Money - how do you all do it?

[Ewe]

I am a relative recent lone parent and still on mat leave and going back to full time work in September. Now I earn a decent salary but it just doesn't cover the basics, having looked at entitledto.co.uk it seems I am not eligible for any tax credits etc.

Do I have any other options? Am happy to break down earnings/outgoings if it would help but at the moment it seems like I can't afford to work. So what happens, am I supposed to just go on benefits?

[PurpleOne]

This is what scares me about going back too work. Id need at least 12,000 a year just to pay rent and council tax. I work, tol DWP guidelines with no childcare and only pull in 10k a year

Even double that and I'd be happy.

My exh doesn' help out. He pays CSA but they dn't pay me cos of benefits. Yet he asked me if I could go halvos on a scool blazer earlier?

I dont want to sound bitter but you are very lucky...

£40k? Lucky you

[LittleDorrit]

Hi Ewe - I don't really have any advice but just wanted to say that I hope it all works out for you. I think your situation is a classic example of why so many lone parents in the UK don't work - because childcare can eat up such a huge chunk of your pay, plus rent or mortgage if you need to live relatively close to your work. It's pretty shocking when you compare to other European countries where there are government set caps on how much people have to pay for childcare, and it's only a very small percentage of their income. I live in London and I am on what many would consider to be a very high income, but the sad reality is that my salary would only cover my childcare and the mortgage on my two-bedroom flat (rent would be the same) - there would be nothing left for bills, food, etc. So if it wasn't for the fact that my exh helps out, I don't know what I would do...
Anyway, whatever you do, please make sure you hold onto your job, even if it's really hard at first, because as your dd gets older it will get easier, and having a job will help you hold onto your sanity !!! (well, that's at least how I feel !)

[CarGirl]

I live nearish to you (outside Weybridge) so I can imagine the rents and childminders being expensive - as they are in Weybridge, but I would keep a look out for childminders in your area sometimes they have vacancies and are more ameniable to negotiating better full time rates especially if they'd like to have a young baby again etc.

The issue really is your rent, don't rule out applying for housing benefit especially as it will be several month before your salary increases to previous levels.

[Ewe]

I'm in Epsom CarGirl, and yes, I am hoping to do a 4 day week but initially I need to work full time. A one bed flat around here is about £900 and at the time (I moved in January) this was all that was avail.

Sorry I didn't explain it very well, it will be at least April/May before I am earning anywhere near £40k again and it comes at the cost of me putting my DD in full time nursery at just under 6 months old. Which as I'm sure you can imagine, makes me feel just fabulous.

Being a lone parent is just not fun whatever way you cut it.

[chocolatespiders]

i can only go on what i read and you put...

'I currently earn about £40k and this barely covers my outgoings.'

this ammount is a huge ammount to what many people have to live on and for you to still get a big chunk of tax credits is staggering..

I agree of course you are entitled to help towards childcare....

good luck to you but you are lucky to have this ammount of income- you obviouly work very hard... even if you are now going back on what you said and your income is less...

I was going on what you said in your 3rd post on wed 6th august..

And it is working out fine for me thankyou..
I do a job i love, it is well paid but i chose to work part time so i can pick my children up every day so i work 30 hours a week to fit in with them. I live in a nice house and i consider myself very very lucky compared to how some people have to live...

[CarGirl]

If you could work 30 hours per week it would be better for you in terms of tax credits, would your company let you do a 4 day week?

[CarGirl]

You may be entitled to some housing benefit I'd look into it.

where do you live in Surrey (that's where I live) and £1k for your property does seem expensive, around here you can get a small 2 bed maisonette for around 850. Are you getting your single person discount on council tax and I assume you're already getting child benefit.

[Ewe]

A nursery and because I work relatively long hours it works out cheaper than a childminder, where around here you can't get a decent childminder for less than about £5.50/6 p/hr. I am hoping to once I have been back at work for a few months to cut my hours which should help but I can't do that yet.

And yes, it is almost solely childcare element as I understand it.

[Zebraa]

Can I just ask you what childcare you are using that is costing £1,100 per month? Is there a less expensive childcare you could use?

I don't suppose it matters if you're entitled to enough per month to keep your head above water. I'm glad you're entitled to enough Ewe because it would be so typical of this country if your absolute only option is to claim benefits only.

Hope it all works out.

[charliecat]

I would imagine the huge whack of money is the childcare element then? As your childcare bill is HUGE, and that would be about 70% of it?

[Ewe]

If you read earlier in the thread it explains that my last tax years earnings are £40k, I work in a mainly bonus led environment and coming back from maternity means I will be starting from scratch and earning no bonus for the first six months, just because of our sales cycle. I may, get a little bonus, which I have accounted for.

