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Argh all confused!
Hi the title says it all really!let me explain and hopefully someone can help me out alittle or just tell me what they do for the best!I decided not to return to my old job as the hours would not be suitable with a baby,also being a single parent i cant rely on a partner to look after lo whilst im out at work or help with bringing money in!I have always worked and still want to even if its just to get me out the house and around ppl again on a daily basis as being a single mom can be very lonely and i have been suffering from this alot lately!well i put a claim in for income support just till i found some work as i obv couldnt survive without much money coming in,i own my house so have a ??400 mortgage each mth to pay out!obv i get child benefit and child tax credit,i also get CSA payments!In between doing this i got a part time job which is only 2 days a week(8hrs a wk)i can still claim income support but can only earn ??20 anything over they will deduct from my IS,so im bascially working 8hrs for ??20,its madness and no wonder so many ppl choose not to work and claim all the benefits they can do,im just unsure what i should do for the best,obv i want more hours and am still looking,once i get a full time job i obv wont be claiming IS but then would quailify for working tax credit!but on income support i can get help with council tax!jesus its all so confusing and being a single mom its hard trying to juggle all the bills and costs!one great thing about all this is both grandparents are willing to look after my son in the week whilst i work so this stops any child care costs which i know are expensive though i also know i would get help with these if i chose to!im not sure what answers im looking for but just some advice if your in a similar situation would be great as im new to all this and cant work out what to do for the best and what i and my lo would be better off with bme doing!thasnks for reading!x
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i work 2 days a week (16 hours) because that is the minimum i can work to get help with childcare fees as i don't have any family members who can help. i don't get income support or maintenence payments from their dad (not yet anyway!!) but i do get child benefit, child tax credit and working tax credit. i get help with my rent and my council tax too. i don't know how different it would be for you as you own your house but i would definitely reccommend trying to stay working. i think it's important to have time away from your children, for us as well as them. for me, as i don't have any family or anything around me, being at work is the only time i spend away from my children so it is a break for me and a chance to mix with other adults and have proper conversations!! when their dad first left i was still on mat leave and i would go days at a time without speaking to another adult! i lost began to lose sight of who i was, i was only a mum! after all the childcare fees, extra rent and c/tax (basically the things i wouldn't have to pay for if i was on benefits) i get about ??30 a week more than i did on benefits, it's not that much but what it does for me and the boys, i feel is a great deal more! plus, they are at nursery mixing with other children! i think i've rambled on quite enough now! hope some of this has helped in getting another person's perspective
Gemma