F*****g Goverment! Im so upset - I dont know what to do

[MammyShirl]

I just called Inland Revenue and they said we are not entitled to any help with childcare so basically I can't afford to work and I cant afford to not work. I don?t understand this government, they don?t seem to want to help people who want to help themselves. They just waste money on no-hopers!

I might as well chuck my boyfriend out, leave my job and say I'm homeless to get any help, and on the way damage my leg so I can be registered disabled and get a free car - its sad but true!

So what's next for people who don?t get help with childcare - where do us people who want and need to work stand? Is there no government funded nurseries?

What are my options?

We earn what I consider low wages well under 30k, we are in a lot of debt and just about makes ends meet each month, we dont earn enough to pay our bills we just balance it. i work part time and we need the money. my mother looks fter my dd but is now finding it difficult so i need to get my dd into a nursery, ive been looking for a couple of weeks and yesterday, trailed arouns chiswick/acton from 10 - 5pm, i was so tired, they are so expensive and i really stupidly thought we would get some help with the costs - but no! nothing! so what do i do now, we cant live on my dh wages, we cant afford to pay the nursery costs as it costs two thirds of my monthly wage. i am desperate, what the f* is this goverment up to. when i lived in australua they really take care of you, their money is well spent and not wasted on no-hopers like it is here. im sorry but i cant express or say what i really want to say as i will come across arrogant and racist which im not im just saying what is true! the goverment needs to start taking care and putting people first who want to help themselves, they really do have their priorities wrong.

im so anrgy and i feel so low, my debts feel like a ton of bricks on my shoulders, i work hard and always have, i dont spend much, i dont have much. i pay rent, my bills and ive worked since 14, i see people from school living in nicely decorated houses, do they work? - no! they get all because they can, because they choose to cheat the system, but who is they clever one? not me the mug! i should learn a lesson from them that i cant fight this system i should just join it or suffer in silence as no-one wants to hear from me unless im disabled, homless, single or a refugee. sure they need help but what about all the falling people around them, soon we will be in the same boat as homeless people an dthen they will have to help me and it would cost alot more then it would if they just gave me some f help now so i can look afte rmy family.

i just want to screaaaaaaaaaaaaam!

sorry if i offend anyone but we should be allowed to say what we feel, i dont hate anyone just the goverment.

Twinkie - If you and your DP earn more than £58k together then no you can't get anything.... I'm afraid.... Blimey Twinkie!! Thats a lot of money!

just to add my thoughts - it can be really difficult trying to balance work with the financial cost of sending children back to work but I agree with previous posts that if your problem is debt mammyshirl then you need to address that problem first. Bozzas explanation of how child/working tax credit is decided is correct I think. Please do be careful about using massive generalisations it really can offend even if you don't intend it that way.

OK, now I'm confused! I just found out we were entitled to tax credits when I filled out dh's tax return for last year, did it online and it said we were due £588 tax credit (which they've paid already). DD was under one in the year the return was for.

Then I went online and applied for tax credits. DH's income is 36k and I'm a SAHM, have one 21mo dd. The award came through as £285. So whats this £545 thing then?

ALL REPEAT AFTER ME:
The website calculator only figures out what you're entitled to between now & the end of the current tax year (about 4 April 2004).

I've just checked Twinkle as I'm in the same boat and over £58k you get nothing, but between £50k and £58 you will get something...

Also, once your child reaches three you do get nursery vouchers, which are not means tested and are well worth having!!

M2T, mm does sound a lot I know (embarresed icon) but honestly my husband and 2 x dd's live a very modest life - honest. I've got 1 week and 3 days left to pay day and I am eeking out the money and wondering how I will make it last...without going overdrawn...

I think sometimes people forget to take geography into account when looking at salaries and thinking - wow, £58K!

I live in the north and could do an awful lot with £58K (instead of the 17K that my family of 4 have to live on) - but I can appreciate that it won't go far if you live in the south. Around my way, the average 2 bedroom house is £40K and you can get a 4 bed detached for

Where do you get nursery vouchers from ? I have never heard of them? DS is 3 in September....

Nursery/playgroups apply for the vouchers on your behalf to the LEA.

Where do you get nursery vouchers from ? I have never heard of them? DS is 3 in September....

Zebra, I didn't do the online calculator, I just applied online. The award notice came through in the post - for £285. If it was only 1/5 of the amount (cos theres only 1/5 of the tax year left) it wouldn't be that much. And they do backdate it - they gave me all of last years even though I didn't apply last year. Maybe I'll phone them...

Sorry, the calculator doesn't backdate but the award notices do, if that makes any sense.
Or maybe I'm not making any sense... the whole thing is a mess, anyway.

snugs don't think you'd get as much as a broom cupboard in London for 80k!

