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Back to work - would you be willing to tell me your take home wage and budgeting?

11 replies

pylonic · 06/01/2013 16:07

My youngest will be starting Reception this coming September. I also have another child age 5.5 at school.

I haven't worked since eldest was born.

I currently claim Income Support, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit.

In October this year, the government is scrapping all the back to work benefits for lone parents, with only one remaining, where they give you £40 a week for a year. I don't know if this is offset against anything else, ie tax etc.

Because of my lack of recent experience and the area I live, I know I'll only be able to find minimum wage shopwork, but because I have children, this means I can only work part-time else how will I drop and collect from school on time? Shopwork is unlikely between the hours of 9.30 and 3, isn't it?

Can someone pleasebe brave enough to share with me either in post or private message, exactly how much take home they have after tax? I have been to entitled.com and had the usual calculations back to work thing from the lone parent advisor, but neither take into account travel fares, etc and to be honest I just need a simple figure.

So if you have two infant school children like me, work part-time around those house mentioned above, please could you tell me how much benefits you still receive, especially housing bbenefit, and if you had any back to work benefits assistance etc. If I can know in advance exactly how much is going into my bank from a part time wage and benefits next September, it will make the transition so much easier. I don't have any savings fund to fall back on, and I'm worried that first month of working before my wages are paid I'll have nothing to live on!

I don't smoke, drink, have holidays, sky tele, drive or socialise and I have a lot of debt that's auto deducted from my income support at present, all utility bills and paying back social fund loans that I took out to afford the rent advance and deposit on rented housing over the years. I don't receive any child maintenance from their father.

Would you be prepared to share your budget? Ie how much you set aside for food shop, bills, school uniform costs, etc? I've never been able to budget hence the utility bills debt I've accrued that just seems to be one step forward two steps back all the time, it won't be paid off for at least another 8 years at this rate :(

It feels like I'm supposed to just dive in blindfold, my benefits stop, I get paid a wage, but I won't know exactly how much wage I get in my bank each month. I'm terrified.

Because my children are still so young and they are very much 'continuum' style reared, I know I couldn't cope mentally with sending them off to breakfast club and after school clubs just yet, although that would enable me to get full time hours, I would also then lose out on housing benefit, and I couldn't afford this rent on a full time wage anyway. It's a tiny 2 bed house, I'm not being greedy.

I suppose to be really reassured, I'm hoping someone in almost identical circs can reply, ie twoinfantschool children under 6' part time job, who has none of the expenses I listed above, who is willing to share their budgeting with me, and exactly how much after tax and everything else, is paid into their bank each month from their wages.

I know it's a lot to ask, but the relief it would offer me is huge.
Thank you in advance Thanks

Can't get rid of that 'bill' word down there flamin keypad glitch, I'm not called bill!

bill

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pylonic · 06/01/2013 16:07

Blimey that's a long post, sorry!Shock

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bunchamunchycrunchycarrots · 06/01/2013 16:24

I've guessed at a few things but based on working 18 hrs per week on min wage of £6.19 p/h, that would earn you £111.42 per week net. If you don't have childcare expenses, based on that income you might get in the region of £188 tax credits p/w with 2kids as well as HB etc. The problem is with all the changes coming in its hard to know how that will change in the future. Its also not clear what you would initially receive as i don't know how that changes things. From the turn2us website, the council tax benefit is added,as well as the HB. Try inputting your actual details based on the above weekly salary for 18 hrs and see what it says.

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bunchamunchycrunchycarrots · 06/01/2013 16:34

Based on full time, 40 hrs per week at min wage, your net weekly income is £217.21. Again I've guessed at aftercare costs but if you paid £100 per wk for this, your tax credits work out at £234ish but you would be paying your childcare from this too. HB goes down, as does the CT benefit. Again, if you input your own details, based on these weekly wage figures, you will get a rough idea but get the details confirmed by HMRC or the line parent advisor before you take that as fact.

