hiya all,
just trying to do some sums. DF thinks it's impossible to support us + a baby with only 1 working full time... :wall: he doesn't understand, so i'm wanting to show him it's possible...
does anyone know what payments/how much we would be eligible for per f/n if DF is earning $1644.00 per f/n??
any help appreciated :D
Go and check the human services website estimators. Plug in your incomes there and it will tell you. Make sure you use before tax not rake home figures
Check out this site:
http://www.humanservices.gov.au/cust...hemes/families
There is a calculator there, that you can put in all the relevant details, plus all the info you need to know about the various benefits available.
ETA: Snap BG ;)
thank you both very much!! :)
very similer figures. my DH takes home $800 a week, i work casually and earnt around 27000 last year.
Based on dh earning 52000 and me 27000 i git FTB of $116 a f/n
Ill be honest. It is hard work sticking to a small budget. But it's workable. We shop at aldi and buy bulk meat packs at the butcher. But definatly doable. We looked at all bills for a year added them and divided 52 so we knew the minimum and then went from there
thanks OLP :) i might PM you a few questions if you don't mind! i've been trying to access the centrelink online services / calculate all weekend, and it's been under maintenance!! :wall:
will try today
That's fine. I can try to help :)
i do the estimate centrelink payments. put in DFs wage (i have tried putting no tax, and taxed) i picked parenting payment - partnered. it says i will get $0..
is that right?
It did it for me to.
Oh my amount is cause I have 2 kids. Got half that with only 1.
then DF is right. if we can't get any help $$$ wise from centrelink, we can't afford to have a baby.. :(
with just his wage, all our bills, living expenses etc leaves us with $215 a f/n left
That's more then us. Just on my dh's wage plus ftb (when only one child) we had about $10 a week left. With our 2nd we are the same roughly but I work also to help us keep ahead
You should get ftb. We defer our family payments until after we do tax every financial year as i dont want to over estimate but Based on last year. My DH earns anywhere from $1000-$1300 per week, and for Half of the last financial year I was taking home approx $800 a fortnight. At the end of the financial year when we did our tax we still got $3000 for family tax benefits. So If we get family tax benefit with me working, you living on one wage would def get ftb
Honestly, we only have about $400 a month left after all is said and done. Babies aren't expensive. They start getting expensive I'd say around 2 or so, when there are more activities, go through clothes quicker, eat more etc. Affording a baby is very relative to your mindset :) Our daughter has so far had everything she could ever need, as well as much she could ever want.
Eta just realised this is in the Centrelink section. I would be hesitant about having a baby too if you definitely can't afford one on one wage. That was DH and I initially and it was very stressful. Now, DH works 6 days a week and if we lost my payment (which is almost nothing now anyway) we'd still be okay. My advice is to really examine whether or not oh can afford a baby one just your DH's wage. As I said, I believe how expensive a baby is is relative to how you look at it.
M&d2b are you planning on returning to work after baby?
I ask because our plan is to get either baby bonus or paid parental leave, have me off work for about 6 months and then I'll return to part time work.
As to how much though is anyone's guess :( maybe try calling Centrelink if you can stand being on hold to them. I remember when DH was working and I wasn't we were getting ftb fortnightly and I said that DH earned $1200 a week, my ftb benefit a fortnight was about $90. That might be able to give you an idea anyway.
Preggoeggo that's pretty much what I did. When DS was nearly a year old I went back to work part time. I did paid parental leave because it is more than the baby bonus. Was so hard to go from two wages to one but its definitely doable m&d2b :)
Sit down together and work out absoulty everything. My Husband has honestly no idea where money goes where but understands i have the financial mind for it all. Start purchasing odds and ends early. When we found out we were expecting bub 2 i bought extra things when they were on sale (nappies etc). Our belief was as long as the mortgage was paid and the bills and the kids had food who cares.
Start living off his wage now and put yours into savings. Live to a strict budget then what ever is left at the end of the fortnight put into your savings to bulk it up. only dip into it as required. You will be suprised how you can survive and save.
Another thing I do is work things out in small payments. For example DH wants to go to an event in March which will cost approx $300. I tell him he needs to save a certain amount each week ($5) to be able to have the money required by then. How easy is it to say "save $5 a week" compared to "save $300 by march"
Good to know it worked out for you KittyK. I figure we will be doing less with a new baby anyway so hopefully we will be able to adjust. We are working on reducing bills at the moment too. My health insurance will halve after baby, DP getting rid of his mobile and just using the work mobile etc. small changes should make a difference.:
Personally I wouldn't make a budget that depended on welfare payments.
Next year is an election year. Both parties are likely to make big promises to win the middle class vote. Both parties are likely to cut payments as soon as possible after the election to give everyone time to forget before the next election.
I would start saving now. Buy nothing unnecessary. Don't spend money on Christmas and birthdays. Put that in a savings account and you'll have a decent amount before too long.
Save 10% of every pay before you do anything else.
And save all your pay to see if you can live on your partner's income alone.
If you do that, you should be able to work out what you need to save before baby is conceived.
wow, thanks for all your replies :grouphug:. you have a point Onyx, should just count any $$$ from centrelink a bonus.
i'm quite shocked that $200 left over a f/n can be enough to afford a baby. that just sounds so out of reach for some strange reason... :redface:
to qualify for PPL what's required? i have tried reading all the documentation but it confuses me a little.... :lol:
Just wondering why you think babies cost a lot?
not sure really. have always been told they do :dunno:. everything adds up though.:
we just don't want to make a snap decision about having a baby. i don't want to have one, and then think "oh crap we can't afford this" IYKWIM
When you go to the estimator choose Famil Assisrance Rmrate estimator NOT Centrlink rate estimator. And make sure you don't tick the box that says you are receiving any income support payments. Your partners income exceeds limits for any parenting payment but is well within the range for ftb.:
My DH was always apprehensive about having a baby due to the cost. I know some people who spend a lot more on their babies than we do, but I also know we could have spent less. If you are prepared to try breast feeding and are able to, that's a big cost out the way there, as is buying cheap clothes or even second hand. We tend to buy most of DDs clothes from big department stores at a tiny price. I know many people who like to buy brand name stuff for their baby. Great if you can afford it, but I could never justify it with the speed in which DD grew and the fact she had extremely bad reflux and not only went through multiple outfits a day, but many got ruined and stained.:
DD1 outfits are mostly handed down to DD2. Bonds suits are awesome even if a little $$$ BUT they hold the wear well. We always doubted if we could afford it all and we can - we just make it work. Only do the things we can afford to do and always look at a big picture. Admitiddly we pay high tax through the year and get a big refund that goes to things we put off (updatign kitchen, driveway etc).