I had some comments made to me in jest, however I do not know wether the comments made were in a way true and I should be ashamed?
I was basically called a benefit srounge.. jokingly but its got me thinking!

My partner works a 40 hr week + o/t and recieves working tax credit as hia wage is 'low income'.
LO recieves the usual child benefit and child tax credit
I am not working and currently care for LO fulltime ( I did work fulltime up until 30 weeks pregnant all my working life since college ~ 10 years ), I have applied for housing benefit and recive approx £35 per week towards £825 a month rent.

I am job hunting for a part time position but am taking mt time to find the right hours and right position, I admit I am in no hurry!
LO is 11 1/2 months

Am a a benefit srounge........?
Should I be ashamed....?
How would you describe a benefit scrounge?

your not a scrounge! but was that a missprint about the rent? ive never heard of rent being so much, thats way over the top. Look hun if you have paid your taxs then you have every right to claim, its the lazy gits that has never worked a day in their lives and claiming for this and that and nothing wrong with them that pisses me off not a mother staying at home to be with her child while her partner is out working.
I wouldnt worry, im sure most people get money from the government one way or the other.

Hiya Diane....... We pay £825 a month rent, in Sutton, Surrey, its a two bed flat........... We get about £140 of that paid by benefit, Thanks for making ma feel a bit better! Been on my mind all weekend! xxx

Of course you're not a benefit scrounge! You are only claiming what you are entitiled to! Looking after a lo is a full time job anyway so there is no reason why you should feel guilty about not doing another job as well. Under the new rules everyone is entitled to 12 months maternity leave so don't feel guilty about taking your time to find a job either.

To me a benefit scrounge is someone who either claims money they are not entitiled too or who would be better off if they got a job, and have no reason not to, but are just to lazy to get of their arse's!
xx

Holy crap, thats HUGE rent! we pay £320 a month and i think we are bad and we have a 3 bed house with parking and front and back garden! Amazing how differant areas cost so much more. As i said before i wouldnt worry hun, i bet most people on here get something one way or the other. x

I totally agree with Diane!

A benifit scrounge is someone who claims benifits when they havn't ever paid taxes themselves and expects us tax payers to support them! And they have no inclination to ever work!

I'm claiming child benifit and tax credits and would take anything else available to me so that I can bring up my lo myself. I'm thiinking of doing body shop parties at the mo to up our income as can do that at night and dh can look after Louise. I will also be returning to work 1 day a week when my Mum can have Louise.

I also live in surrey and was not surprised at your cost of rent! As far as i'm concerned if we've paid our taxes we now deserve some support back!

Oooh- this could be a very controversial topic, as we have people from all sorts of backgrounds on here.

To answer your question, I would not see you as a 'scrounge' because
a) your partner is working full time (and extra)
b) you always worked until you had lo
c)the amount you get isn't huge anyway, your partner and you are obviously paying most of your bills yourself- it's not like the tax payer is completely supporting you!
and d) you are looking for work!

So don't listen to any comments saying otherwise!

To my mind- and this is only my personal opinion- a 'benefit scrounge' is someone who is perfectly capable of working but chooses not to because they know they can live on benefits, and get all their bills paid. It is someone who may never have worked, or only for very short periods. And also people who choose to get pregnant and have as many children as they want on the basis that the council will pay for them. Don't get me wrong- I have nothing against big families in general, only when the parents want to be fully supported without contributing anything themselves.

lol sorry it turned into a bit of a rant!

I dont think id call you a scrounge, me and oh both work but i wouldnt be able to claim anything if i chose not to work because his income is classed as too high. I just think that any mum who chooses to stay at home to look after their child should get the same level of financial support, and not give more to those who's partners earn less than others. At least you are renting your own place and are not relying on the council to put you up just because you have a kid. What i class as a benefit scrounge are people who choose not to work through laziness and expect society to owe them a living, and the sort of people who keep having more children whilst living in 1/ 2 bedroom council accomodation then kick up a stink as they are overcrowded, nobody makes anyone have children and i think if you are overcrowded then it is irresponsible to continue having children and expect a bigger house to be handed to you on a plate. Its that attitude that pisses me off, but seens as your oh is working and you've always worked then id say you're only claiming back what you're entitled to x

To me, a benefit scrounge or abuser is like someone I used to know, who even thou her kids were in school, declared she 'couldn't be bothered to get a job as she got everything paid for her' and had a partner that lived with her, who did seasonal paid work yet she still claimed as a single parent so got extra as well!!!

We are claiming HB etc at the mo as well as the usual CB and CTC and are now waiting on Income Support claim as my dh has a spinal injury meaning he is unable to work for the foreseeable future......and although we need it, we hate doing it!! My dh is not a 'sit back and do nothing' type of person and as much as he enjoys spending time with us, he can't wait to get treatment and get back to work! As for me, I'm aiming to look for a p/t evening type job in the spring, once this lo is about 3 months old!

