to be scared when kids leave full-time education

[spanieleyes22]

So I'm currently eligible for Universal Credit with 2 children over 16 but in full-time education. But when the youngest turns 20 I believe I won't be eligible for it any more. I don't know how I'm going to pay my rent or survive without it. They will still be living with me and will be in university (hopefully). What do people do when this happens.

It is but that’s one of the many prices paid with successive governments interfering such that house prices have always gone up.

The elephant in the room here is housing. We lived in a 2 bed flat until my son was 11. Him and I shared a bedroom. I was finally able to afford a 3 bed the last few years so at least we have enjoyed it for a few years. If only I could
Have bought a house somehow I wouldn't care so much Am sad I never will own a house or have that security that so many take for granted

I've just done a back of a fag packet calculation, and someone single, working 37 hours pw on the new rate of NMW, would have to live somewhere where the local housing allowance for a one bed property was over £670 to get anything.

Or the government could stop interfering at every turn to prevent the cost of housing from dropping.

I've got a similar concern. I'm a single.parent and UC is like a second wage coming in. Once the last child leaves full time education then I can no longer get financial help but I may still need to support the children until they have settled into work. I work full time but cost of living means its hard to manage on one wage

People don't have crystal balls. They get sick. Disabled. Shit happens.

Not everyone is in a position to retrain. It's a privilege not afforded to all.

Have you considered how much your bills will reduce with the kids at uni? Your food bill should drop drastically and you won't need as much heating etc. It looks bleak but the reduction in bills might make up for the UC gap. The kids will have to get jobs in summer or claim UC and contribute towards rent

FFS. How do you prepare for something when every penny you earn is accounted for?

I'm lucky not to be in @OP's situation but I'm always shocked when people come on these sorts of threads and snap, 'Do extra hrs! get a second job/weekend job! I know there are people who work all hrs 24/7 but how do you get the physical strength to do it? I have a full time job and ache all over by day 3. I certainly would not be able to 'do more hrs' let alone get a second job job! i also recently got diagnosed with fibromyalgia & bursitis on both sides so if i were in OP's shoes, how on earth does one do a second job? seriously how do people who have physical limitations but not enough to get disability benefits cope? i often see people feverishly calculating OP's current hrs and saying, 'So you've got 3hrs every X where you're not doing ANYTHING' get another job then!. I find it very cold and calculating, pardon the pun.

I'm sorry but it is absolutely wrong advice to say never take advice from people who haven't been in your situation because many times in life you need that different perspective to be able to see things differently and make different decisions.

That's like saying a drug addict should only take advice from fellow drug addicts and ignore anything a sober person says. Both have things they can contribute.

If OPs goals are to remain where she is and just get sympathy from mumsnet then yes only take advice from people in the same situation but if she truly wants to make changes she should also take advice from people who have been there and gotten out of it as well as people who are where she aspires to be.

Saying only take advice from people in the same situation is just a sympathy approach which does nothing to get her to where she needs to be.

Yes raising children isn't easy but that doesn't change the fact that she should also have started making alternatives plans sooner rather than later. I'm sorry but there is no way you can convince me that you cannot find a way to increase you income over a 5 - 10 year period. The main reason would be lack of drive to do so but if you're determined yes you can. Will it be easy, no but if you want it about yes you can.

I agree with most people on here. It’s so important to build skills over the years so that you can get yourself into a job when needed. We all know child benefits stop when our children reach a certain age so you will need to think about being independent and what that looks like.

you can be transparent with your children too. If they know you are not financially well off then they will need to look into earning an income. I didn’t come from a well off family, as soon as I was 18 I started working, and contributed to bills etc. My mum was a single mum and she was transparent with us. She worked her whole life but never earned loads, but she was always independent.

Im sure there are things that you can continue to claim even as a single person - perhaps look that up and think about the amount that needs to be topped - and look at jobs that you could do.

You're dead right there. If I had £1 for every client that ends up being referred to me for advice because they find their money drops dramatically when their kids reach 18, I'd be able to afford to retire!

Was that question answered? (13 pages is a lot to read).

I'm afraid many of us always had to work to earn a living.

Hi OP, I wasn't suggesting you should turn your house into a B&B, sorry. I was telling the story as an example of a university age child whose bedroom wasn't kept for her (she was fine about it by the way - she was a very impressive independent person even at 20).

@whiskeydistillery

never say never

what if you lose your jobs?

By putting myself in a position where I now earn more pennies as I outlined above. And for the trillionth time, I didn't retrain, I just got better qualified at what I already do. Someone actually quoted me as saying this and then asked underneath how people were supposed to retrain 🙄

Can the kids live at home and contribute to rent and bills while they are at uni?
Doesn't sound like it is affordable to keep a room for them at home and at uni.

And as we had a spare room, we had a student every year term-time- and the room was free for visiting friends and family during holidays.

You know you can just click 'see all' on the OP and read her posts if you're struggling to read everything.
Yes, she is working full time.
No, she can't sublet.

@TwilightSkies ah the greedy landlords. What, all of them? Rental properties are needed because not everyone can afford to buy

Most councils allow subletting a room to a student term-time.

I guess you may have to go back to a 2 bed and you share with your DD.

I'm sorry you are in a shit financial situation.

REnting a room to a student term-time only, with the proviso they clear their stuff during holidays (when not paying rent)- work really well. If they have to share a roo, with a screen or clever divide, when back home, then so be it.

It’s so depressing that an adult working full time in the UK cannot afford to live.

Who is supposed to carry out lower paid jobs in this country if the answer is “get a better job, get more qualifications” if you want to survive?

No wonder we’ve reached crisis point with a shortage of nurses, teachers, childcare, hospitality staff- it’s impossible to live independently on those wages in this climate.

Its almost as depressing as this thread with the Some of us have to work I’m afraid benefits aren’t a life style choice smug patronising comments.

Well OP doesn't even need to increase her income. At her age there will be over 55 housing, much easier to get. Or she could get a one-bed flat.
She wants to keep a 3 bed house unoccupied/housing young adults free of charge.
Two different things.

OP if you're on such a low income your children will get the maximum maintenance loans but they can also get summer jobs, work PT during the degree, take a gap year to save (paying you some of their income to help with the rent).

You've done well to raise 2 presumably capable young adults and have high aspirations for them. You cannot blame yourself or the state for not giving more (although the state should take a leaf out of the US' book and charge their farther more).

There are things like degree apprenticeships etc as well and big companies pay above the apprenticeship minimum wage,