Government Payments etc...

Hi everyone,

I have posted in 3rd trimester but thought this thread is more suitable.

Now that the time I finish work is drawing closer, I want to ensure I get the most benefit out of government entitlements etc. I have worked out so far I can have access to:

Family Tax Benefit A
Family Tax Benefit B, and
Baby Bonus (the $3,000 one)

Am I missing anything?

With the above and DH's salary, we are left over with $100 a fortnight (assuming bills are kept to a minimum!). I am considering, and would be happy to, work one day a week, but don't want it to affect the above payments. I think I have correctly worked out that as long as I earn less than 4k per year, the payments aren't affected. Does that sound right? Obviously a cash in hand job would be perfect, but do they still exist, and if so, does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking home cleaning or something like that? Or non-cash in hand I could do reception as I have a strong background in admin.

Thanks in advance,

Jess

Hi Jess,

In terms of government payments, I have found that the best and only true way of getting the absolute facts re entitlements is when you actually call into a Centrelink office (or Medicare family branch) and sit down with them and go through it on their computer.

The Centrelink phone line on 13 10 21 is a handy tool, as is the Centrelink Website, but a face to face chat means you can get a really clear picture of all of your entitlements without misunderstandings!

In terms of work you can do once you have your little one, here would be my advice (from a WAHM!)

~ Be wary of cash in hand.......appealing as it might be, you may be tempted to earn over the threshold, and then if it is picked up on you can end up with a Centrelink debt 8-[
~ Easy to say when finances are a focus, but give yourself as much time "off work" when you bring your baby home, as much as is possible, so that you can concentrate on your little one.....hopefully you will have a lovely easy baby, but even so, it is such hard work, and you shoudn't burn the candle at both ends: gotta keep yourself healthy!
~ I am not sure where you live, but certainly in Darwin there is a real shortage of people doing home cleaning and ironing services. One of my friends does ironing (from her home.....people drop off baskets to her) and she has been inundated with work.
~ Make sure that even if you do work from home you give yourself "time off". To do this you must make sure you don't take on too much! I never do any "work" after 7pm or when Olivia is awake.....(tricky if I am on deadlines, hence I limit what I take on)
~ Agency rates and availability for admin work are both high, so that is a great option, especially if you have good skills. However, you may need to work more hours than you would ideally like to build up a reputation. Once you have a great repuation, you can be the choosy one!

HTH, and very best of luck,

Hi Jessica.

That all sounds correct to me. I am not sure how much your husband earns a year but if you want maximum entitlements he has to earn less than $32000 and something a year (can't remember exact figure) If he earns more than that then the payment reduces by 20c for every dollar over that $32000 and something he earns.

Love :hbeat:

Having a chat with Centrelink is definitely a good suggestion, as is sussing out their website. They have factsheets that you can print out which outline all the thresholds and requirements etc.

I was able to work out what we were entitled to based on the thresholds and factsheets and I basically rang Centrelink to confirm it all and to make sure I hadn't made any mistakes!! My background is in financial planning so I was already familiar with a lot of this info which made it easier and I just set up a spreadsheet.

You may also like to investigate whether you are entitled to the Parenting Payment, which is another Centrelink payment.

Good idea Ellen

I know we were finding it really hard to make ends meet when 2 full time wages became 1, but we got there in the end and now over 3yrs later it doesn't bother us.

Goodluck.

Love :hbeat: