shangrispa

Separated from my wife of 17 years about three months ago. I'm living in $150 a week shared accommodation and also having to pay my ex-wifes rent bills because my 10yo son lives with her and she can't get any regular work. I have a reasonable job with reasonable pay but am struggling at the moment. What would you do in my situation?
1. Get a better paid day job
2. Get another casual job (paper delivery, pizza delivery, home help etc)
3. Be ruthless and don't give anything to ex.
4. Anything else?

sonlymewalter

Hi. Sorry to hear about your predicament. It can't be easy after 17years of marriage

If I understand your post; you mention you have a reasonable paid job and yet after paying out $150 per week you can't afford to live. Your living expenses of $150 are low so I presume the rent on your wifes place takes up the rest of your income?

I don't know much about Centrelink payments but my understanding is if you are genuinly seperated and your wife doesn't work, she is allowed to claim if she doesn't earn upto $495 per week. I presume since she has no income she can claim and also get rent assistance? Maybe look into that for her?

In terms of advice. To be honest if you want to do the right thing by your son and ex you have no choice except options 1 & 2 apart from seeing if she can claim benefits- option 3 is not really an option if you're a decent guy.

Hope you manage to get things sorted as it can't be a good place to be at the mo. For any of you

quoll

Well, my first thought was to emigrate but that probably wasnt overly helpful!

Is your wife, as a single mother now, not entitled to a single parent payment from Centrelink plus rental assistance as a low income earner? (or are you newly migrated and therefore not eligible for Centrelink assistance?)

Are your payments coordinated through CSA or is this something you are doing through the goodness of your heart? You may find that if you did it formally that you would be required to pay less (check it out, you could equally be stung for more!)

Failing all that, I would go with the second job - although it is always difficult to see higher levels of tax come out of a second job. Or, and this is really out of left field, perhaps revisit relationship counselling with a view to salvaging your marriage and coincidentally reducing your costs to a single home.

Good luck - not easy being poor!