Stay As I am or with it being financial stupidity?

[ShallIJumpInOrNot]

Hi there

Would really appreciate advice from anyone who has been in a position like mine.

Now - single mum, 4 dependants, work 15 hours a week, bring home £600 a month. Topped up with CT Credit, get some of the rent paid.

Have now been accepted onto an access course for 36 weeks, which means 15 hours a week college and 15 hours a week study. I could work a night shift a week which will bring in about £300 a month

What would you do after the access course?

Hi milk - do a midwifery course for 18 months/2 years

Hi ShallIJumpInOrNot, I've only just seen your post. See what help might be available to you by way of local charities/trusts. There are sources of help here and there for people on low incomes. I think applications for these usually have to be made in the summer (ie now is a very good time to make enquiries). You'd need to be interviewed, and don't expect any help which may be forthcoming, to be anything like as good as student grants are in Scotland and Wales (and used to be in poor benighted England). All the same, every little helps. Those old victorian benefactors (that's how a lot of these foundations/trusts started) were good lads, and you might find they can help out a bit.

thanks for that info really helpful.

Have decided to go for it and keep on working in my part time job, starting access course in september :)

I second the writing to charities - I got money from quite a few. I got the directory in the uni library, made a list of the charities and wrote to 200 of them at a time.

Out of 200 I would get about 30 replies and about 5-6 actually gave me some money.

Check benefits, you will stop paying council tax if your course is classed as full time (regardless on any hours) and you can probably get HB and IS.

Good luck with it.

By the way the book you wnat is "The directory of grant making trusts", and they are hilarious because most of them are victorian so you might have to classify your self as 'impotent' or a 'woman of good standing to be given a trade she can use to support her family', or 'a young lady who has fallen on unfortunate times' or ............. well it is an interesting read.

I used the first week on the uni holidays each year to researcha nd write - I treated it as a full time job. If you do get support, make sure it is a one off, if you are given funding for more than one year (thinking about your midwifery) then you have to report it to the DSS,