Impossible to work with childcare costs. Help!

[cake1987]

Does anyone have any advice. I recently put my two year old twins into nursery as for my mental health I feel like I really need to get back into work. But NOWHERE wants someone to work only two days a week, and we can't afford for them to be in nursery any more days. I'm on job seekers while I'm looking for work but apparently I don't qualify for any free childcare. I don't know what to do. I don't want to be on jobseekers, I want to work.

Go back to Uni and retrain perfect time to do this.

We maxed out credit cards when Dts were that age, not ideal but a means to an end. I went back three days a week when they turned 1, I was a on a decent salary but back then it was c 2k / month. There was no flex in our budget at all.

have you looked into childminders, depending where you are can work out cheaper?

Do you have a skill you can offer as a freelancer or virtual assistant?

If you can afford to put them in 2x per week while earning nothing, presumably if you get a job you could afford to pay for them to go more days if you were earning money? Assuming you are either a single parent or have a partner who works, once you have a job you will probably qualify for tax free childcare which reduces the bill by 20% too. When do they turn 3? All children qualify for some free hours the term after they turn 3, this is gradually coming down starting this year too which may help you (worry can’t remember the details of this).

What is the situation with the children's father, are you able to find a job around his hours so that childcare isn't needed for all the hours you work?

How much per hour is your childcare? How much (net) do you earn? As long as the latter is more than the former it's worth putting them into child care

I have 2 year old twins and as a single parent have no choice but to work full time. I toon a bank loan out over 10 years and that's paying for the twins childcare via tax free childcare thereby spreading the cost over 10 years instead of 3

Once you have a job you should qualify for the childcare element of UC as long as you work a certain number of hours per week and aren't earning megabucks. That pays up to 85% of childcare costs.

Very wise, but very sad you had to do that to make ends meet. There is no right or wrong way to childcare it's what suits your family but it should a better system than having to finish off paying for a loan when they are nearly finished primary school.

Why don't you qualify for childcare help if you get a job?

What work experience, skills, qualifications do you have? Do you have your own transport?