new child tax credits for 2012!!!!!

[Ozzieshunni]

Wait wait wait, who is complaining about not getting tax credits when their DH earns close to £100,000 in commission?

 

[XJessicaX]

I wasn't complaining about not getting tax credits! I popped into this thread and agreed with what a previous poster had written.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Oh sorry I misread that.

 

[XJessicaX]

You made me blush! I think I spend far too much time on B&B!

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I think I'm sleep deprived. I was just skimming the thread and I saw you wrote what your DH earned and I was like WHAT?

 

[Lilysmum17]

I would like to know how ??? lol, i just cant see how this is possible on this income, not in a funny way im just astonished as our money doesn't stretch that far, my hubbie is on 22500, i earn aswell but currently nothing as unpaid mat leave his wage covers all our bills and nothing left over, mortgage is £725. We're only surviving as we saved a little to cover my unpaid leave x

 

[Lilysmum17]

were on less than 20k a year together and dont struggle at all!
we have a mortgage, all nice things, LO has all 'the best' of everything, we pay £125+ on food shopping every week, all the latest things, OH has two cars and an offroad bike and i eat out most days! we dont have loads left at the end of the month but were more than comfortable
i can never get my head round people that struggle on such high wages! lol
i dont think tax credits should be cut for anyone at all. its just giving you money back that youve earnt imo

i think its disgusting the reason for the cuts is to essentially give the unemployed a payrise!!!

I would like to know how ??? lol, i just cant see how this is possible on this income, not in a funny way im just astonished as our money doesn't stretch that far, my hubbie is on 22500, i earn aswell but currently nothing as unpaid mat leave his wage covers all our bills and nothing left over, mortgage is £725. We're only surviving as we saved a little to cover my unpaid leave x

 

[Louppey]

were on less than 20k a year together and dont struggle at all!
we have a mortgage, all nice things, LO has all 'the best' of everything, we pay £125+ on food shopping every week, all the latest things, OH has two cars and an offroad bike and i eat out most days! we dont have loads left at the end of the month but were more than comfortable
i can never get my head round people that struggle on such high wages! lol
i dont think tax credits should be cut for anyone at all. its just giving you money back that youve earnt imo

i think its disgusting the reason for the cuts is to essentially give the unemployed a payrise!!!

I would like to know how ??? lol, i just cant see how this is possible on this income, not in a funny way im just astonished as our money doesn't stretch that far, my hubbie is on 22500, i earn aswell but currently nothing as unpaid mat leave his wage covers all our bills and nothing left over, mortgage is £725. We're only surviving as we saved a little to cover my unpaid leave x

Yeah i'd like to know this too

ETA I've been thinking about it, and my salary is only just over £20k and there's no way DH & I could live of it. Our mortgage alone is £675 a month which is half my net wage gone... How do you do it Nicole??

 

[cattattat]

were on less than 20k a year together and dont struggle at all!
we have a mortgage, all nice things, LO has all 'the best' of everything, we pay £125+ on food shopping every week, all the latest things, OH has two cars and an offroad bike and i eat out most days! we dont have loads left at the end of the month but were more than comfortable
i can never get my head round people that struggle on such high wages! lol
i dont think tax credits should be cut for anyone at all. its just giving you money back that youve earnt imo

i think its disgusting the reason for the cuts is to essentially give the unemployed a payrise!!!

I would like to know how ??? lol, i just cant see how this is possible on this income, not in a funny way im just astonished as our money doesn't stretch that far

Ditto! Lol tell us your secrets! X

 

[Lilysmum17]

I think there does need to be cutsbacks on tax credits but as others have said its the people that work but dont earn fantastic wages that pay for childcare etc that will be hit the hardest, i think a threshold of £26k, is incredibly low, you either need to live off benefits or earn £50k a year for a decent lifestyle. And i just like to ask out of interest, all those that have mentioned earning only low amounts like £16k etc but survive fine , is this because you get houseing benefit ? i mean rent/mortgage is the biggest bill, (apart from childcare) so if we didn't have that to pay we'd be fine too, so i'm assuming the people saying well we live fine off only £12k maybe dont have to pay rent/mortgage ? When i go back to work part time our income will be £33k jointly, but with a £600 childcare bill there wont be much left after bills, I don't know if we'll get tc or not but it would be nice to get a little towards it, we've worked constantly, and no i don't want loads of money to raise my children, it helps so i can go to bloody work and pay taxes and still pay into the system !! I also understand some have difficult circumstances etc but i loath reading the work and finance forum and you see "I'm pregnant, don't work, what can i claim when baby is here, will i get jsa, tc, hb etc"

 

[wishingonastar]

were on less than 20k a year together and dont struggle at all!
we have a mortgage, all nice things, LO has all 'the best' of everything, we pay £125+ on food shopping every week, all the latest things, OH has two cars and an offroad bike and i eat out most days! we dont have loads left at the end of the month but were more than comfortable
i can never get my head round people that struggle on such high wages! lol
i dont think tax credits should be cut for anyone at all. its just giving you money back that youve earnt imo

i think its disgusting the reason for the cuts is to essentially give the unemployed a payrise!!!

I would like to know how ??? lol, i just cant see how this is possible on this income, not in a funny way im just astonished as our money doesn't stretch that far

Ditto! Lol tell us your secrets! X

ditto!

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

were on less than 20k a year together and dont struggle at all!
we have a mortgage, all nice things, LO has all 'the best' of everything, we pay £125+ on food shopping every week, all the latest things, OH has two cars and an offroad bike and i eat out most days! we dont have loads left at the end of the month but were more than comfortable
i can never get my head round people that struggle on such high wages! lol
i dont think tax credits should be cut for anyone at all. its just giving you money back that youve earnt imo

i think its disgusting the reason for the cuts is to essentially give the unemployed a payrise!!!

