How can we manage financially as Universal Credit support reduces?

[elliejjtiny]

We have 5 dc aged between 19 and 11 all with disabilities. Dh was a manager up until youngest was born, then he became unwell and had to take a massive pay cut. I'm a Sahm and get carers allowance. We get UC. Dc1 in his first year at uni, dc2 about to start in September.

We are just about managing at the moment but barely. In September we are going to lose the child element of universal credit for dc2 and I'm worried how we are going to manage. When the dc were younger I thought I would be working by now but I'm only getting 4 hours sleep a night and my 11 year old needs constant supervision when not at school so I don't know how I could fit work in. Dh has to work away about 15 weekends a year (from friday morning until late Sunday night) which leaves me completely exhausted each time. We spend 9 weekends a year picking up/dropping off/visiting dc1 and I imagine spending the same amount of time with dc2. There is no childcare for children my dc age with SN and they have to be picked up and dropped off at school. The dc have appointments about once a week on average and dc4 stays in hospital about 1 night a year when I don't get any sleep at all.

Realistically I can't think of any employer who would employ me with the amount of time off I would need and on so little sleep. At the moment I spend the time dc are at school doing the housework, cooking the dinner and trying to catch up on a bit of sleep.

I'm trying to think of anywhere we could save money but I can't think of anything. Dc1 doesn't cost any less money while he is at uni.

Yep, ghost jobs etc.
I see them on FB. You click on the link and it says job is no longer available.
People spend time on an application, send it off, and it is rejected minutes later at 2am. Fucking AI.

Do you realise that you are dehumanising disabled people when you post like this? Disabled lives are as valuable as anyone else's, not a terrible thing to be avoided where at all possible. Any disabled person reading this sort of rhetoric will be in no doubt that those who use it believe it would be better if they didn't exist.

It's odd, as well, that the DWP is so insistent that people apply for jobs with Indeed. Nobody gets these jobs as work coaches very well know. 👀

Ya what.

I'm hardly scared of your opinion, just amazed by it.

I understand that you’re trying to imply that you are more educated than the rest of us, but I think you need to review the appropriate use of “sic”.

Uni is a commonly used term for university in Australia, it is not a typo or grammatical error.

Hardworking is now an accepted alternative to “hard-working”: see Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary

It is nuts. My work coach wanted me to apply for jobs you needed an HGV license for, and I am not even allowed to drive.
The big job agencies seem to be shit now anyway.

And apparently making sense is not yours. Oh well.

My son is ADHD diagnosed at 19 -he was a pain in the backside albeit I loved him to bits between 11 and 16 but I must admit it never stopped me working. It is quite alarming to me though how much this seems on the rise - I’ve got neighbours both sides that are in their 60s both with a severely autistic child at home.

I thought I was leaning towards Old Testament, center-right politics, but I am distinctly uneasy about what I read on this thread - some comments smack of the Third Reich ideology. Reading it makes me feel uncomfortable. I am trying to understand, but not succeeding.

Sorry you don't understand subtle irony. My use of "sic" was perfectly placed, used as it was to point out a very deliberate and specific use of language by politicians and the press in recent years to create a false dichotomy between the "skivers" and the "hardworking" (sic).

I'm not trying to imply that I'm more educated than the rest of you but statistically speaking I probably am among the better educated here. That's not an insult. It's fact. What do you want me to do about that?

That sounds really difficult for your neighbours. Parents of disabled kids worry about the future.

Everything is so difficult. There are so many barriers that people are supposed to clear. Lots will never get off the ground, then they're blamed by society and sanctioned by the DWP for being unable to achieve the impossible.

Thousands of people including myself would have liked more children but realise that it is unaffordable. Why then should we pay for others who go ahead and have large families I realise this is an unpopular view but It is the reality.

Nothing physically stopped you.

Nice attempt to redirect, but that explanation doesn’t hold up for your use of the term in relation to uni.

I think what you “should do about it” is refrain from petty attempts to critique the writing of other people on a public forum.

In the eyes of UC your household has dropped, in term time at least, by two adults. Your eldest two are no longer being fed on a day to day basis so you will probably see a reduction in your food bills. That is your first saving.
DC1 needs to appeal or reapply for PIP and should use student services to check that he is getting all the financial help he is eligible for. If he is able to work in the holidays then he should contribute to the household finances.
DC2 needs to do the same with regard to funding. Is there any form of remote work he can do in the long summer holiday where elective mutism would not be a problem?
After that you need to sit down and really look at your budget. Where exactly is the money going each month, can you identify savings. After you have accounted for all the essentials is there money left for trips to see DC at uni? You might have to reduce the frequency.

She said he is on less since the youngest was born. They have had 11 years to get use to that

Yeah, we'll agree to differ there. Mainly because I knew what I meant and you don't.

It isn’t an unpopular view, it’s an opinion shared by many.

To add, I was being a little snobby about "uni", it's true. I was outraged by the idea that higher education exists solely for the purpose of getting a job.

I don't owe you that explanation but I hate being misrepresented, particularly by people with an axe to grind.

Oh ok, I missed that bit.

She also said he had a part time job, he will also be entitled to the full loans/grants available, so no idea how he could be costing just as much

I’m fed up with people who can’t read. She’s explained it all, how her dh lost his job, how they didn’t know the dc were disabled. How the youngest was conceived while using 3 kinds of contraception.

actually you know what? There are legitimate reasons for not being able to read, maybe you’re dyslexic. There are not legitimate reasons for having no compassion for life circumstances or for coming online to kick someone who’s struggling. I’m fed up with people who do that. Like you have.