Thing is, if you need it and earnt it then don't be ashamed to claim it!!!

Diane......where do u live??? A 3 bed place where I used to live in Essex would set u back at least £900 a month!!! Here in Ipswich, we pay £795 for a 4 bed which would have been £1400! Hence why we moved lol

Looks like others were typing at the same time as me, Poz and EmmaLou85, you both said what I wasn't brave enough to say about those who fall pregnant just for benifits etc.

And thats a good point EmmaLou85 about all Mums who want to stay at home should recieve the same amount of financial support but I guess that what the government say Child benifit is! And you would have even more people having babie just for the benifits?

Hi Palmtree-we will be in the same situation as you (im currently working, am 34 weeks on thurs and have worked since I was 18, now 26). We are privately renting a 1bed flat at £625.00 per month in Carshalton-OH works full time also. How did you sort your HB? (Sorry to take over your post hun!!), but when I went online-it calculated that we werent entitled-even though OH is classed as low income too, and I will be receiving maternity pay-so we will struggle a little (though dont want to appply for council housing-not that there is any shame-some of my family have done it-but we just want to try manage ourselves as much as we can)

I also have to say im sick and tired of reading about people who are 'overcrowded'. If you live in a 2 bedroom house and decide to have 4,5,6 etc kids then thats your own look out. It is not the councils responsibility to bail you out. You know how much space you have and if you are irresponsible enough to have too many children to suit your living arrangements then you only have yourself to blame. I think people should only have children if they are able to provide for them, i know accidents happen etc but there are plenty out there who have kids for the 'perks'. I am sick of hearing others moaning and whinging about how much of a struggle life is when they really only have themselves to blame. Me and my oh work bloody hard to provide a good life for our kids and of course there are many people out there who are genuinely unable to work for whatever reason who fully deserve benefits but then there are plenty of others who are just plain lazy and think that having kids is an excuse not to work. In some countries these people would be out on the streets so they should count themselves lucky for what they are given and not be so bloody greedy in asking for a bigger house,more benefits etc.This country is too bloody soft. Rant over x

I have lived in council accommodation for the majority of my adult life and do not see myself as a scrounger!

I have tried to work as best I can to obtain what I currently have and my oh works full-time but its a shame that some people view living in council properties as scrounging!

There is nothing wrong with living in council accomadation, its the people that abuse the housing system that are the problem

sammiebmouse ~ Hello hun, I went to Sutton council and you fill in a form and then speak to an advisor who assesess your id, bank statements and entitlement letters if who have child tax credit ect and they sort it out for you and send you a letter with your HB a week or so later, they all seem pretty friendly there !

I live in Carshalton too! on the Hackbridge border next to the Wandle! How about that!

I have a 2 bed coucil house and there is me, my oh and 3 kids in it, I am trying to get a bigger house as it is too small for us all and why shouldnt I want a bigger house when we pay our full rent even though my oh only earns around £600 a month? You cant say all people are irresponsible when you dont even know peoples circumstances, my oh has just had the snip so we dont have any more kids I dont call that irresponsible!!

I do not really know why those in council housing are given a bad rep! I think it is maybe stereotyping from the past that has got worse over time. I dont actually have much knowledge on the council housing system, I guess its like a helping hand to those who really should be housed maybe for personal reasons. I will stop now as I dont have the knowledge to comment and really dont want to offend such a lovely group of ladies we have in this forum!!!!!!!!!!!

I probably should have put it better in that why not arrange more suitable accomadation before extending your family rather than ending up,as you yourself say, with a house which is now too small for you because you've had 3 kids? Anyway that is your choice, you have no need to explain yourself, at least your not moaning about it like some do.

No offence meant on my part either, just something i feel strongly about, its nothing personal x

well.....here goes.....

I claim as a single parent as the way things are with the boys dad we dont know whether he is here 1 day to the next - he is unreliable and selfish. I claim housing benifit and dont pay council tax. I worked from the age of 17 until I fell pg (18) and when Tyler is in Nursery I will be going to collage to train as a nursery nurse or possibly midwifery. Fingers crossed if things go to plan I will be going into photography at the begining of next year and will have an income. If claiming income support and CTC makes me a scrounge then so be it - at least I can stay at home with my boys and be able to feed and clothe them. I would be devestated if the first few years of their lives were in under care of a total stranger. To me the fact my kids have to go to nursery at 3 is bad enough (mother with a capital S!!) To those that have no choice but to go back to work I admire you for doing so. Im not well off from claiming - in fact im in quite a bit of debt and I will go back to work - to a job that is suited around being with my boys - Im lucky enough to have the chance to do so........phew.

xx

Good for you for wanting to get a better education to give your kids a better future