This tax year, I will earn around £18k (max), that is what they care about.

My take home pay is about £1600 after tax, my childcare is £1100, my rent is £950 - it's fairly plain for everyone to see that until I am up to my previous salary I can't afford to live. Surely that is what this system is for, to top people up, prevent me from having to jack it all and claim benefits which is my only option without the tax credits.

When I update it in April I am sure I will barely get a penny, I will however be very grateful for the fact it's going to keep my head above water this year.

Sorry that it hasn't worked out quite so well for you, there are obviously some flaws in the system but it's saving my life!

[chocolatespiders]

it just seems a bit unfair to me.... it seems to me that for example I should be given an ammount that would bring me up to have the same ammount of income as her so it is fair...

My friend is lone parent and earns 18,000 a year and gets £50 a month she has one child...

If i am honest i just dont get it...

I thought it was meant to bring peoples income up to £16,000 so you had to be earning less then that...

In my opinion i can manage on my ammount... i get no help towards rent.. so someone who is earning that ammount should be able to manage although i do realise that everyone circumastances are different....
And tax credits dont take into account outgoings like rent etc which is unfair as these differ so much but i guess that is what housing benefit is for...

No worries about the savings yet for me i have a small ammount as i am cutting back where possible to move and make a better life for me and my children

[carrielou2007]

They do ask about savings, anything under I think it is about 8000 they do not need to know about but more than that they do. As I say, I had a good salary before having my dd, so having to pay the same amount of bills but with a salary considerably lower means I have to use a bit of savings every month to help with the morgage.

My friend who is a nail technician sadly splitup with her partner, had to move out quickly and went into rented house, had her rent paid and received nearly 600 per month in tax/child credts. Her children are 14 and 16 so no childcare and she was telling me how wonderful it was (she earns about 22000 per year). Not what you expect is it??!!

[chocolatespiders]

Carrielou- i didnt think they took into account savings, i have never been asked about mine.... have for Housing benefit but not tax credit> I think the current system has some massive flaws.... I thought it was there to bring people on low earnings up to a reasonable level of income..

[chocolatespiders]

Carrielou- i didnt think they took into account savings, i have never been asked about mine.... have for Housing benefit but not tax credit> I think the current system has some massive flaws.... I thought it was there to bring people on low earnings up to a reasonable level of income..

[chocolatespiders]

You said you currently earn 40k... and it barely covers your outgoings... does this figure include maintenance and child benefit

so it isnt what you earn doing your job?

[carrielou2007]

Mine will be less as they take into account and reduce it for savings. I earnt a good salary so I always saved for a rainy day. It has since poured and poured and so have had to use my savings to top up my salary. If your salary goes down during the same tax year, they do not inc your payments until the end of the tax year. Also my dd is now 19 months old so payments do go down when bubs reaches one year.

[Ewe]

Income from child benefit and from maintenance payments is not included in income for tax credits. Online works it out as slightly less at £181.

Period:06/04/2008-15/03/2009 annual £ weekly £
Initial Tax Credit award for period: £8,931.99 £181.76
Working Tax Credit: £5,932.31 £120.72
Child Tax Credit: £2,999.68 £61.04

Final Tax Credit award for period: £8,931.99 £181.76
Working Tax Credit: £5,932.31 £120.72
Child Tax Credit award: £2,999.68 £61.04

Maybe yours isn't being calculated correctly?

[carrielou2007]

I do not think that tax credit etc is anywhere near right, when I earnt a similar salary I got 81 per month on mat leave and when I went back to work and paying 600 a month registered childcare I got 81.88 (yup 88p more) Reduced my hours, salary approx 28K I get just over 200 pounds per month now and I get no help at all from DD dad.

[Ewe]

I was working last year but if you're going to earn less in the current tax year, or indeed, 25% more they base it on predicted earnings for 08/09.n

[Zebraa]

Ewe, where do you live? I'll look after your baby for £1,000 per month, he he! Blooming 'eck!

[chocolatespiders]

yes you will get lots of the childcare paid.. which is great...

they normally go on the previous tax year so april 07- april 08..... were you working last year?

[Ewe]

For this tax year I will only earn 20k so they take that into account and that is what it works out at. Will go down in April. Can only assume the lady on the phone was correct but we shall see! Think it's so high because my childcare is about £1100 p/month.

[IllegallyBrunette]

I agree that is alot.

I recently worked out my entitlemet for if i was working 16 hours a week at minimum wage. I have three children and the result was a total of £196 a week for CTC and WTC.

[charliecat]

That is a big amount of tax credits.