what would you call a 'low income'

[titch]

lets hope a tory/lib dem government will help!/QUOTE]

Im cynical!

It is so ridiculous I got so mad about it yesterday. I text my OH "we're too rich for working tax credits. By the way instead of gravy tonight, I thought Id melt down some of that gold we've got lying around"

You get nothing for working as hard as you can in this country. The number of us who would have it much easier if we didnt work is ridiculous!

 

[katiejane]

Yep couldn't agree more, this countries system on all of this is a shambles. Familys should be helped and encouraged to work, to provide themselves comfortable lifes, nice house etc, and get something back for working bloody hard, not punished for it. Grr best I don't start my full rant about this LOL x

 

[ria__x]

i think we should start a cult on 'how to work the system' and see if that gets us anywhere i'm sorry, but it annoys me soooo much. around where i live, it's pretty rough and nearly everyone is on job seekers and has about 10 kids by the time their 12, and they have such a better life than me! sitting in the pub all day, iphones, holidays every summer. i've been abroad ONCE. but you know, good luck to them! if i had such a talent, i'd be using it too!!

 

[titch]

Ohhh holidays, what are they?! lol

 

[mopmum4X]

i think we should start a cult on 'how to work the system' and see if that gets us anywhere i'm sorry, but it annoys me soooo much. around where i live, it's pretty rough and nearly everyone is on job seekers and has about 10 kids by the time their 12, and they have such a better life than me! sitting in the pub all day, iphones, holidays every summer. i've been abroad ONCE. but you know, good luck to them! if i had such a talent, i'd be using it too!!

People like that paint such a bad picture of the ones that are on benefits, some of us who are. on benefits hate it, we all get painted with the same brush cos of some "shy of work" people. It does annoy me I started work at 16 and stopped when i had my 1st child only cos of child care costs, My OH was working since he was 14 and lost his job last year when he was working we got f**k all as he was on nearly 40 grand, we still struggled though. But now he is on job seekers we REALLY STRUGGLE were on the Virge of losing or house(mortgage) were in so much debt its unbelievable, the tax credits we get go on bills. It is so hard trying to get a job as it needs to pay well. We hate being on benefits but like people tell us we're only getting back what we put in to the tax system but some no gooders find it so easy to sit on ther back side not a care in the world Sorry for rant guys. x

 

[titch]

^^ exactly, Im glad our country has a benefits sytem, I think every civilised nation should. And it is exactly for people who pay in with taxes in good times and then should be able to get back when they need support. Im finding it a total nightmare trying to get into the system at all at the moment. Maybe I just shouldnt have had a baby until I got more hours at work. I dunno, it seems so unfair sometimes, that it seems so easy for some families, new phones, going on annual holidays, affording to smoke and drink and full sky subscriptions! I dont understand how they do it!!

 

[mopmum4X]

I can see how easy it is for some off them getting money for nothing, they dont care if they have never put anything into the system, some of them should be made to go back to work, i know some off them do or there JS will be stopped, but like i said not all off us on benefits are the same my oh worked his but off working all hours never seeing the kids, it really annoyed me all those people on benefits but now were here are self we know were not all the same.My OH is of to start a 13week course to get him back into work, its killing him at home not earning he feels like a bum! plus Life as a fulltime dad!! Now he knows what it is like. lol I hope everything works out for you hun. x

 

[JJ Mum]

So go on guys, take a guess. A 2 income household, what would you say is low enough to be able to get some kind of working tax credit....

the cut off to get working tax credit is 17,500 and above
i had to ring them the other day, and they told me this.
we cant get working tax because we earn over the amount, but i still get child tax.

Is that value before or after tax?

We will be going down to my OH' supermarket salary when I have the baby for a bit, and hoping this helps. We get the child tax credit , but they over paid last year , even when I told them they had! so we havn't got it for about 10 months to correct it. I dropped one weeks hours , so I work 0.75 of a full timer now in november, and I rang them up in novemeber to change my details and as I get a benifit scheme, which I don't use! they nowneed so many bits of paperwork so show I'm not hiding money before my pay packet, I am still sorting this out now! Hoping they owe me money instead or just start paying again. - system is such a mess

I won't get the £500 grant as I will be getting maternity pay after baby is born so we will have the two incomes.

 

[becks20]

I dunno how the system works and im on benefits. When i got pregnant i was 16 and was still meant to be at school and i then left but i had no money and all the job centres didnt know what i was entitled too or what job centre i should have been going to. I got paid single person income support for like 2 years after id had bella and it wasnt till i started working over xmas that when i had to go back on IS they said the higher amount and i was like woah thats double what i used to get. i was told to claim it back which i tried but no one got back to me even when i phoned them. They dont like people knowing there rights and what they are entitled to get. I tried to claim for a loan once and they declined it so even to this day i dont know what i can get and what i cant.

I wouldnt be on benefits if i could work but then when you are on beefits you get alot of extra help money wise but iv not been on holiday in nearly 5 years so id like to know how some of these people on benefits afford to go abroad lol i cant even afford a "the sun holidays for 9.50" lol

But like other people have said try for whatever you can all they can say is no x

 

[titch]

id like to know how some of these people on benefits afford to go abroad lol i cant even afford a "the sun holidays for 9.50" lol

I know it doesnt make sense does it!! Must be something funny going on with these cases. Either that or they just use credit cards for everything I suppose!

