Parents’ recession proofing

Finance |

The UK has been faced with it’s biggest ever recession, this is according to the countries leading financial experts.

The housing market seems to have stalled and the poorest members of society are reportedly finding it difficult to heat their homes, pay their bills and buy groceries.

On Thursday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown agreed a £910m package of measures with the big energy companies aimed at helping people with soaring gas and electricity bills.

It includes half price insulation for all households and a freeze on this year’s bills for the poorest families.

Aitch, a mother of two and a member of My Baby Radio has already benefitted from home improvements.

She said “If you are claiming child benefit, you can have free loft and cavity wall insulation fitted. We had ours done about two months ago, and already had to turn the boiler timer down. The water stays hot for longer (and is actually boiling hot), and instead of us timing it for twice a day, we only have it on once a day now. We should see the difference in our gas bills soon.”

Other government benefits announced include an extra £16.50 a week for pensioners and families with children under five. But only if there is a severe winter.

However, unions have branded the scheme “ridiculous”. They would prefer a windfall tax on the energy giants.  In broad terms, this would see the private utility companies taxed and a one-off payment would be given to people struggling to cope with soaring fuel bills this winter.

Many people with young children have descibed how they are feeling the pinch.

At present there are several different benefits for families with children - the main ones are Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit.

Child Benefit is currently £18.80 a week for your oldest child and £12.55 a week for any subsequent children. Leaving you to spend this extra cash on children’s clothing or other items of domestic use for your kids.

Child Tax Credit is a payment for people with children, whether they are in or out of work. It is paid by HM Revenue and Customs. You can get Child Tax Credit if your income is low enough and if you are responsible for at least one child. You will get money from Child Tax Credit for each child. You do not need to have a very low income to get some help from Child Tax Credit, so most people with children get the credit.

The amount of Child Tax Credit you get will depend on your circumstances and your income. You can get it on quite high gross incomes, including incomes of over £50,000 a year. If you live with your partner, your incomes will be added together when your claim is assessed.

So as you can see, help is out there. In truth, something is better than nothing but why are families still finding this year more of a financial struggle?

Does the problem lie at our own door. We’ve become an “I want” society and what’s more, we’ve become an “I want it NOW” society.

Cheap flights are something we deserve - how dare they put the prices up.

Electrical goods are so cheap we can just nip to the supermarket and replace goods we previously paid to have repaired.

I don’t know of many families who have to save and penny pinch like our parents did - that is until recently! Now I hear Mums and Dads talking constantly about the rising costs of raising a family.

Aitch has some great advice which she has shared with us - including saving the pennies by buying in bulk.

“Yes, it’s a bit expensive to start with, but we haven’t needed to buy stuff like sugar, coffee and mince for about 2 months now! You have to keep doing it - which we haven’t quite done. Sometimes it is easier to just nip to the co-op (or whatever shop is closest), and that will throw all the ‘moneysaving’ out the window. A penny saved here and there adds up to quite a bit,” she said.

Another money saving idea is to sell your unwanted things. Why not try a car boot sale or an auction site. One Mum’s junk is another Mum’s gold!