Abatement

[jackpotj22]

Little bit of a vent post from a throwaway account. I'm not sure what I'm trying to achieve but really struggling with wanting a little bit more cash at the end of the week and just not being able to get there.

I want to express I'm very grateful for the social welfare in place for lower income families and I will say we live a modest, comfortable lifestyle, can meet all our bills, eat well, and the surplus of our household incomegets drowned into our old, previously neglected 3 bedder.

Household income of 65kish (single income) or so with 3 under 6 (please don't come at me for having 3 kids, it was not entirely planned) and then on top we receive WFF, best start for my youngest and accomodation supplement. My partner is actively upskilling but I would that his income prospects would be 85-90k at a very experienced level.

I'm constantly running the numbers of going back to work part time as my youngest is about to start kindergarten (free from 2 at our kindergarten) but it never seems financially viable. I have a degree (only useful if living in city centres which I'm not) and recently done a diploma (only useful for full-time work)

It's abatement after abatement. Every dollar I earn is 27 cents off WFF, 25 cents off Accomodation supplement, and then if I earn over 10k another 21 cents off Best start, plus regular old tax 10.5 -17.5 cents, kiwisaver contributions 3 cents (I know it's savings but no immediate benefit) and ACC 1.4cents. And have a small student loan so 12 cents every dollar over 22.8k.

So basically for me 20hrs minimum wage job for example $23,608 nets $4600 cash annually so $88.50 a week (less than $5 an hour).

I haven't factored in having to pay for at least 4 extra hours of care for my youngest ($20 min) to accommodate for this hypothetical job and the extra fuel to get to work.

And then there school holidays for my oldest with no family around, programmes are expensive and my child has a mild developmental disorder that complicates things.

So far my ideas are wait until my partner has finished his training and get him to contract during school hours and I be the bread winner but that's like 3 years away.

Or find a work from home contracting job (but haven't been successful looking so far) so I can claim home office expenses to offset income.

On one hand I feel like we are overly reliant on social welfare and it should just be a temporary thing. I have the time and skills to work but there is literally nothing incentivising me to work 20 hours for free either.

Anyway rant over, please chime in if you are in the same boat.

 

[kakerot0]

@jackpotj22 The welfare trap. It's a tough one, and I honestly don't blame you for not seeing the value in all of that effort.
As someone who is also currently on parental leave, I understand what you would be giving up by jumping into work - and it is a big cost to your family and your pace of life to do so. I fully empathise.
Some thoughts from me:

1. It is still extra money, even if it's a pitiful per hour benefit.
   Even if it's ONLY $80 a week extra in hand for 20hrs work, that's still something. If you can find something local or WFH, then that is extra cash which will make a difference. You're totally right that it is not fair pay for 20hrs of work, but it isn't nothing.
2. If you find some work, in theory, you're up skilling/keeping yourself employable by finding part time interim work. If you don't do this work, it might be far tougher to find a job in a few years time when all your kids are in school and you suddenly have extra time to work. You'd also (in theory) be starting at the bottom of the ladder.
   This is a big factor for me in my plans to return to work when my baby is 12m old. I don't want to become unemployable, and I want to fall down my career ladder.
3. Are there any other options for further training, study or volunteering you could be doing instead of work? If paid work ends up being basically unpaid anyway, perhaps you could be upskilling/making yourself more employable by doing unpaid work/training or study.
4. You mention you have a degree that is only useful in city centres - would there be any opportunity to work remotely in these roles, to expand your job search areas and allow you to stay where you're currently living?
   What's the degree? Could you do work which is adjacent to your primary area of experience, to open up local options?

 

[jackpotj22]

@kakerot0

1. yes honestly $80 would make a big difference but extra childcare, fuel and holiday programmes would basically make it zero ugh and definitely an added stress which in a household with a neurodiverse child I don't actively seek out.

2.3.4 Degree is in economics with a bit of accountancy but unfortunately I very unexpectedly fell pregnant before I found a job relevant in that field. Can do basic bookkeeping stuff, financial admin etc. but the remote stuff seems to be all for CAs and the entry jobs not remote. I recently applied for a remote part time job but didn't get it
It sucks because I'm such a fast learner and lots of all around abilities but most remote work isnt suited to training newbies.
If someone is reading this and looking for someone.. I'm putting my hand up here

Finished Studying Construction (QS) last year (that's at least 2/4 years accounted for as a SAHM) as I have a bit of a passion for building and numbers and once we are at school age with the kids I was going to try and restart that fulltime but yes worried about the extended time off work. I'm hoping that being in my early 30s will at least be in my favour come that time.

Definitely have been considering volunteering or seeing if someone will take me for a school term casual hours at a construction firm to do all the crappy low skill jobs to stay relevant but then I've got my whole exterior to paint so could be doing that instead which doesn't really work for a CV but is good for my house value.

 

[kakerot0]

@jackpotj22 Another thought to throw into the mix - could your partner be any more flexible with his work to accommodate you getting into work? Eg, perhaps working slightly different hours to accommodate childcare, or dropping a day of work so that you could do more hours.
Not knowing what your partner does, but just based off your descriptions, it sounds like your earnings potential as a QS or in the economics space could have a higher earnings ceiling than your partner's area of work. But that could be a bit of a long game.

Totally empathise with your response re #1. From the sounds, there's not a lot (if any) short term benefit to you working, and a whole lot of additional stress/burden associated with trying.

 

[jackpotj22]

@kakerot0 My partner's work is sadly not flexible at all, male dominated industry, early starts etc. It's frowned upon to take holidays during the year as they have a month off over over summer.

I definitely have potential for higher earning capacity but wanted my partner to get his qualification first so he can be more flexible with future job opportunities. I think long term we can definitely make working full time but it's just frustrating that I could fit in something part time for the next 3 years but stuck in that welfare trap.

Hopefully something remote and very flexible falls into my lap haha.

 

[resjudicata]

@jackpotj22 Nope, we just exist purely on Supported Living. No extra anything.

 

[24korange]

@resjudicata Yep and if you have a student loan you end up losing money if you earn over 250 a week

 

[jep8]

@jackpotj22 start your own small business from home. so many tax afvantages or even do it cash based under the table. search side hussles online. only way to get aheadbis to get away fyom paye jncome. i sold teaching refources for teachers and paid off my house in 2 years. plenty of niche small business ideas out there. go for it