Good morning all IM's... This is one is a tough one to ask, so please have an open mind & be kind.
We have a 2.5 year old boy, and he is due to start daycare for the first time in June 3 days a week, as I am starting a course (18 months in duration). I am just freaking out about daycare costs - even with the rebate, we will be left without practically nothing, literally bread and milk kind of money. My fiances & I relationship is great. We are awesome together, and manage through tough times, and most importantly I love him with my whole heart.
We don't qualify for anymore support, I have already checked. Currently receive the Family Tax Benefit, but that's it. We live together at the moment. My partner is a loving father, and a hard worker. He earns over the threshold, but before I met him he already had a fair bit of debt which takes a fair bit out of our pay cheque.
I feel like out only option to get manage through the next 18 months finically is to move out with my little boy into a block of flats in the same suburb as his father, so I can claim to single parent benefit/get discounted childcare costs. I'm torn! I feel like this is the ONLY way to get through it, and the daycare costs.
It's only 18 months, and I have been through the numbers 100's of times - it's just not going to work. We have no family support as his parents live far away & my mum is sick.
Need your advice ladies!
16 Replies
I'm a little confused? Are you living with a partner? Are you living off FTB? I feel like some info is missing here.
I feel like and I'm filing in gaps here that
1. Your new partner must be earning a lot so that you can't get discounted costs
2. That he is making you pay to support yourselves using FTB and not contributing.
If I'm correct about number 2 I'd be moving out and never returning.
Thanks for the edit :)
Family daycare is cheaper. Could u look for night work to earn a little more money? Could u wait another year or two to do your studies so u and your partner can save some money to put towards daycare fees. You do haven't other options.
Any daycare savings would be cancelled out by the rent you'd need to pay.
Plus fiancé have to pay child support which would reduce benefit you recieve
I think this is a messy idea and not something you should be looking at unless you are going to end your relationship
I run my own family daycare, most families pay $1-$2 an hour after the rebate and benifit, you may also get some more money back at the end of the financial year. You could enquire about family daycare and ask the provider if they can calculate what you'd end up paying. It's much cheaper than daycare centers
Education supplement is around 60 per fortnight which could go towards helping
It will be hard but no way around it... Maybe defer studies for a year or two? I hope this doesn't sound harsh but the way I think about this is from your sons perspective. Please don't uproot his whole life/family just because it is hard. I get this struggle is real. Unless you are actually separating from your partner don't collect single parenting payments. Also being a single mum myself - your own set of bills would eat the extra money you would get and some! You won't benefit from it in the least... Good luck I hope you finds a solution that works for you :-)
I agree, I'd wait to study. I wouldn't be separating my family.
That scamming is really unfair to other families who pay tax and pay crippling costs of childcare. Are you and your family more special than others who do follow the rules?
Have to say I agree with this.
Hubby and I pay daycare for ds 3yrs currently and I'm on Mat leave with dd 6wks now but once she's 1 I'll be back at work part time and paying daycare for 2kids. After paying that my wage isn't much at all and we can't afford the extras we'd like ie I'd love to study now but sometimes you've got to put off what you want for the family.
Once my kids are in school I will return to study until then it's not in their / my families best interests.
Once you have kids you have to be prepared to sacrifice and scamming the government handouts just is not fair on the rest of us who work frigging hard and sacrifice a lot to try and get ahead
Centrelink has JETS childcare supplement as well. For studying parents
You should definitely NOT wrought the system. I know it's hard and you probably want to do the course right now, but just wait until times are better. People who wrought the system like this are taking from every other Australian family. Are you sure you want to be a part of that group of lying con artists that basically take from others to feed their own needs? You'd also be taking a child's parent away from him and splitting the family up for a course.... Really? This all seems quite self centred to me, or maybe you're desperate to try and socialise and get back in the workforce? Fair enough .... Until you can do it the right way you should find something else that will fill your needs that can be done without committing fraud.
Lots of people are in this situation. We cannot afford daycare so have made choices. Committing fraud is not an option. Can u study from home? Check a range of study providers. Otherwise you may have to wait until child is in school or work a night job for a few months until u can pay for it.
You can't just move out but still be with him while claiming a single parent wage through centrelink that's fraud and you just admitted it on social media !!
You would need to brake up !!
If he has debt and that's were the money goes then that's just life your lucky you get family tax my partner and I don't even get that and we struggle all the time !!
I basically work to put my child through childcare so doesn't feel worth it sometimes but you have to do what you can no one gets a free ride people should stop holding their hand out and start being responsible other countries don't even get tax payers money !!
I don't think hard working people should pay tax for people to just get Benifits maybe get a night job so u can pay childcare or study part time to help make things easier I honestly think the government should stop single parent payments the amount of people that abuse the system is discusting should go to pensioners and people with real disabilitys only !!
I agree with all but one point, yes it would be fraud if this was done only to receive payments while not wanting to end the relationship.
But taking away single parent payments just to stop those that abuse the system is wrong. What about the dole? Should we stop that too cause people abuse that system too? Then how would people survive if actively looking for work through no fault of their own? Make them live in the gutter and starve?
There are legitimate single parents out there who wouldn't survive without the payments, think of the children. No child should be without food and somewhere to live cause there's no help available.
I work but receive part payments, pay gap in childcare. If I didn't get discounted childcare my wage wouldn't cover the cost of care. Then I couldn't work at all. If I didn't work I feel I wouldn't be doing my best to support my kids even though I get some payments it's not much, but helps.
There are people out there either unemployed or single parents to are doing the right thing. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't feed, cloth and give my kids a place to live.
it sucks that you feel this might be the only viable option, but sometimes you have got to do what you must.
But can you wait for a year to study and maybe things may have changed by then? I don't think i would be able to live away from my husband and only see my kids every other day just so I could study (you will have to play the game of pretending to be broken up so that you don't get caught). you just said that you have no support so you will be alone in this new flat with what will be 50/50 with the child. so you will not only be spending your days away from your boy but also he will be spending nights at his fathers. how will this impact on your child? how will this impact on you? can you trust the people around you not to tell on you? can you trust that your child wouldn't say something about this to someone? its a year and a half of having to keep up a lie.... there must be another way than to have to break up the family and confuse such a young child.