BACKPACKER RETURNING HOME WITH NO MONEY :(

neon_glows

hi there,
i am a 23 (turning 24) year old student who deffered college for 2 years to go travelling. I have now run out of money and ozz visa so have to return home. I am due to start college again in september. Since im broke i have to live at home with my parents. Father is on disability and mother running a small low income business which she was meant to employ me in but the economic downturn has effected her business. Unless i can find work when i get home or business picks up in my mums shop i wont have work. I also have debt in excess of 10k and have no assets. Will i be entitled to dole even though im returning to university in september. How soon after returning can i begin claiming. Can i claim for the period i was away? how much will i get a week and will the money stop once i start university again? Would i be allowed claim mature student grant as i will be 24 even though i started the course when i was 21?
Nick

Morlar

neon_glows wrote: »

hi there,
i am a 23 (turning 24) year old student who deffered college for 2 years to go travelling. I have now run out of money ................ How soon after returning can i begin claiming. Can i claim for the period i was away?

It is my understanding that you can not claim benefits for the period when you were travelling on holiday. You were not available and actively looking for work in Ireland so you would not be entitled.

egan007

To be harsh it sounds like you want your cake and eat it.

If you deferred then you must have intended on going to college 2 years ago. Instead of thinking about that you ran up 10K debt and now expect the state to bail you out.
Aside from that you are depending on your mother to support you at 24.

It's time to grow up and take the challenge on the chin.
So you gambled and lost, If you are willing to take life seriously I would advise.

1) Make a deal with your mother - Work for free, Take 50% of whatever sale increases you make. The motivation here is that you have to improve your mothers business but doing so could be lucrative for both of you.

2) Get another source of income to overlap, it's 9 months to September. Go to pubs, shops, mc donalds, whatever, now's not the time to be too proud.

3) Budget, If you make 1K per month part time allocate 1/5 to paying the loan, as your earnings increase (through the work you put into your mothers business) increase your loan repayments.

4) Enquire about a back to education grant.

Saying you don't know much about improving business is a cop out- read books, use your imagination, you re 24 you will never have more ideas than you have now, what did they do different on your travels that you could use?
Work like a MF - Ignoring a recession is totally feasible.
Use state aid as a aid not a solution.

My two Cent.

badabinbadaboom

All I want to know is, who gave you the loan? How in gods name did someone under 25 get a loan for 10,000 when they wouldnt even give me a laser card???
Any heres the story as I know it.
- you can not claim for the time you were away, you werent available for work. likewise you cant claim any benefit if you are in full time education, its either Back To Education Allowance or a student grant.

-Unless you worked in the past and payed 52 weeks PRSI(check this) you are not entitled to Jobseekers benefit(around 200 euro p/w). Instead you would have to apply for Jobseekers allowance which is means tested, if you are living at home you will get very little.

- You are assesed for grants based on the age you were the first year you went to university. so if you were 21 you will get the grant of a 21 year old now even though you will be 24 soon.

- Yes there is very little work about even on the lower scale of things, i'd suggest get working on that shop, as the poster above said you must have seen some new things on your travels that could possibly benefit. some creative thinking might just solve the problems, your mother might be set in her ways of working and unable to change to the current situation, some fresh blood and new ideas might help alot.

dlambirl

I dont know if you'l be able to claim any benefit as you wouldnt of made up enough PRSI contributions cos you were off enjoying yourself. Most people who come back from travelling dont walk straight into a job and dont expect the state to bail them out.

And how did you think you'd get benefit while you were out in Oz?? The purpose of JB is to support people who are available and actively seeking work... You were in Oz - neither available ot actively seeking work.

Either work with your mother for free and try to improve her business in order to make money or do the decent thing and go off and find a job, ANY job to pay your way.