lone parents with teenagers - what do you do when tax credits run out?

[singledadofthree]

have wondered about this for a while.

i work full time tho on a low wage. with overtime every week i still only take home £300 or so. this means i rely on tax credits as a lone parent adding about £170 a week.

the trouble is child tax credits will stop in a couple of years and ive realised i'm going to be well skint.

has anyone found this and what do you do? other than finding a better job of course?

because for a lot of people DDF CTC/Child is their means to a roof over their head and food on the table. It takes many families to the poverty line......rather than under it.

Are you suggesting they lower it and plummit 1000's of children into poverty?

If you receive £50 per week or £50 per month tax credits it makes no difference, you will notice you don't have it when you lose the whole lot when circumstances change, its not just that either its the child benefit aswell and possibly any single person council tax discount.

Skramble your camper van sounds good.

i'm not suggesting anything..just thought if this money is to house/clothe and feed children why will it be so drastic whn it stops...genuinely asking is all...

well I find the money I get in from CB and CTC covers more than just the cost of feeding and clothing the children. If my children were to leave home now and I lost that money I wouldn't be able to pay my bills.

This thread is the first thread in weeks (months?) that I've intently read & enjoyed every post on. am fascinated!

I can't think of anything to contribute though as my dd is only 6, I don't receive any tax credits and I will have (all being well) paid off my mortgage by the time she is 18.

It does pose lots of interesting questions though doesn't it.

it does doesn't it MH - my position financial will have change a lot by the time I reach having to worry about this (my youngest is not quite 18 months) and I'm currently on IS. But there must be many parents who will take a massive financial knock when their children leave home. For most parents it will be a gradual reduction as each child reaches that age - but for parents of multiples it would be huge.

You always imagine that once the children leave home you're suddenly find your freedom - but I guess for a lot that freedom comes at a price a big drop in income, which I'm sure frequently isn't reflected by "losing" the cost of looking after the children.

Guyfawkes..but your bills would be dramatically reduced by less baths/showers heated, less meals cooked, less rooms heated, les tv/playstation/computer/radio etc etc plugged in?

Yes they would drop - but I'm certain not by the amount that I currently receive in CTC and CB. I'd be bankrupt by now if those things cost £660 a month (and my computer would be switched on still )

and that is of course assuming that the children actually leave the family home as soon as they finish full time education.......and if house prices (both buying and rental) are like they are now the chances of that happening are quite slim in a lot of areas.

I see both sides of the coin, I think.. I dont' think there can ever be a solution that keeps all happy.

For people liek me, 1 child, no career break etc life will pretty mcuh carry on as per norm - I will have more disposable income less outgoing etc. For people with a few kids in employment on a reasonable salary, might be a little bit hard but for people with several kids or who are not employed/on a low income the impact has the potential to be huge and not one which can be bridged by the lack of utilities being used. if that makes any sense at all

good point FAQ.. in the current climate, will our kids be financial independant before they are 30?? quite possibly not (in all seriousness)

Yes that makes sense MH

(and I too can see both sides of the coin )

but my point,which I am finding it hard to delicately put, is....if the money is more than you need to clothe/feed/keep warm and launder clothes for your children...then why should people receive this much..?
it was stated that it was to prevent children being plunged into poverty...but whee does the rest go then? should people be expected to downsize when their children leave home if they can't afford the housing costs or bills?

sorry didn't mean to imply nobody else could lol

It would be so much easier to show my paragraph on a graph lol I will stop being an uber nerd know..

basically as the lower the income, the more children the grater the effect of CTC

I understand what you're saying DDF, but I too am finding it hard to explain what I'm trying to say

Let me try again (no guarantee I'll do any better this time around though )

The money I get from CTC and CB goes straight into the "general" pot to pay for my bills/food/housing etc for all 4 of us (including me) . If this money was reduced now I wouldn't be able to do the above things. I'm sure for a lot people (myself included if I were to be in the same position when they leave home as I am now - which I sincerely hope I'm not ) that the cost of heating/feeding/clothing/bills wouldn't decrease as much as the loss of CTC and CB (does that make sense)?

