Sudden return to the UK
 

Hi
My husbands work suddenly decided to send us back to the UK. ( We have been away for 18months). We were informed of the move and shipped back within a month.
I was on maternity when we left the UK and we had a second child out in the UAE.
Now we are back here, with 2 under 2, and not much of a salary. ( At least he has a job). We do have a house, but the tenants will not move till September.
We are both professionals, but if i work all my salary will be taken up with Child Care costs.
We are now having to stay with the In-laws, and i am really worried about living here in the UK.

Can you please tell me how to budget £35,000pa on a family of 4 with £750 mortgate, £300 for hubby to get to London and £300/ month on his debts? On paper it looks like we will not be living on much.

We are looking for a job out of London for hubby but can't seem to find one!

We were not earning loads in the UAE and could not save.

Is there any way i can get help with childcare so i can work? I will not be getting help with childcare from family.
Is there any way to get the tenants out of our house?

Sorry, i probably just feel so scared and dumped upon from a great height here, i know i should not complain, but i am very worried.
Thanks

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

wow that's some change in a short time, are you glad other wise to be back home, I don't know but you might be able to get the tenants to leave early if you find them some were else to go. my friends had their rented out and came home early but she had to look for a house for them. im sure you can give them some sort of notice once it is fair.

sorry i cant be of more help hope it works out for you

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

You many qualify for tax credits and therefore be able to claim a lot of your childcare costs back. Read all about it here:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/st...fies/index.htm

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

thanks for info.
We are glad to be back, the girls are enjoying the out door weather and the grandparents are enjoying seeing the girls. Only been back 3 days though.
I also cought a tummy bug on the plane so i am not feeling well, which may also contribute to the feelings of doom and gloom..

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

No wonder you feel a bit panicked if you've only been back 3 days!! I wouldn't go down the route of trying to get rid of your tenants - it will probably be quite stressful if you are breaking a tenancy agreement. It's only a few months away and you can use this time to evaluate you current position and decide where you want to live. You don't have to live where your house is. Once you settle into an area you will probably find that there is a mum's network which might help on the childcare front, along with other practicalities. Your lifestyle is completely different than when you left so it will take time to feel settled.

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

Hi Worried_mum,

You are probably going through Reverse Culture Shock at the moment, and only having been back a few days you are surely feeling overwhelmed by it all. Just give yourself some time to get used to being back in the UK. Everything has a way of working itself out.

My sister is managing okay in the UK and she is only on half of the amount you mentioned. She also has the regular monthly expenses that we all have. You will be okay. Its not ideal but if you really find you are short of money perhaps you could work in the evenings so you don't have to pay for childcare. I have two friends who did just that when their children were young. One worked as a waitress at a hotel restaurant, and the other worked at a call center in the customer service department. I'm not saying you should do that, but just sharing so you can see that there are other options out there and you will find one that works for you.

Good luck with everything.

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

Thanks again everyone.
I will get a job doing something once we know where we will be living, and you are right we don't have to live where the house is.
We arr looking for a new job for Hubby so once/if he gets something then we hope to rent near there and possibly buy later once we find a nice area with good schools.
It is looking better already!
:D

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

Hey, I know how you feel. I am going through the same thought process these days. I moved out to Dubai alone without my family (6 month old daughter and wife). My sister and mum are also back in the UK. I don't earn enough here at present to call them here to live with me. I am going back this June so we can discuss the pros and the cons and the realities. Being away from the family has really taken a toll on me mentally. I hope we can draw the line and come to some sort of consensus.

In the meantime, you should see what sort of help is available from the state, and consider reducing your outgoings as much as possible. Have you tried getting in touch with the Citizens Advice Bureau? See if any relatives can help? You need to stay focused and be brave. I have also found that having a good support network around you helps.

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

hiya
oh dear, you are in an even worse situation that we are.
I do hope it resolves soon.
Don't forget though that from our point of view, the UAE was not stable, so it might not be worth hedging all your bets on living there. Plus unless your work pay your rent, the rent are mad.
You could try living in Sharjah, where rents are 60,000AED for a 2 bed flat.
Good luck with it all.

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

Also ask at your husbands company, and when you find a workplace if they provide Childcare Vouchers. These mean that you pay for vouchers from your workplace and get tax relief on them. If both you and your husband can get them this can be a big saving. The allowance at the moment is 1,195 per person. It has no bearing on claiming tax credits.

Have you informed HM Revenue & Customs, that you are back as permanent residents with 2 children? you should be receiving Child Benefit.

Also, I don't know how large your husbands debt is, but 300 seems quite high a month, have you thought of restructuring the debt so you are paying less per month?

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

Hiya
we can't claim tax credits yet, as we did not pay taxes last year. I think it works in arrears? I will go to the Citizens advice tomorrow to ask.
His debt is £6000, we had wanted to pay it all off quikly and it was ok while we re out in the UAE, but we may change it. Good idea!
I sent off my child benefit claim this morning!
Thanks again
x

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

Tax credits doesn't work like that. If you didn't pay any tax last year then that means you will get full entitlement. I know because we came back last november and are claiming. By the way, we are a family with one child and another one due next month, 2 dogs and my husband earns 18k pa and we have the same outgoings and we manage!

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

wow
i think i will stop complaining, the numbers just look so scarry on paper
Thanks again.
I will get on with everything, see what i can sort out and THANK GOD we have family and friends and a good network to help us though this.
Thanks everyone
x

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

There are lots of things you can do without having to rely on any benefits although you should get family allowance or whatever it's called now. You can your children's clothes and shoes, new, from dealers on Ebay, as well as stuff for yourself and your husband.
You can learn how to make good food using cheaper cuts of meat and out of left overs with some simple meal planning.
You can restructure any outstanding debt to get the repayments right down.

Try not to worry. We've all been at the penny pinching ends of things. It's usually a good exercise in learning how good you can become at being resourceful and managing what you've got. Don't rely on benefits. I reckon they might change in the not too distant future because of Gordon Browns stupid fiscal policy landing the whole country in so much debt.:blink:

Re: Sudden return to the UK
 

working tax credit and child tax credit aren't 'benefits' in the same way as income support/jobseekers etc etc, you are automatically entitled to these credits as soon as you start working. Family allowance - you must be thinking of child benefit which is 80 pound a month for your eldest child and slightly less for other children.

worried mum - go to this link - tells you everything you need to know about tax credits http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTax...TaxCredit_Info