Both work and we claim UC but still can't afford to live.

[Mocha1]

We have 3 kids, 2 who aren't at school yet, my husband and I both work 30 hours a week for charities so not highly paid. We also have childcare for part of the week and then juggle the kids between us the rest of the time (We don't want to work more as we dont want the kids in fulltime childcare). We rent and down't own. We claim UC but we are still really struggling to make ends meet. We really try to live to a tight budget but I have no idea how to lower our expenses any more.

Am I missing something? Is this normal? does anyone have any tips for saving money/ making more income somehow? I feel a bit at a loss as we keep dipping into our savings for just day to day expenses and we're nearly at the end of those.

Our income at the moment (I'm on MAT leave) - £3980
Outgoings- £4250

Do these outgoings seem like a lot for a family of 5 living in the south west? I've been going over our budget and I have no idea how to save any more unless we literally never bought another birthday present or went to a soft play ever again.

I am 100% judging people who claim benefits when I believe they don't need to. They've had 3 children, AND they choose to both work in a low paid sector AND both choose to work part time and therefore deserve the scorn I am aiming at them.

And no, I am certainly not apologising to you. No apology to me for being so sanctimonious???😂

Studies show that there is no additional benefit to children under 2 from being in childcare, it’s more important for their development to be with a primary care giver. Obviously, most people can’t afford financial to keep their 1-2’s out of full time childcare these days, or can’t have an extended career gap. I’d imagine that op and her husband just want to spend as much time with their young children as possible, although in the current financial climate many would see that as a luxury.

All those with a mortgage and two kids saying they will go part time and claim UC just realise that ,unless you have disability or rent, that earning over £2,500 will roughly stop your UC. Could you live on that? I suspect you wouldn't want to.

In which case it's needed but in this case one or both parents could work harder. There is also a massive difference between childhood poverty and being short by £250 pcm because the parents are playing the benefit game. Also we haven't seen a budget.

'The benefit game' aka accessing benefits they're currently legally entitled to access.

It's not about what you believe though.
They're currently legally entitled to claim UC, regardless of what you think.
Someone needs to work in 'low paid sectors', we learnt that during Covid.
As for the apology, it would have been for wrongly accusing me of claiming benefits, simply because I understand why some people may do so.

Or they stop being entitled and one works full time like most families do!

One FT and one PT (or not at all) wouldn't be much more than the both nearly FT set up.

Well, exactly.

If you don't want to put your children in childcare, that's absolutely fine but you need to fund it yourself by making certain lifestyle choices such as 1 parent working longer hours, not having as many as 3 children etc.

Well they’re here now, she can’t send them back.

They won't remember their first few years in childcare. They won't thank you for not working more and trying your best to set up a good life for them when they are older.

This is what I decided anyway, obviously you may feel differently. They don't remember much of childcare now they are older but they are damn glad I worked so hard now. If I didn't, there would be less activities and hobbies that they love now. Less presents, less lots of stuff they are grateful for now.

Work hard for them. Doing more hours in childcare in early life won't hurt them as much as parents in debt. You do what you have to do not what you want to do.

What I believe and what the OP is entitled to claim are mutually exclusive.

I'm expressing an opinion I have made on the OP's post, which I'm perfectly entitled to. I made an assessment on you, which I'm also perfectly entitled to.

You, of course, are also entitled to demand an apology, express all your sanctimonious opinions and dislike what I have to say. I welcome it.

This is the joy of public forums.

Do we want to teach our children that stuff matters more than time?
It's such a hard balance to get right, but there's no absolute right or wrong imho.

Presumably the OP isn’t coming back to the thread:
… in her post where she said that she and her husband qualify for UC and have an income of over £4,000 that presumably includes the UC - the £628 allowance for couple and £292.81 for each qualifying child.

Most likely free childcare hours covers some childcare costs.
If they were both on NMW earning around £1363 month each then they’d qualify for somewhere over £1000 - £1400 a month UC. If they both worked 40 hours more the UC would be half of what they get currently.
That MIGHT explain their decisions.. perhaps not but we won’t know as she won’t be coming back I expect.

I support free childcare hours, it's just a bit galling for the taxpayers who fund them for everyone else but don't get to benefit themselves.

Again, the apology would have been for your wrong assumption. Never mind, you just stick to judging incorrectly, if that floats your boat.

Presumably because some of these tax payers earn enough to live and afford childcare, whereas those who get support don't?

Sounds about right.
I don't blame OP for not coming back, some posters have a particularly unpleasant way of saying things.
I get that the things need to be said, but there's no point in making it ruder than it needs to be.

You both need to to work full time.

Most of my friends, in professional jobs , don't have more than 2 kids because of the cost. 3 on low waged part time jobs was always going to be tough I'm afraid. One of you needs to move sector.

But they chosen not to work full time, not fallen on hard times /their predicament is entirely their own fault.

But they chosen not to work full time, not taken on hard times /their predicament is entirely their own fault.

I hope to teach my children to live within their means so they aren't faced with these choices in the first place. Stuff vs time is a debate for people who aren't expecting anyone else to fund either.

You made a general statement, I responded.
Technically they're doing nothing wrong, because the system allows them to do it.

People who are earning just above the threshold to no longer be entitled to anything aren't as well off as you'd think, particularly if they're living in London, as most of them are. The way the tax and benefits system is structured means that once you earn over £100k you essentially see no benefit until you earn something like £150k, which is insane. The people I know in this tax bracket are looking to leave the UK because they're fed up of being absolutely bled dry and getting so little back. It's really not smart to disincentivise people from getting better jobs and falling into this tax bracket, or encourage people already in this tax bracket to either reduce their taxable income or leave the UK. These are exactly the kind of people who should be encouraged to stay in the UK, keep working and paying taxes, and have a third child. Instead the message is effectively, "We'll have your taxes, thanks very much, but you can go fuck yourselves."