Am I really entitled to nothing?

[Alfayxo]

Basically I went to citizens advice as I was confused as online calculators said I was entitled to nothing. They told me to go onto their website to “turn2us” calculator (already used it but that’s the only advice they had, helpful) which I did and it said that I’m entitled to zero. Not a penny. After the baby comes it is the 20.70 but that’s all.
Here’s my story:

So I’m now 25 weeks pregnant and on a PGCE primary course. Because of how my course works, I have to go on my maternity leave in two weeks (before my final placement). I’ve been applying for part time jobs but I’m visibly pregnant so people haven’t been hiring me (even though I have all the experience for these jobs and even though discrimination against pregnancy is illegal, it’s obvious why they do it). Due to my PGCE and final year of uni last year, I haven’t worked since end of December 2017. Therefore I know I’m not entitled to maternity pay or allowance.
I currently live with my fiancé with my parents. He earns (as of a week ago) 26,000. However, before he met me he got himself into a LOT of debt and therefore struggles with money and is paying off overdrafts and loans so can’t really support me as well as our baby. We only pay 200 rent at my parents and we are on the waiting list for a council house.

So can anyone tell me why I’m not entitled to anything? I’ve looked for part time work and can’t get any. I don’t really want to go into work STRAIGHT after labour but I know I’m going to have to as I can’t afford to live otherwise. I’m getting myself really run down stressing about it all.

You have a partner on £26k and you live with your parents on reduced rent. DPs debts aren't the governments problem... you aren't poor or hard up really so you're not entitled to extra money. I'm amazed you'd get a council house with a £26k income

Op, can he reduce his debt repayments?

Either way he needs to step up and support you.

You let your partner pay all of your rent and bills as a student? That's awful... most people pay out of their maintenance loan

glad people have said about partner rejigging debt plan, that seems like the best option all round.

have you checked out homeworking options that you can do in your spare time? I think there's a "make £10 a day" thread in Money Matters.

also can you do any temp office work? if it's a week or two, they won't discriminate, I hope!

Can you do some babysitting, cleaning or home help work until you have the baby. You might not have long enough left, but they are also recruiting for exam invigilators currently.

Can you talk to housing associations about housing options too.

OP, the best advice here is to reduce the debt. What are the monthly repayments? Sorry if I missed that.

In addition look at ways to make money at home - surveys, matched betting, cleaning, dog walking, leaflet delivery etc.

I'm all for going out to work when you really need to in these circumstances, but having a baby is hard, especially a newborn and going straight back into work is an unnecessary pressure if there are other options.

Some excellent advice from other posters in getting your partner to look at a debt management plan to reduce his payments and give you more to live on. Get in touch with National Debtline or Stepchange.

www.nationaldebtline.org/

www.stepchange.org/

Just to give you an idea we are a family of five with a family income of around £21k and we rent privately for £800 per month. The only benefits we get are child benefit for 3 children and £60 CTC.

I had a run in with my mum over Christmas as she made a snipe at me because she is paying for us to have a life of Riley apparently as I don't work as I have health problems that are the same diagnosis as my cousin but she works (mine is more severe) and if my SIL can work with a child who is autistic then why can't I (different part of the spectrum). So everyone is paying their taxes so they can keep me in clover. I asked her what benefits I was getting and she reeled off council tax, housing benefit, income support , WTC, CTC etc. etc. Her face when I told her that we didn't get anything apart from the little bit of CTC was a picture (and a sight I shall treasure for quite a while.)

What are your plans for childcare when you go back to work? Fulltime private nursery childcare is £££ so you'll need to factor that in.

Sorry didn't finish that after my mini rant.

I think that you will be fine once your partner has got his debt under control with a DMP or possibly bankruptcy (an IVA is generally only suitable for those who have property and assets to protect) then you will manage quite well.

1. Leave your partner. Sounds like you'll be better off without him anyway. High debts and no responsibility sucks.

1. If that's not an option. Go get your partners debts sorted. A payment plan will get things under control and make the payments manageable. Plus it gives you the chance to have some transparency over the debt.

1. 26k you likely won't get anything above child benefit even if you do get a council house. So budget for that. Unless you follow option 1...in which case you'll get universal credit until you return to university.

1. Speak to the university. They should have a hardship fund. But It might not apply if you quit. But might for suspended studies.

1. Finishing your PGCE will be difficult with a small baby. Even student finance won't pay all the childcare with a family income of 26k

Have you spoken to your university? There are things like Parents Learning Allowance available through student finance

£26k sounds a reasonable income for a small family especially as your rent and outgoings are low - most people would be paying far more than £200 for rent, utilities, council tax etc.

