Financial problems, please help

LegacyUser

Please help.

I am 22, living at home, expecting my first, working 20-25 hours a week on minimum wage, my partner is only on apprentice wages and I need to leave home.

Money is becoming a real issue but Im afraid because I currently live at home I may not be entitled to any help.

Does anybody know what I could apply for? I know I could apply for FIS but I don t think we would have any luck as we are not currently living together and because we are not yet caring for a child. Or even if we do qualify will it be enough to get by on? Is there anything else I could apply for?

Basically we can afford rent and bills at the moment but we wouldn t have anything left for the likes of food shopping and all the stuff we need to be getting before baby arrives. (We are b#both the first in our families to have children so hand me downs are not an option).

Any help is greatly greatly appreciated.

theLuggage

The best thing to do is make an appointment with your local Citizens Information office: http://centres.citizensinformation.ie/

Just on things for the baby - have a look at adverts and other online sites. Very often good deals can be found on clothes and all kinds of equipment - sometimes people are even giving them away for free - keep checking the sites and set up alerts for things you need. Good luck

Neyite

Luckily babies need very little, and very few things brand new - I think you need to get a new mattress, and a new car-seat, unless you know and trust the history of a used one, eg if you got it from a trusted and trustworthy sibling or friend. Anything else, you can pick up either second hand, or free from people who just want to get rid of it. Charity shops are great for clothes. Breastfeeding will save you a lot of money, because you wont need bottles/ sterilisers/ formula. For the bigger ticket items, you might find your families willing to chip in for it as a baby gift.

And dont forget that you get child benefit of €135 a month from once the baby is born, which goes a long way towards the little bits and pieces.

The best thing to do is to talk to the social welfare, see what your options are, then check out your maternity policy at work - find out if you get full pay or statutory maternity.

Edit: On Adverts, there are hundreds of items free to whoever wants then, I spotted moses baskets, cots, bottles, sterilisers, bouncers, high chairs etc and some of it in excellent nick there:
http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/baby-nursery/77/price_0/
I'm sure you could get nearly everything you need free over the next few months before the baby arrives

Elizabeth2014

First of all...CONGRATULATIONS!

I was in a similar situation to you last year although i'm now 30. We got pregnant and decided to move home to my parents to save money as my partner is in full time education as a mature student (and isn't entitled to any help for that which is another rant).

When I told work I was pregnant I very swiftly got my P45 which was frustrating but at least I qualified for the maternity as i'm sure you do as you're working. Once the child was born, I applied and got Family Income Supplement which helps.

The fact that your partner isn't living with you actually works to your advantage from a financial standpoint. You should be entitled to Family Income Supplement as well as One-parent family payment while keeping your job because your bf isn't living with you.

Just hold tight until baby is born and then apply for one-parent family and FIS. I hope this helps. I'm new to this site so if its possible, you can PM me and I can go through actual figures for you.