I would like to know how ??? lol, i just cant see how this is possible on this income, not in a funny way im just astonished as our money doesn't stretch that far

Ditto! Lol tell us your secrets! X

ditto!

we are on less and we pay a mortgage but its only £375 a month we have all the usual things like council tax, child care, gas electric, life insurance, house insurance, a car, sky, internet etc and we spend around £100 a week on food and we still manage to go out for dinner and we are paying for our wedding next year xx

 

[nicole_]

as above ots not hard really
weve got no debt and nothing on finance. thats a very firm rule of ours that we dont buy what we cant afford ourselves
our mortgage is only £566 as were very young (19) so its over a long term.
OH pays for this + all the bills and his hobbies and I buy anything else we need, pay to eat out etc. we always set money aside for birthdays/christmas so we get big big things we want then
i dunno, weve just never struggled lol

 

[mumoffive]

Oh the way i see it, your better off without any
goverment benefits because you get used to it and then they take it away and you really miss it. Best to be independant if you can.

 

[Natasha2605]

Our income is about £18000 maximum so we're just above the WTC threshold. This April we lost out on £120 a month and I would have HATED to have been in a position where we relied on this money because we didn't know we would be getting none in the 2011/2012 tax year. Thankfully we could live without it and still manage to live a pretty decent lifestyle. Our monthly income is about £1850 a month and tbh we live pretty well and £1100 nearly goes on rent and bills every month. I guess I'm one of these people who struggle to see how people on much higher incomes can complain about cuts and having no money etc but I suppose people see things differently.

I've checked and if I wasn't working we'd be SO much better off as we'd get housing benefit, council tax benefit, wtc etc. This country is in a sad state of affairs.

It pays to work? I beg to differ. Why call them working tax credits when so many people earn ''too much'' to recieve them. The threshold is only JUST over our yearly income. That doesn't even cover two parents working full time in most cases! It's a joke it really is. I'm just so thankful that we don't rely on tax credits. What the government give, the government WILL take!

 

[Lellow]

I almost wonder what people would do if there was no benefits system at all - Surely people would HAVE to go out and work rather than relying on handouts.

The mind boggles, it really does....I also agree with Louppey, i understand some things arent planned, but those who actively TTC with no job and on benefits really gets my goat.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Unfortunately, things are not always that black and white.

 

[Meredith2010]

Sorry to go off topic from the original question, but seeing all the replies on here has really got me thinking about how people survive on relatively low incomes.

Our monthly outgoings before any necessities likes petrol or food shopping are:

Mortgage - £1100 (for a 3 bed semi)
Council tax - £184
Gas - £48
Electricity - £41
Landline and internet - £14
Water - £34
Mobile - £50
Car insurances - £70
Home insurance - £30
Sky - £51

I have to spend £60 a week on petrol just for getting to work and back, so that's another £240 per month. So before any food or weekly shop is done, our outgoings are close to £1900. I believe you'd have to be earning around £30k per year to bring home £1900 a month after tax - which is a lot more than some of the combined incomes in this thread.

Obviously the Sky is a luxury but every else is pretty much needed (could get rid of mobiles I suppose). I am genuinely intrigued as to how people on less than £25k household income survive - I must be doing something wrong as we really struggle every month! Or are my bills just really high?

On the original question, I kind of have mixed feelings about the cuts. I totally agree that you shouldn't have children on the basis of only being able to afford them if you get benefits, and also the theory that if you earn over a certain amount then you shouldn't need benefits. However, I also think that those of us who do work and always have done, then tax credits are deserved, irrespective of how much you earn. If we weren't working then we would be costing the government a lot more in benefits, therefore getting a token amount in tax credits shouldn't be too much to ask. I don't know, as I said, mixed opinions...

 

[wishingonastar]

I truly am amazed at how income works as I earn 28k, my OH earns approx 24k all before tax yet my whole salary goes on childcare (I take home 73 a day after tax approx and their nursery when I return to work after mat leave will be 71 a day). That leaves OH's salary to cover mortgage, bills, food, clothes, everything and his salary literally does not stretch far enough to cover the basics let alone takeaways and nights out. To others we look like high earners but until the girls are in school we see none or little of my salary and can't afford to cover standard bills on OHs...my mat pay is about to end and I'm really worried about our financial situation

 

[Lellow]

Sorry to go off topic from the original question, but seeing all the replies on here has really got me thinking about how people survive on relatively low incomes.

Our monthly outgoings before any necessities likes petrol or food shopping are:

Mortgage - £1100 (for a 3 bed semi)
Council tax - £184
Gas - £48
Electricity - £41
Landline and internet - £14
Water - £34
Mobile - £50
Car insurances - £70
Home insurance - £30
Sky - £51

I have to spend £60 a week on petrol just for getting to work and back, so that's another £240 per month. So before any food or weekly shop is done, our outgoings are close to £1900. I believe you'd have to be earning around £30k per year to bring home £1900 a month after tax - which is a lot more than some of the combined incomes in this thread.

Obviously the Sky is a luxury but every else is pretty much needed (could get rid of mobiles I suppose). I am genuinely intrigued as to how people on less than £25k household income survive - I must be doing something wrong as we really struggle every month! Or are my bills just really high?

On the original question, I kind of have mixed feelings about the cuts. I totally agree that you shouldn't have children on the basis of only being able to afford them if you get benefits, and also the theory that if you earn over a certain amount then you shouldn't need benefits. However, I also think that those of us who do work and always have done, then tax credits are deserved, irrespective of how much you earn. If we weren't working then we would be costing the government a lot more in benefits, therefore getting a token amount in tax credits shouldn't be too much to ask. I don't know, as I said, mixed opinions...

Your location plays a huge factor too tho, so bear that in mind.