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not a rant just genuinely asking
one income, one-bed in walthamstow because i couldnt afford two, nursery 3 days, i work 4. after rent, nursery, bills and the travelcard i have about £180 a month for food and everything else
i see people talking about holidays and soft play every weekend and i honestly dont get how. what am i missing? benefits? what do people actually claim
First thing, put your details into one of the benefits calculators online (entitledto or Turn2us). You may well be entitled to Universal Credit even working four days, and the UC childcare element can cover up to 85 percent of nursery costs. Loads of people don't claim it because they assume they earn too much.
Also check the 30 hours funded childcare if your child is old enough, and Tax-Free Childcare if you're not on UC (you can't have both).
Single parent council tax discount is 25 percent off if you're the only adult in the property. If you haven't applied for that, do it today, it's an easy form on your council website.
Free stuff: libraries (rhyme time, toy library), museums, the parks. We do the Horniman, the V&A Museum of Childhood (now Young V&A) and local splash pads in summer. Soft play is a total rip off anyway.
Also look at the Healthy Start card if you're eligible, it's money for milk, fruit and veg. And Kids Eat Free deals at loads of chains in the holidays.
The people doing soft play every weekend are mostly on two incomes or getting help from grandparents. Don't compare yourself.
had no idea about the council tax thing. just applied. also doing the calculator tonight. thank you this is more useful than anything ive found on google
Come back and tell us what the calculator says. And good luck x
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