You really need to move abroad to get more help from the government - most people would agree that it is tough for working families in Britain.

However, from what you say you do seem to be better off than a great proportion of families in this country - see the national census website for details of family incomes.

One trick of raising your income is obviously not to pay for childcare - so working when your partner is not working is a good bet financially, though not so good for quality of life...

It sounds as though your job is well paid though, and that you would potentially be better off if you worked full time and paid a child minder. Is that an option which is open to you?

Well DP earns over 58k on his own - I earn enough to take it up to just over 90k but I pay all I can out in legal costs and have credit cards up to neck from when x2b threw me out - I know that not in the equation but DP is trying to pay as much off of the mortgage as possible and believe me 80k would not get you anything not even a 1 bedroom flat where we live - in greater London but also in Kent - we right on boarder of both so it is hugely expensive.

Everything is dearer down here but so we get paid more - you would have to be an exec up north to get what I get down here (although I paid really well for what I do).

The thing that I can't understand is that lots of people earn more cause they go back to work and then get nothing and still have to pay out what people who earn less pay as well as huge tax bills (DP just paid his and I was stunned) and I pay a huge amount in tax each month and I know I shouldn't moan but I don't get anymore (I actually get less) for what I pay out. It would probably pay me to take a local or opart time job save on childcare and commuting and everything else working in the city entails and I would then get some benefits, well not benefits but at least help with childcare - it all seems so weird the way things work - maybe they should bring in state nursery's mind you that won't be any different from the ones we have at the mo!!

Oh well - there we go - maybe I should just shut up now!!!

Oh and about the nursery vouchers - DD will go to pre-school when I get residence (I am trying to be optimistic although seems like tempting fate!!) does that mean I won't get nursery vouchers - I had to apply through local council as she is at a government school so is that where the vouchers are being used and I still don't get the £585 malarky???

Just phoned the IR. My award is from Sept to Apr, because I only applied recently and they only backdate it for 3 months. The money for before that is gone - I didn't apply in time so I don't get it. The reason I got it all for last year is because they've changed the system since then! £260 lost, sob. Mind you, since I didn't realise I was entitled to anything at all till a few weeks ago, I should look at it as £285 gained...

Fairymum the vouchers are paid directly to the approved provider by the LEA. I think its supposed to be because there is insufficient state nursery education. Eg in my area places at nursery school are not offered until the term in which the child has the fourth birthday whereas the vouchers are available from the term after the third birthday ie 1-2 terms earlier. DS goes to a day nursery ie 8-6 notionally but the nursery also offer 2.5 hour (9-11.30 or 1-3.30 sessions) using the vouchers for children of SAHM or who go to childminders. Get in touch with your council's Early Years Services.

I've never heard of Nursery vouchers. My Nursery Manageress just reminded me that from August this year ds will be 3 and will be entitled to 12.5 hrs free. That saves us £107 per month.

Twinkie I think that if your DP earns over 58K there is nothing you could do. Whether you worked or not and where and how many hours you will not get any tax benefits. Your DP's income alone takes you over the threshold so thats why you don't get the £545 a year credit. You won't get the vouchers because they are to pay for the equivilant of what your DD is being provided with anyway (ie 12.5 hours a week of nursery education during termtime).

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

M2T thats what people mean by nursery vouchers. Only they are paid directly to the nursery so all you see (like me) is a reduction in the bill. But we're not complaining about that are we?

hmmm, ds isn't 2 yet, but i'm thinking ahead... he goes to a council/sure start nursery - does this mean it's a state one? he goes 2 days a week, & the cost is £26/day. i know the fees reduce when he's 2 (i know this is an excellent deal. inner london too). i'm intending him to stay there 'til he goes to school. my question is, will we get vouchers when he's 3, or would that just be greedy...?

You need to ask at your nursery, some time after 3 or 4yo the fees I would think fees go down, again. But the age when the vouchers become available is inconsitent across the country. I have heard that plan is to implement a universal policy, but I don't know if or what.

There's also a different sort of nursery voucher that can be obtained through your employer. It is called busy Bees (website is called busybees.co.uk or something similar) basically it means you get a proportion of your pay in vouchers and then you use them to pay your child care (can be nursery, childminder or even family member) You do not pay NI on vouchers thus saving 10% ( could be 11 not sure) Anyway, it's worth having if you are paying £400 per month. £40 is £40!!

Twinkie, we are in the same situation as you. DH earns over 58K alone, so we would never get any support. I can see that we have a high income, but it's difficult not to agree with you. It seems people with high income have to pay a lot more for everything and if you add it all up it does amount to quite a lot. I would love to have a third child, but because we earn too much to qualify for any help, it would be difficult financially......