest to school (we live quite far from her school), phone contacts for both myself and eldest daughter, Internet, usual household utilities, school meals for my eldest....

If you’ll need to move, can you move closer to DD’s school?

What sort of car finance is it and do you have any options there?

When will phone contracts be up - can you go to PAYG?

Don’t forget you’ll get discounted council tax as a single adult household.

You must have quite a hefty amount of debt/credit agreements/car finance to it all to amount to over £900pcm before food & fuel. How long will you need to pay these credit agreements?