PrismGuile why not? Council houses are supposedly (according to the site I applied) capped at a joint income of 60,000, which we are WAY under. Our friends, without child and both working on a joint income of 40,000 got one within our region in 6 months. So I’m pretty confident we will be offered one at 26,000. It’s just the waiting that will take a long time.

Thanks for all of your advice. It’s all getting sorted now. For those who said to leave my partner, that was never gonna be an option. I may not have described him in the best way but he’s a very hard working person, working weekends and nights to get more money for us when he can. He dotes on me and is the only person who understands and helps improve my mental illness. Financially may be better off without him but mentally I won’t be. Hopefully with some advice we have taken, his debts can be handled a lot easier now. Thanks again 💖

As others have mentioned, your do earns £26k and just because he got into debt previously doesn’t mean that the tax payer would pick up the bill for his debts - because now you have a baby on the way. Congratulations by the way.

Use citizens advise to get the debts at a manageable amount and pay the debts if

You’ll struggle to get council or social housing if you can’t afford to live in the property therefore getting the debts paid off ASAP and arrangements in place are paramount to your situation. In a rental you’ll have not only rent but council tax to pay each month along with water, electric, gas bills

Also PrismGuile from your second judgement post... my matience loans didn’t cover that. I had to travel from North Yorkshire to Newcastle and back every day for uni placement. Was promised on my course somewhere close to home so travel fees were minimum but I got somewhere that cost 25 quid a day. Not ideal but means my student finance didn’t stretch enough for rent so I really don’t deem that to be awful but thanks 😂 yes thanks to everyone else, getting it all sorted so feel a lot better

Thank god you are not considering leaving your partner because you'd be better off being a single mum on benefits. What kind of advice is it to suggest depriving a child of daily contact with two loving parents just because they are currently going through the hard realisation of what supporting yourself entails.

OP, you'll be fine but you might have to face the reality that life can be tough and not just what you want it to be. You'll both have to make sacrifices and not all what you want. You might have to onside getting an evening/PT jobs in the evenings when your baby is older. It sounds like you can still continue your studies though and become a primary school tea her so aim for this.

Hopefully in a few years time, you'll be a teacher, your OH's debts will be paid, and you'll have a nice albeit tiring life with your loving family.

That’s weird MrsPworkingmummy as I’ve LITERALLY been working in a school in Newcastle when living in North Yorkshire (and stating I live in North Yorkshire) but thanks for that haha! That’s literally the placement I got given and it tried to contest it but for some reason they were being super stubborn but thanks to receiving very good results in that placement, I can organise my final placement next year and get somewhere in my town, which I’ve worked super hard for. Also, was on protection, thank you again for your helpful input. Protection fails. This was a clear sign of that for me.

Thank you swingofthings 💖 that was a lovely message to receive. I’m willing to make the necessary sarcrifices, as is my partner. I initially wrote this post in a haste of panic and frustration but once people explained it to me, I feel so much calmer and positive about it all. Thank you x

Also...can I clarify I’ve never said my boyfriend WON’T support me. He’s the most supportive human ever. I was just worried that he wouldn’t be able to with his current situation. But now he’s sorted out a more manageable way to pay them back and have enough left over to support us as a family.

When are you due op? And when do you plan to finish your pgce? The advice here suggests that you’re not going to get much more benegiys at the moment. Ok. Babies don’t cost much, really. You don’t need any of the fancy stuff.

I think you need to shift your attention to future planning: childcare so that you can do your second placement (e.g. can dp arrange his shifts in a way that will allow you to be in school full time? Are your parents able to help?) If you know what you’re aiming for, the next few months might feel easier.

I am due 6th of June. I worked out that if I don’t have to pay back what I owe student finance straight away, I should be fine up till due date. Then after she’s born, I’ll have to find part time work, which I’m more than willing it do once I get cleared to work. I am so incredibly lucky in the way that my mum said she will look after LO when I’m working/on my pgce (which I return to in March 2020 and finish June 2020 so not long at all). I think this whole post was an initial panic and realisation of, I need to sort out finances ASAP before baby comes. I feel a lot more comfortable now. Realised how super lucky I am in life!

Op I commend your attitude. It would have been easy to get defensive but you’ve been really can-do. Good luck with baby and teaching qual!

TBF a decent CAB adviser should have been able to explain to you why you were not entitled and when you might become entitled, explained contribution based benefits and also discussed and offered assistance on how to address your OHs debt. I think that would have reduced your initial anxiety.

Sometimes though you just need to think things through, out loud, on mumsnet . Good luck.