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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that mums should get some sort of concession for student loan repayments?

323 replies

bubbleymummy · 29/05/2009 10:19

I just got my student loan statement and yet another big whack of interest has gone on. I haven't been able to make any payments since I went on maternity leave 3 years ago because I only worked PT after ds. Now I have ds2 and who knows when I'll be back to ft work. dh on the other hand has paid back over half of his. It just seems a bit discrimatory to me...most women will have to take a salary drop at some stage to have a family and won't hit the threshold for repayments while the interest just piles on...shouldn't we get a bit of a break?

OP posts:
howtotellmum · 31/05/2009 21:17

Pavlov*- sorry, witht he best will in the world, I cannot follow/understand what your last post was about.

Are you saying that unclaimed benefits should be put back into the pot for concessions- hyperthetically- on interest payments on student loans?

I don't think that people's ineptitude to apply for money they might be entitled to is a reason to use that money for something else that is not necessary.

hercules1 · 31/05/2009 21:17

I think a fair system would be to wipe off the loands of those people who genuinely dont have a choice like Riven not people like you who do have choice.

pavlovthecat · 31/05/2009 21:20

howtotell thats a mute point about cancer versus student loans as far as I am concerned. My mum worked all her life, part time when she 4 kids to raise as a single mum, and at 65, when was still working, she got cancer and was denied life saving/extending drugs because she was 'too old'. So that is not a choice the government made as I am still paying interest on my deferred loan.

I do agree that there is only so much in the kitty, but while the government squanders money left right and centre, why should the normal people of society miss out on support. If money was raked back from so many unecessary areas, there would be enough to support all those who need it. And its personal opinion whether you deem childcare as a choice you don't have to make, or essential for some people to do in order to have a future generation. Or should only rich people have children?

lockets · 31/05/2009 21:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

violethill · 31/05/2009 21:22

To put it bluntly - if I hadn't continued to work at a loss (with childcare, travel plus all the other costs of working) when my kids were small, I very much doubt I would earn as much as I do today. It is really unlikely. There is no shortage of people in my specialist area - people struggle to get into it - and I've seen a lot of my contemporaries really struggle to get back on the ladder. Many of them no they've missed the boat, because they spent too many years out of the workplace. You may not like that - but it's a fact.

So it's not a straightforward argument to just say it's 'not worth working' financially, because that's ignoring the longer term view. I'm not saying you ought to go out to work bubbley - it's up to you - but don't use the fact that at the moment it would mean forking out money as an excuse. It is a CHOICE!!!

howtotellmum · 31/05/2009 21:22

pavlov- only people who can afford children should have them, without the rest of us having to pay- if that means they have to be rich in your estimation then that's right. Yes.

pavlovthecat · 31/05/2009 21:22

money from unclaimed benefits should be put back in the 'pot' for something other than lining those at the top. Of course! suspended interest payments, or something.

violethill · 31/05/2009 21:23

whoops know not no! Blame it on the wine!

scottishmummy · 31/05/2009 21:25

or how about adequate benefit checks to ensure people get their entitlement

sorry dont get this sahm slush fund for them to dip in and out.is it applicable to working mums too

do i get a wee chitty from the pot

violethill · 31/05/2009 21:25

pavlov - the argument about lining politicians pockets doesn't really hold, because I think we're all agreed that that's immoral and disgusting.

I bloody resent my taxes bailing out the bankers too.

But just because taxes are squandered on some dreadful things, doesn't make it 'ok' to say that taxes should be subsidising all sorts of things for 'normal people'.

I am a 'normal person'. I have 3 children. I work damn hard, full time, and pay my way. Why the hell should other people who make different choices expect to not have to pay their way?

howtotellmum · 31/05/2009 21:26

pavlov- who do you mean by those at the top?

I can think of 1000 better ways to spend unclaimed benefits other than women who take out a student loan then find they incur a few hundred pounds of measly interest before they can repay it.

I think you need to re-think your priorities when it comes to using the taxes we pay.

pavlovthecat · 31/05/2009 21:27

from the OP, I did not realise we were talking about only SAHMs who might benefit from concessions. I thought she was saying that as her hours were not full time and as such she was unable to earn that of her full time working husband.

