Full time work as a single parent

[Whyyougottobeanonymous]

Hi ladies

sorry for the down and out post on NYD!

I’m just in need of advice from those who have been there and done this.

my relationship broke down and I was lucky enough to move back in with parents and DC. This has been very testing for my relationship with my parents and I made it my goal to move out of their home in 2025.

I took a huge pay cut after mat leave as the job I had before was full time and they couldn’t accommodate PT hours. I had to step down into an admin based role and take a 5k pay cut.

im currently PT working 2 days a week. I was going to up to 3 but I’m now thinking of doing full time with condensed hours over 4 days.

however, even with full time work it seems that I still wouldn’t be able to afford rent or shared ownership each month.

I had a house and sold it so I have some savings behind me which I would use, however, it does scare me that I won’t be able to afford the roof over our heads once I need to pay bills etc. as I have some savings behind me from the house I’m not entitled to government help such as benefits, and would also mean DC would need to go in nursery more which would be another expense.

what is everyone’s opinion on this please? How do you find full time working and being a single parent, affording everything, and how do you afford everything really?

finances would look something like this:

• £2000 take home pay
• £1300 rent / shared ownership rent and mortgage
• £700 left for bills and general living.

DC’s father does see her once a week usually and currently gives me £200 child maintenance. However, there’d be no chance of getting him to see her more as he won’t take the time away from his job.

id just be so grateful for some advice. Struggling with all this single parent lark and understanding the right things to do for me and my DC.

Are you sure you’re not entitled to anything? So you get child benefit? I’m in Ireland where things are different but do tax credits not change over there depending on circumstances? I pay less tax now as a single parent renting than I did when I was married. Surely you must get something?

I put my details online to see my entitlement but it said that I was not entitled to anything. The only thing I do get is a tax free child account for DC’s nursery….

That's really high for shared ownership

Where are you located?
Are you able to save for a bigger deposit and do a smaller share percentage?

Or buy a share outright and just pay the rent

I'd get lodger, it's tax free to rent a room and they don't have tge same rights as a tenant

I’m located in south London but I’m looking at Kent areas.

I could definitely give a bigger deposit, I just wouldn’t want to give too much of my savings away at risk of not having an emergency fund.

i didn’t think about buying a share outright. I suppose I could discuss with my mortgage advisor on the best options.

thank you x

You’d do better to use your savings to increase your deposit and/or buy a bigger share of a SO property. If your savings are less than 16k, you’ll be entitled to benefits like universal credit etc. Drop them down to 6k you’ll get the full amount of benefits. There’s a good Facebook group - shared ownership help group - with lots of advice.

Ah it is hard op, I feel for you. And frustrating that you have savings but know it'll still be a struggle. Mine are a bit older now and so I don't have the childcare factor as they're at school then I top up my hours when my ex has them. Or sometimes when they're at home watching TV as I WFH.

If he's only having the DC once a week should he be paying more maintenance? You should definitely get child benefit too, as you earn under the £50k cap.

You've probably thought of all this or might already be doing this but would a flat give you more options in terms of not having shared ownership to deal with?

I moved to Watford
Negotiated 35% instead of the 40%
Bought it cash outright of £390k flat

Had to do this area so dc could be closer to their dad.
Only pay £500 rent x
No mortgage
There are ways

You don't get any help with mortgage payments. That's why middle earning single parents struggle. The current benefits system does not make it easy to be a home owner and a single parent. I earn a similar monthly amount to you and luckily my mortgage payments are lower than in your example. I would be much better off (in a sense) if I was renting as UC would pay a proportion of my rent. But then I would be at mercy of UC and the rental market.

Yes, but if it’s shared ownership, you will get help with the rented part.

When the saving run below a certain amount you will then be entitled to UC which will help with rent etc

A childminder might be cheaper than nursery? And remember the big childcare costs are fairly short term once she's in FT school