 

[serenitylove]

I dunno how the system works and im on benefits. When i got pregnant i was 16 and was still meant to be at school and i then left but i had no money and all the job centres didnt know what i was entitled too or what job centre i should have been going to. I got paid single person income support for like 2 years after id had bella and it wasnt till i started working over xmas that when i had to go back on IS they said the higher amount and i was like woah thats double what i used to get. i was told to claim it back which i tried but no one got back to me even when i phoned them. They dont like people knowing there rights and what they are entitled to get. I tried to claim for a loan once and they declined it so even to this day i dont know what i can get and what i cant.

I wouldnt be on benefits if i could work but then when you are on beefits you get alot of extra help money wise but iv not been on holiday in nearly 5 years so id like to know how some of these people on benefits afford to go abroad lol i cant even afford a "the sun holidays for 9.50" lol

But like other people have said try for whatever you can all they can say is no x

iv been on income suport since my ex left and know that if you want a loan from them you have to have been in reciept of the benifit for 26continus weeks once you have been you can apply for a budgeting loan which is intrest free and taken back from your benifit weekly

 

[AugustMum]

Racheldee - youll be better off on income support anyway I had to decide between mat allowence where Id get £35 a week or leave work and get £65 a week on income support.....no contest really. (I only get the higher amount because Ill be a single parent but Ill get £50 before shes born).

Ive been trying to work out what Im entitled to and because Im a single parent I can get alot, but me and the FOB were thinking about getting a house together for a bit (not be together though, just so we can both be there at the beginning) but Id lose pretty much everything which just isn't an option. Im almost glad Ill be on my own, I really feel for everyone because its so damn hard to get anything if your together and on average earnings but usually your the people who need the help!!!

 

[JJ Mum]

Please don't anyone be annoyed by this reply as these are just my thoughts

I am a big believer in benifits being there to suport those who most need oit and when they need it, so they can find there feet and in situations like this where people need support till they can work or get more back on there feet again. (Babys need there mums to be at home for at least a year and not made to get a job when the baby and young kids need that extra care- we are not superhuman.

My next door neighbour , claims every benifit under the sun and has 3 now school age children.
Part time jobs are hard to come by, esp around school hours, but even macdonalds , (one v near us) always has vacanices in the window for term time only jobs for mums, not a great job yes but it will pay and get her back to work! (which will show her kids that you work for money too ) and stop her kids automatically following the same pattern.

She smokes like fag ash Lil and so can''t be that hard done by!

 

[mel_ed]

Please don't anyone be annoyed by this reply as these are just my thoughts

I am a big believer in benifits being there to suport those who most need oit and when they need it, so they can find there feet and in situations like this where people need support till they can work or get more back on there feet again. (Babys need there mums to be at home for at least a year and not made to get a job when the baby and young kids need that extra care- we are not superhuman.

My next door neighbour , claims every benifit under the sun and has 3 now school age children.
Part time jobs are hard to come by, esp around school hours, but even macdonalds , (one v near us) always has vacanices in the window for term time only jobs for mums, not a great job yes but it will pay and get her back to work! (which will show her kids that you work for money too ) and stop her kids automatically following the same pattern.


---i totally agree. i was so annoyed the other day. a patient came into work she has 9 kids and 1 on the way!!! and then she tells us that her 17 year old daughter was pregant as well!!
her kids are just gonna follow her and keep having kids and claiming every benefit they can and not work. i think its so wrong when couples like us are stuggling.my OH works full time and so do i, i plan on going back to work 3 and a half days, i really hope we can manage.

 

[PippaJ]

I wouldnt just go off the entitlement calculators. Apply for everything and see what comes back

I totally agree with this. I used the calculator online and it said we get nothing, I then applied properly and we were given £170 a month towards Evie's child care xx

 

[racheldee]

i can take a year off BUT without maternity pay or allowance i'm considering going back earlier once i've got into a routine with little lady when she's arrived, i'm thinking three months should be fine but i'll have to see how i go, i only work saturdays so it shouldn't be that difficult really
do you think this is wise?

 

[ria__x]

id like to know how some of these people on benefits afford to go abroad lol i cant even afford a "the sun holidays for 9.50" lol

I know it doesnt make sense does it!! Must be something funny going on with these cases. Either that or they just use credit cards for everything I suppose!

lmao!! this made me laugh i'd love to afford a holiday, let's just say that!

anyway, i do actually agree with benefits as like JJ's Mum said, we're not superhuman and sometimes can't work. i'm lucky to be in a job during pregnancy as if i wasn't, i don't think anyone would've employed me for say 7 months!

i just get frustrated with the extrememist cases where there's people who just don't want to work and can get everything handed to them on a plate, like i said their lucky 'cause they know how to work the system!

it's not long siince me and my OH were both on job seekers 'cause it's still quite hard to find a job. but when we were on it we were always messed about like it not being paid to us, not being applicable to anything etc. so i'm glad he's found a job now!!

btw, rachel, i'm not sure about going back to work, if you can get some income support sorted i think that would be worth it!

(why am i awake, lol)

xx

 

[racheldee]

my income support will be arriving in about a week and a half so little lady will be here by the time i get it then i have to apply for everything else
eurgh hassle

 

[titch]

^^^ yep hassle! You wonder how much government spend administering the systems aswell! There must be a better way!!!