It has become a SAHM vs WOHM argument good and proper. Now that is a surprise

howtotellmum · 31/05/2009 21:31

pav- the OP works part time but not enough to pay back her loan as she is not up to the threshold- were you being serious or sarcastic?

I am bored with this now- most of us are saying the same thing, in a 100 different ways- but the OP does not want to listen.

pavlovthecat · 31/05/2009 21:31

howto why do I change my priorities? I am not telling you how to think - I am putting across my point, how I see things, and more than that, and I am listening closely to yours. Why is your opinion more worthy than mine? Why do I have to change my priorities, because you tell me? I would not dream of expecting you to change your opinions because I disagree with you. I would hope you listen to opinions other than yours, and then make your mind up accordingly, as I have done.

violethill · 31/05/2009 21:31

The clue was in the word 'mums' in the title!!

But I agree - most of us have been saying that this isn't a gender issue at all!

No one has slated anyone for being a SAHM or a WOHM (now there is a surprise!!). All that's happened is that WOHM are saying that if this is about raising the next generation, then yes, we do it too, so can we have a slice of this imaginary cake that bubbley thinks is out there? And if it's just about the fact that bubbley isn't earning very much - well, that's not a gender issue - it's a choice. She is choosing to be at home, so she has to accept she can't currently afford to repay the loan she took out.

Ronaldinhio · 31/05/2009 21:37

Am I too tired to get this? Also not getting involved in any flaming/debate

Surely this really is a question of whether or not we view SAHmothering as a worthwhile addition to society.
Do we view those formative years spent in the home with children as equal to working away from the home.
Or is worthwhile "work" really only something that is paid in cash

If we recognise the value of sahmothering then surely it is entirely reasonable to suggest a interest free period.

Also IMO I would question anyone who didn't pay for their education having a problem with a student of today asking for an interest break on her loan for the years in which she is raising her children pre-school.

hercules1 · 31/05/2009 21:38

It's not a sahm/wohm at all. No one has said op should work full time. We are saying if she chooses to work part time why should she get somethign that those who work full time dont get?

howtotellmum · 31/05/2009 21:38

I thought this was a forum where we could speak our minds?

I happen to think that your priorities in terms of how taxes are spent are incorrect. Is it wrong of me to say that?

I am listening very carefully to what you are saying- I just happen to disagree and think you need to re-think and see another side to it.

I am happy to think about what you have said- I have- I just don't agree.

You have already said that your mum ( sorry to hear about that) was denied drugs due to her age- well, if your opinion about loans etc was to be put into practice then many more people like your mum would be denied drugs etc. That's what I mean about priorities.

hercules1 · 31/05/2009 21:39

But we are all raising our children. What makes being a sahm more worthy than being a wohm?

pavlovthecat · 31/05/2009 21:40

you did not say my priorities was incorrect howto, you told me to change my priorities. Feel free to speak your mind, feel free for me to directions from others whom I disagree with. You have your opinions, I disagree and vice versa.

juuule · 31/05/2009 21:41

Doesn't the loan get written off after a period of time anyway?

howtotellmum · 31/05/2009 21:42

pavlov- if I think your priorities are incorrect, then for the benefit of the nation, I implore you to change them!

violethill · 31/05/2009 21:43

'But we are all raising our children. What makes being a sahm more worthy than being a wohm? '

Absolutely 100% spot on!

Stay at home if you can afford it and want to. Just don't expect to be rewarded financially by OTHER PARENTS GOING OUT TO WORK AND PAYING FOR IT THROUGH THEIR TAXES!!!

scottishmummy · 31/05/2009 21:44

time at home with your own children is not equal to paid employment.and as such should not be conferred a wage

paid employment is the sacrifice of time out the home away from one's children

paid employment usually the adherence to agreed standards of conduct,time keeping and appraisal of competencies

sahm has none of these components

your own children arent work.that is the role of being a parent.the commitment we make

Ronaldinhio · 31/05/2009 21:47

There isn't any suggestion of sahm/wohm being better or worse just that if there were easements made for mothers of pre school age, across the board, that the choices we make might be easier.

I think that this needs to be one of the things in a whole raft of things required to make mothering/working/having a career/a valued place in society equal and available to everyone, male/female/sah/woh

I think that as women we have to look at making things better for our future generations of women by nurturing the idea that sahm is as valid and available a choice as wohm.
Saying well I don't/didn't get it therefore no one should won't get us too far imo