How Do You Do It?

[Shireena__x]

Posted In Single Moms But Had No Reply So Thought Would Post In Work & Finace As That Makes More Sense

As It Says Above


BackGround:
18
Single Mom(ish)
Not Living At Home (Currently In Refugee So Only Payin Out 25 A Week Par Washin food etc)
Currently On Benefits (CHB,CT,IS) Hittin just under 150 a week
Trying to get a HOUSE not flat
Drving test coming up
I Want to go to college full time Or work full time.


Full Time Work

I Want to full time work however i dont think il be able to afford it.
when i full time work obv i will e seen as an adult and will have to pay basically everything out. IE If im working a 5pound a hour job 9-5 monday to friday not including deducted pay for breaks etc il be making around: 280 before tax. i dont nohow much tax is so i dont no how much would be coming back out. but how would i be able to paay for. Dental/Perscriptions ETC, housing benefit, council tax, childcare (ruffly 135 a week), water, electric, tv license, gas, & thats not including food!!!

i also am hoping to pass my test soon so will be looking to get a car and as a young driver = high insaurance.

Benefits
now on benefits thats all free, plus a bit more on the side and i see why people are so tempted to just claim and not do nothing but im a grafter and i wana be out making something of my life. i wana be a social worker go college-uni-placemnt-work a hard more demanding more paying job maybe if im lucky with a company car

but how exactly do i do that with no money i no about working tax credit and stuff but isnt that about 5 pound :S

and as a single mommy(ish) i havent really got any other money coming in. i dont wana get in to debt .

 

[Shireena__x]

nobody then????

 

[Ema]

You can still get help when working. If on a low income you can look at working tax credit, child benefit and child tax. And also you can get help towards childcare as well. up to 80% paid for depending on income. Have a look at working tax do i qualify on google and hopefully that will help XxX

 

[ChloesMummy]

You really would not be that bad off. I was a single Mum at the age of 21, I already had a full time career and I was worried about childcare which was between £800-900 per month but I received 80% of the fees which you can get weekly or 4 weekly. You still get Child benefit and tax credits which I used to pay the rest of the creche bill off and I was still left with my wage to pay rent, bills and whatever else.

Its not a walk in the park, but you would certainly be better off working than not. I even started an OU course. If you really want to get that job with a company car you aint gonna get it unless you do something about it! Good luck x

 

[danni2609]

to be honest u would be better off than me and my hubby and he works full time my friend was a single parent and got loads more help than us and was still able to buy clothes and go out etc...we cant do that

 

[janinvan]

It won't be easy but I imagine you'll have to work to near death for a few years to make sure it all works out.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

You seem pretty ambitious so working now and only being slightly better off than being on benefits for a few years will mean you build up valuable experience and be more able to earn more in the future. I would contact an organisation such as A4E and get some help.

 

[ChloesMummy]

^^ I watched that A4E on Benefit Busters last night, I think its agreat idea helping getting Mums back into work. x

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Yeah so did I, that's what made me think of them!

 

[Sarahkka]

Remember that not everything can be measured in money.
With such important decisions, I think it's important to do an honest emotional accounting, too. For instance, I am currently weighing my feelings about returning full time to work and putting my baby in childcare. I'm asking myself what it is worth to me to be at home with my baby.
I have a career and a current job that I love, so I'm also asking myself emotionally what it is costing me to potentially give that up. Professionally, what could that do to my career, etc.
The money is a huge factor, but I think it's important to give equal weight to our feelings about situations. as well.
I think you may be faced with revising your list (cars are pretty expensive to run and maintain - if it's between that and tuition, for example - do you have a priority?) right now, but hold onto it. Those goals will be all the sweeter to attain if you have to wait a little longer for some of them.

 

[dom85]

I'm a firm believer in the saying 'where there's a will, there's a way'.

I think it's great that you want to go to college and get a career, and this will also be a great example to the child you're bringing into the world. I grew up on a council estate full of those people, and most of the kids that grew up with me are doing the same as what their parents did, sponging off of the government, having babies and not looking after them properly. It makes me sick when I go and see my parents to see little kids wandering around the estate with a packet of crisps for breakfast while their mum is still in her PJ's at 12 o clock and watching a nice flat screen TV.

Have a look at some of your local colleges and ask them if they have anyone who can give you some advice on the support they provide. The local college here has a creche on site for example which is free to people in certain situations.

You will still be entitled to help whether you go to college full time, work full time or do college and work part-time. You would get child tax credits which will also pay a portion of your childcare costs, working tax credits, child benefit. If you live on your own you get a discount on your council tax. Have a look at this website and try a few different scenarios to see what you would get www.entitledto.co.uk

I'm single myself and I've finished my education now, I've always been a stubborn cow and determined to get what I want, so I've pretty much always found a way to do it. I worked ever since I could to go to uni because there was no way my parents could help, I worked nearly full time hours whilst at uni to pay for it and was very creative with budgeting and shopping so that I could get my degree and eat, and it has been worth every single sacrifice and all those moments where I thought it would be much easier to do something else.

I found a job in London and have been working crazy hours ever since to establish myself there and then I found out I was pregnant unexpectedly in March. It was my choice to have the baby knowing I'd be alone, and I know the kind of life that I want to be able to give my child and it's not going to happen living off of benefits. I'm lucky in that I will be allowed to work from home when I go back to work, but I am also now thinking of changing career which will mean having to go back to uni to convert my degree, obviously I want to be able to feed and clothe my child and if I really wouldn't be able to then I wont do it, but I still think that I could.

There is help out there though, your local Connexions service may be able to help as well, or your Surestart centre.

Also, what contribution is the child's father going to make? He has to provide for his child and if he is going to have access then this will mean that you will have some time where you can study etc.

Please look into it in more detail though before deciding not to work. A car isn't a necessity just because you're doing your test, if this is something that you want then you will have to make sacrifices here and there.

 

[Shireena__x]

thanks girls

wow dom85 uve just described my life and ''me'' thats were i want to be in life i no i can do it but i dont want to put me or my child in debt ecause ive choose to do this and that to be able to live that life iykwim??

i no driving is not a nessecity (?sp) but im on public transport now as everything is far away from were i am, last buses are like 4 i finish pt college at 5 maybe 6, i buy a buspass witch is 12 a week, then ive got 2 pay for taxi 3 nights a week and all the money added up could buy me a run around and pay for petl!!!

i just dont want to be struggling to the point i cant afford electric like ive seen happen