Help!! Need to change my life!!!

J

jojo31

Guest
Hi guys,

Could anybody point me in the right direction of what to do. My present situation is that I am living in private rented accommodation for the past 5 1/2 years. The rent is 1100.00 per month. I receive 563.50 in rent supplement and pay the balance myself. I desprately want to get away from renting as getting a rent supplement is holding me back from working more and I do not want to pay 1100.00 per month in rent its such as waste.

My income is:-
Monthly work salary (12hrs per week) 1010.88
Back to work allowance (weekly) 195.00
FIS (weekly) 105.00
Maintenance (weekly) 180.00
Child Benefit (monthly) 330.00
Early Childcare (monthly) 92.00

My outgoings are:
Childcare (weekly) 90.00
ESB (weekly) 20.00
Gas (weekly) 20.00
NTL (weekly) 20.00
Petrol (weekly) 20.00
Loan (Mam - weekly) 50.00
Bank Loan (monthly) 170.00
Car Insurance (monthly) 62.50
House Insurance (mhtly) 15.30

I have no savings but plan to start from next thursday - 30.00 in bank and 20.00 in credit union

I have the application forms for affordable housing and shared ownership (would prefer this) and have registered with Rent2Buy.

I recived my ICB Credit Report yesterday and it is perfect (thank god!!!)

So basically what I need to know is: (a) do i have a chance at the Shared ownership/affordable housing (b) is there any other alternative that I cannot see myself?

Thanking you in advance.

Jo.
 
I personally don't know that much about the rent-to-buy scheme/affordable housing etc., however I think you should consider the following points about your income/outgoings in general:

> At present you pay €13.2k a year in rent (€1.1kpm). This is a huge sum. Can it be reduced? Surely you can reduce it to €600-€700 (outside Dublin), or €900 (in Dublin) for a resonable home? That would save you as much as €6,000 a year on your outgoings. Imagine how that saving would transform your finances.
> AFAIK the rent-to-buy scheme requires a €3,600 deposit (incl VAt). At present your Income-Outgoings equals about zero - in other words you are saving nothing (and I don't know what your groceries/clothes spends are!).
> NTL costs you over €80pm - get rid of it if you are any way serious about a changing your life.
> It is hard enough to give advice without knowing what part of the country you are in (home prices vary so much) and what skills you have/type of work you do.
> You pay back about €380 a month on loans, what is the amount outstanding on these?? At present, it would probably make far far more sense for you to aim to clear these loans rather than start to save significantly for a home. Certainly clear the bank one if the interest rate is in any way high. At very worst paying back your loans will teach you the discipline you need to buy a home.

From the limited information I think you should definitely find a cheaper place to rent and then go working more hours a week (if possible). At present you are not supporting the rental payments on your home - the governement is - so it is financially irresponsible to even consider going down the rent to buy route etc., until you've managed to start earning enough to fully support yourself.

You clearly want a change, and seem like you are thinking through the different options; but saving, home ownership etc. are long processes and you should not rush into things until you've successfully re-entered the labour market. I wish you the best of luck and am sure other posters will be able to give you more specific advice related to the schemes you mentioned.
 
jojo31 said:
Hi guys,

Could anybody point me in the right direction of what to do. My present situation is that I am living in private rented accommodation for the past 5 1/2 years. The rent is 1100.00 per month. I receive 563.50 in rent supplement and pay the balance myself. I desprately want to get away from renting as getting a rent supplement is holding me back from working more and I do not want to pay 1100.00 per month in rent its such as waste.

My income is:-
Monthly work salary (12hrs per week) 1010.88
Back to work allowance (weekly) 195.00
FIS (weekly) 105.00
Maintenance (weekly) 180.00
Child Benefit (monthly) 330.00
Early Childcare (monthly) 92.00

My outgoings are:
Childcare (weekly) 90.00
ESB (weekly) 20.00
Gas (weekly) 20.00
NTL (weekly) 20.00
Petrol (weekly) 20.00
Loan (Mam - weekly) 50.00
Bank Loan (monthly) 170.00
Car Insurance (monthly) 62.50
House Insurance (mhtly) 15.30

I have no savings but plan to start from next thursday - 30.00 in bank and 20.00 in credit union

I have the application forms for affordable housing and shared ownership (would prefer this) and have registered with Rent2Buy.

I recived my ICB Credit Report yesterday and it is perfect (thank god!!!)

So basically what I need to know is: (a) do i have a chance at the Shared ownership/affordable housing (b) is there any other alternative that I cannot see myself?

Thanking you in advance.

Jo.
Click to expand...