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Snog · 06/01/2013 16:39

Would you not get most of your childcare paid for at breakfast and after school clubs?
I think you might struggle to find work just in school hours, part-time or not.

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pylonic · 06/01/2013 22:00

That's what I'm worried about, Snog. Unless I find something like care work to fit in with those hours.

But even working full time, I couldn't afford this rent £525pcm

So even if government child care vouchers did cover the cost of the breakfast club/after school club, at full time wages I wouldn't get any housing benefit at all, meaning my wage would barely cover rent let alone anything else Hmm

I could get a lodger but that would be illegal subletting, and I hate the idea of a stranger in my home. Or I could move to smaller property but this is small enough, surely? Even 2 bed flats are probably going to be around the same rent.

I'll try the site mentioned. Perhaps moving in with a lodger to share the rent is going to be a likely scenario in the future though. Hopefully other people can add views to this.

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Snog · 07/01/2013 07:42

Minimum wage would be over £1,000 per month before tax so hard to live on that without other benefits. I think you would get a lot more in tax credits on this salary though plus childcare costs plus child benefit plus any maintenance you receive.

Try using the tax credit calculator.

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whateveritakes · 07/01/2013 19:25

Go to Uni. You pay nothing up front. You get £9,000 a year (tax free remember) to live on from student loans (some is grant and doesn't need to be paid back). I also get £60 a week tax credit and CB. You will get full housing benefit (although how much maximum is changing). You are exempt council tax as a student.

You pay nothing back till you earn £21,000. I am gutted I'm in my third year.

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whateveritakes · 07/01/2013 19:26

Oh and did I mention that some courses (like mine) only require you to be in 8 hours a week - or 4 now for the third year. Hardly any transport costs and much less stress than work.

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MollyNollyNoo · 07/01/2013 20:54

If I am doing maths like this I use the benefit checker on the turn to use web site and the salary calculator. That way you can play about with figures for different scenarios.

Unfortunately what that the benefit calculator cannot take into account are the hidden/not so obvious benefits that you receive that will make a difference to your budget, school meals, free prescriptions, healthy start vouchers etc. Also, if you have any utility arrears that are currently being paid directly from your income support you will currently be paying off your arrears at a much lower rate per week than you would be able to do if you were working.

Have you had your six monthly meeting at the job center yet? They discuss more options with you there, child minding was one option that I looked at for instance, you can earn money but don't need to pay child care costs for your own DC's, I think you may even get financial help with training (I am not sure at all on that fact, but it may be worth looking at).

I am currently looking at courses and working on a business idea. If I rush back to work now I will end up in a dead end job and skint for a long time, I reckon it is worth putting in the ground work now, taking longer to get back into work but being better off once I do get there.

I'm also going to save up enough to pay for a months worth of childcare, travel etc, ex-p was out of work after being made redundant, when he went back to work the job center couldn't even pay our last JSA payment a day early to cover his train fare to work. The 'help' back to work was worse than useless to I'm expecting similar next time.

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DoubleYew · 07/01/2013 22:27

I used to do shop work when I was a student and actually found various shops were willing to give parents school hours to work. Lots of re-stocking / cleaning happens in quiet times so don't presume its all Saturday afternoons. This was before the credit crunch so that isn't going to make it easy now, of course.

I agree think about what you want to do and look at courses / training. Childcare, anything to do with schools will fit in around your children.

Also work madly at making friends with other parents at the school. May be that you can work out some sharing of school runs or after school time to give you a bit more time to work.

Even if you can put aside a pound a week atm it will add up to give you a little cushion.

What about CSA for maintenance?

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happygolucky0 · 09/01/2013 21:51

i work 28 hrs a week and take home around £250 a week. This is an hourly rate of 9.90 ish. Tax credits pay me a top up of £60 ish a week. I pay all my rent and council tax
Why do you only think you can work school hours? There are childminders/ after school clubs. I worked nights for a few years. Not idea taking ds to childminders but i thought at least he only sleeps there.

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