Hello and Arrrr!!!

Replies

• flickaty

  Nov 29, 2008 7:30AM

  hi hun, huge hug i know how you feel i went back to work this week and i hate it. but like you we have worked hard and brought our house and so cannot afford for me to stay at home.
  
  i work about 12 hours one week and about 25 the next but i am going to drop a few off the long week.
  
  you should get more taxcredits though if you earnings drop below 25k, went i went on mat leave ours did and they went up quite a bit, we get about ??200 a month for 2 kids but it will drop when freya turns one and also from march our earnings will be above 25k again. when we just had phoebe we earned about 26k per year and when she was over a year we only got ??40 per month which is crap. you really are better off if you just give up work and live on benifits, it makes me really mad!!!!! xxx
  
  

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• CrispyBeef

  Nov 29, 2008 5:31PM

  hey you! nice to hear from you....
  i think the whole tax credit thing is messed up......i was considering returning to work so looked into how much we would get tax credits.....i looked into it and the guy said you will get ??171 A WEEK!!! i said are you sure? Apparently because i didnt work last year i would get alot more...but come april it would drop considerably. Soooo maybe you will get more once you have been on a lower income for longer?? I dont really know and am just trying to guess, but maybe in april once the new tax year has come into play it will change???
  
  It is a really strange system and basically come april it wont even be worth me returning to work at all unless i am on mega mega bucks! ggggrrrrr
  
  So for now im going to stick two fingers up and say im staying at home to raise Mia. We arent mega rich, we pay our bills and thats it, i claim no benefit apart from what we are entitled to for mia so we have OH's wage and thats it. we are lucky as due to the interst rate drop our mortgage has now dropped aswell.
  
  Basiaclly they would give us ??171 for the next 20 weeks and then once the tax year change they would sting us big time and take all of it back and more! - from what the guy on the phone was saying...sorry rant over!!
  
  xx
  
  [Modified by: MummiD on November 29, 2008 09:34 PM]
  
  

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• Makka_Pakka2

  Nov 29, 2008 6:06PM

  Sorry to read your cheesed off back at work. It must feel horrible to be trapped in a situation that you don't want to be in. I agree with Del though, I think your credits will go up in April next year when the new tax year Maybe you could ring them back for a chat again? Good luck! J x

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• Little-Miss-Chatterbox

  Nov 29, 2008 7:01PM

  I agree with everything you say. It's so frustrating! I've got to go back to work 2 days per week in January & i'm dreading it. At a push we might be able to afford for me to stay at home but only cos our mortgage has come down & we don't want to take the risk of me quitting my job and then it going back up again. It seems if you try and do the right thing by getting a mortgage and then raising a family you're screwed as the government aren't going to offer to pay your mortgage like they would your rent if you're out of work.
  
  Part of me is glad i've started my family young and not gone down the career path route for the bigger house etc. One of the Legal Execs i work for has spent years working her way up the career ladder, she's on a good wage but after years of trying for a baby she finally got her little bundle the week before i had Olivia & has had no choice but to go back 4 days a week as their mortgage is so high. She desperately wants to be at home with her little lad after years of trying to conceive but her hubby's wage won't support them so she is screwed.
  
  I think the banding for tax credits should be reviewed. I'm sure it's something stupid like up to ??20,000 you get about ??3,000 per year but then from ??20,001 to ??50,000 it goes down to about ??1,000 per year and that someone who is earning ??20,001 gets the same as someone earning ??50,000. That's a massive difference in income. *Those figures are just hazy memory ones by the way* but i remember a few years ago we were earning about ??300 over the ??20,000 and were p*ssed off that (a) ??3,000 and ??1,000 per annum is a big difference for the sake of ??300 and (b) that we were getting the same as someone earning ??50,000. Thankfully hubby's wages have increased signifcantly since then but still no where near the ??50,000 mark! xx

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• SarahAimeeBump2

  Nov 30, 2008 7:01AM

  I dont think it will drop next year, as the lady worked out my income for the yr to be ??6k (they take money off the mat leave or something) and staying on 3 days my basic is ??7.5k so this will be my earnings next yr. Its disgusting.
  
  Thanks for all your replies though. Its good to know everyone feels the same!!
  I might call them back. But after your reply Claire they are probably right. I might ask if I quit how much would i get, as our income would be around ??18k from OH, but I bet I still wouldnt get enough to live!! My Mum keeps saying 'but in 20 years time you will be better off because you will own your house unlike the others' and while ok thats true, Aimee will be grown up...along with the other 2 i want .
  
  Nightmare!

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