Assuming your take home a wage of around 250 a week , and then get back to work allowance of 195 + 180 maintenance that is 625 euro a week. Yet you claim fis of 105 per week , how can you claim fis when you are above the income threshold for two children , which i am assuming its 2 kids you have as your child benefit is the rate for two kids.
I thought maintenance was assessed for fis, and if this is the case you are above the limit as the limit is 590 for someone with two children ??

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/BirthChildrenAndFamilies/ChildRelatedPayments/Pages/fis.aspx
Also in your outgoings you havent included your rental outgoings which i suppose after your rent supplement comes out is 1100-563.50=536.50

MY MISTAKE!!
Maintenance isnt assessed for fis !
So your wage of 250+195=445
Limit for your family size is 590 so 590-445=145
and 60% of this is the fis your entitled to.
Personally i think you are in a great financial position right now , and as the above poster said ,it may be best to try clear your existing loans if at all possible and then save your deposit for the house you want. Id also stongly advise you to try seek cheaper accomodation but then again you are probably in a three bed property as you have two children som im sure you need the space and this is probably why your rent is so high.
 
To be honest I am absolutely shocked at the amount of welfare you are in receipt of. It is outrageous! Your income is close to €50,000 a year! Most of which is made up with social welfare. I am surprised nobody else has expressed their outrage about this. There are people working who have less income than you and thousands losing their jobs. Can the country afford this kind of largesse? The simple answer is no.:mad:
 
Lord Snooty said:
To be honest I am absolutely shocked at the amount of welfare you are in receipt of. It is outrageous! Your income is close to €50,000 a year! Most of which is made up with social welfare. I am surprised nobody else has expressed their outrage about this. There are people working who have less income than you and thousands losing their jobs. Can the country afford this kind of largesse? The simple answer is no.:mad:
Click to expand...

No point venting your anger at the OP, they are only claiming what is there to be claimed. I think its about 36k received from welfare and other allowances. (assuming "maintenance" is an allowance of some sort?)

But I agree with you. Its amazing the amount of money that is being handed out. And its a cash figure, to earn 36k net you would have to have a salary of 46k or so. Crazy.
 
I have to agree with last two posters, I'm shocked by the amount of welfare available to the original poster. I agree with the sentiment that they are doing nothing wrong in claiming what is made available but it is so disheartening when it seems like someone is better off financially on welfare than a lot of people working full time supporting a family. Sorry to the original poster, I dont mean to judge, I just feel my jow drop when I read how much your income is...this country has lost the plot :(
 
Don't you feel great paying your taxes after reading this.

My god, what happened Ireland.

What a shameful system we have from the very bottom, to the very top.

Bloody entitlement society.
 
that original post doesn't add up. I thought it was off when i first read it. I have just checked online you CANT recieve FIS if you only work 12hours a week. You have to be working 19hrs a week or 38 a fortnight!!!!!
 
I think you need to check with your local council regarding income limits and deposits needed for shared ownership. It is worthwhile pursuing. As far as I remember you get to own half - having a sort of mortgage on it with the council and you rent half of it, paying rent to the council for this , you have to pay lump sums off the rental portion over the years to finally own your house, or alternatively you can start with a shared ownership and after a few years go to a building society or bank and show them that you are making the regular payments and they may give you a regular mortgage. You will need the services of a solicitor to if you do change to a regular mortgage.

I am not sure about affordable housing, perhaps again check with the council regarding limits etc. . Just be careful if you are going for affordable housing to check if there is a management company that you have to pay maintenance to, as I read in the paper that a woman got an affordable house or apartment and had to pay €3,000 every year for maintenance to the management company.

Either way you will need to save for a deposit, so pay off your loans and every month immediately when you get paid transfer an amount to a different savings account and build your savings that way, check out regular saving accounts in the best buy section of this website. Give up smoking if you smoke and try and shop in the discounters, with less choice and still good quality, you will save money.

To the others taking swipes, take it easy. Every mother is entitled to child benefit and the early childcare supplement, rich or poor. The back to work allowance is only for 3 years and goes on a sliding scale downwards and puts someone back in employment and off the dole, which will in the end help our economy. The family income supplement is means tested and when the op finally earns a decent salary won't get this anymore. Perhaps it would be good to walk in someone elses shoes for some people here. This lady is not a scrounger, she is working, has 2 children to bring up on her own and is trying to make a life for herself and kids in a home of her own. The state is trying to assist her and one day will get its pay back with 3 people paying taxes, herself and her two children.
 