Perhaps they should be expected to downsize, but then you come back to the problem of if the children are still living at home as they're unable to afford to move out where do they go?

I suppose the income issue could be resolved by the (presumably) working child paying rent/board - but then this leaves the child in question in a position of not being able to move out of the family home so easily.

MH - I didn't think that at all - I was just trying to say that from my (current) position where losing the CTC and CB when they leave full time education (as whether they move out or not is a slightly different topic........I think) would have a massive impact o me I can still see if from the otherside from those that it wouldn't have the same impact

I admit its a conundrum...but do you think the money is too easily taken for granted...after all I understand it goes in the general pot...but that pot is still considered to be that big because of the need to care for dcs...if someone single and workig part time living in a 3 bed house (for example) asked for the same amount of benefits to live on they would not be entitled

I hope I don't take it for granted........although it is a big relief when the CTC and CB drop into my account as they're the 2 biggest payments I receive each month and make up almost 2/3 of my income

I have to confess if I were to fastforward my life 17yrs that I would find it very hard to get rid of most of the stuff I've scrimped and saved very hard to accumulate over the years in able to downsize to a smaller house.

I have actually been playing devil's advocate a little as I am in a similar situation in some ways..ust interested to hear peoples' reasonings
I will lose the maintenance i receive from my elder two dds biological father in the next 2 years..and that is taking inot account the girls both going to college for A-levels...
I don't NEED this money to live fortunately, but it has always been money that buys their extras..clothes, makeup, toiletries, school trips, pocket money, bus fares etc My DH pays for everything else and gives them extra money too...i will miss having that money land in my acct each month though and I know its for the girls but with our 'general pot' way of living it always just ends up as my money to spend on the..even if it's a night out at the cinema and a chinese meal etc

oooo you devil DDF

the trouble is kids dont leave home the day ctc stop.

ive one in uni with no income as such but quickly rising debt - £14000 grant. she still comes home, eats, has a room, all stuff kept in it etc, but cant contribute financially.

ive another on a gap year working minimum wage and fundraising for humanitarian aid trip to africa next year. she hasnt a penny spare to contribute. ctc for her end soon then off to uni - will become as above.

and another in college getting £30 a week ema. it barely covers transport. ctc while he's in college. hopefully he'll find a proper job after college and contribute as itll be a long time till he can earn enough to raise a mortgage. if he goes to uni then he becomes as above.

i work 50 hours minimum a week and can barely pay the bills with wtc and ctc.

wtc alone will be £20 a week.

mascara?

i'm curious - you dont receive any tax credits?

as far as i know you work full time - have you applied?

Thing is if I was single just now with no kids I could live in a cheaper flat and work full time, but I live in a 3 bed house and work part time as I can't get childcare.

CTC pays a share of the general bills which will not be much less when the kids leave will they. Ok I won't have to cloth them but I get mostly second hand anyway as once the bills are paid there is not much less. As for food it is cheaper per person to feed three than it is to feed one.

My opportunities are limited by the fact I have chilren and sole responsibility for them. I think it is naive to think CTC should only pay specifically for the childrens share of bills etc. It supports the household.

I think this question shows more about the void between low earnings and basic living costs rather than thinking CTC are too high.

SD, yes I work full time.

Tax credits is a bit of a long story..

My salary is around the top end of the allowance band. That said my childcare is still high as dd needs childcare before and after school as well as 10hrs per day during school hols! DD's father is not involved so no money from anyone else to help us out. it's just me.

Anyway tax credits, they over paid me so the small amount I would have been entitled to is kept by them. by the time I will have 'paid them back' I will no longer be entitled to tax relief due to salary.

Obviously I get the bog standard stuff, I have reduced council tax because I'm the only adult at the address and I get Child Benefit because every parent is entitled but that's all.

Sorry rambled but hopefully explained