Maura, the FACT is, the OP is not doing this on her own. She is getting maintenance every week from the father of those two children for a start. Just because it is an entitlement does not mean it is right. This country is going down the tubes so it is different times. A lot of these "entitlements" will have to go.
Whether the woman is a scrounger or not is not the issue.Although the fact that she has that level of income and managed to save nothing is worth noting. The fact that her NTL bill is €80 per month suggests she isn't exactly frugal!
We cannot as a country afford this! As for walking in other peoples shoes, you have no idea what other people's circumstances are, or what they have been through. There are people working full time, paying mortgages and commuting for hours who never get to see their kids if they can afford them that is! Save the sanctimony Maura and get real. The right on PC nonsense is detrimental to our society. I for one am tired of it! As for the state getting its money back in the long term, well that isn't always the case now is it Maura? I think you know that very well. The state would be doing her more of a favour by giving her less money and encouraging her to take responsibility. Just to be clear Maura "the state" is you and me or to be more precise our taxes! As it is she has little incentive but to sit at home watching Sky Movies on her NTL while we struggle to pay for that luxury!
 
guys come on really there's no point in getting into an arguement over this, it's a made up story.

The only way she can still be recieving FIS is if she reduced her hours from at least 19 to 12 and in that case she's not informed FIS.

Also where FIS does not regard mainenance as an income, rent supplement will, There's no way she's getting that amount paid in rent unless again she in not declaring this. And her back to work allowance doesn't add up either, to claim that you have to be working 20hrs a weeks!

I know the irish goverment arn't the brightest sparks but come on do you really think they would allow someone who worked 12 hrs ( at €21 euro an hour ) to be pulling in 42k a year.

It's a wind up!!!!
 
To be honest SamanthaJane I was beginning to think it was wind up myself.But really I am not so sure. What is interesting though is that Maura and others thought it perfectly acceptable that this woman should be in receipt of so much social welfare. That is what worries me.:eek:
 
I think it's more of the case that people think the goverment will give this money to people. No wonder since i think everyone knows you'd be better of sitting on your bum, thank god we all dont think that way. She is entitled to some of what she is claiming but no way that much. I actually think the irish goverment dont do enough to help single parents back to work. Going by her figures you'd think so but from experience i can tell you, single parents that have no help with childcare can not work full time, and it's a struggle to work part time. It's the rent and the childcare costs that kill you. It's only cause i have free childcare that i survive.

If those figures were correct ( and 100% there not ) and i could stay at home all day and doing nothing, living off other people taxes that they work damm hard for, first thing tomorrow morning i'd be down the social welfare office at the front of the line claiming all these benefits. I'd gladly work 12hrs a week @ €21 an hour and pull in 42k a year.
 
Another post from the OP:
My partner owns a house and we are planning on buying a house together. I am a first time buyer and the mortgage will be in both our names. Will we have to pay stamp duty due to him already having a house (he is not selling it) Thanks
Click to expand...

Perhaps her partner may want to sell his other house, if the plan on buying a place together. I'd hate to see anyone starve.

Perhaps the Department of Social Welfare will grace these boards in need of a Money Makover, cos if anyone needs a makeover.....
 
Excuse my ignorance but why do people think this is a wind up? Do people think this sort of thing does not go on? I can assure you it does.
 
not sure about anyone else deedee80 but for me yes i know it does go on. Those figures (legally speaking) are a load of crap. There is no way she can be claiming all that money, for the reasons i've already said.

Now there's one thing knowing that it goes on and a totally different one having someone shove in your face how much money they are getting when the rest of us are losing our jobs,houses and worried sick every night on how were going to pay this months bills.
 
ireland needs to get a grip big time, no wonder the country is falling apart. it is not much better/worse here in the Uk but people do not get these level of benefits here. the fact is, if you sit on your ass, you are better off, it is not worthwhile working.
 
Maura, you have got to be kidding me. The OP gets 842 a month from the government + 720 a month child maintenance + 563 rent supplement and a wage of 1010.88 a month for working a total of 12 hours a week. That is a total of 3135.88 a month. I am literally awestruck at this amount and think Jojo31 could possibly teach us a thing or two- all us hardworking tax payers are complete mugs!
 
This has got to be a wind up!!!!!

OP has "earnings/handouts" of €3,915 pm and outgoings of €1,649. This leaves the OP with €2,266 pm after paying bills! My family are "surviving" on this before bills.
The OP has €566 per week and can't save!

Me thinks the wife is going to have to leave full time job and get down there to the social welfare offices that enable somebody working a 12 hour week to take home appr €47,000 a year!

My horror at this is not aimed at the OP but rather a system that enables this type of situation to happen!!!!!!!! The tax payer working and earning less than the claimant using the taxpayers money!

Unbelievable!!!!! Banana Republic
 
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