WASPI Ladies Need Not Struggle To Survive!

I had an interesting day yesterday, on Twitter, discussing some of the feedback from my blog "The Waspi Dilemma - To Heat or To Eat".

It seems that while the majority of my readers were grateful for the advice I gave, mainly gleaned from my own personal experience, there were a few who appeared to usher in a word of caution.

I had received a message from a Waspi lady who was on a zero hours contract but who was mainly working 12 hours per week, with the odd 20 hours per week when available. See hadn't specifically stated how many occasions she actually worked for 20 hours so I, rightly or wrongly, assumed that she could qualify for Working Tax Credit (WTC) by stating that she worked for an average of 16 hours per week.

It seems that some people felt that I was encouraging the lady in question to lie about her hours in order to qualify. This is most definitely not the case. Whilst it is perfectly acceptable to state an "average of 16 hours per week", obviously this must be the truth or, as one of my critics rightly pointed out, you could be accused of benefits fraud.

The main point of my blog was to highlight the fact that WTC is also paid to people who are self-employed and I illustrated this by explaining my own situation as an Ebay Business Seller in addition to my small printing business and my employed position as a Wine Adviser, which is also "zero hours".

In the case of the lady in question, all she has to do to be within the law and entitled to claim WTC is to work an extra four hour a week on a self-employed basis. This is obviously not that difficult for those of us who have access to the internet and can use a computer but I understand that not everyone wants to be an Ebay seller!

So here are some ideas that you might like to consider that you could do from home as a business.

Are you artistic? Do you have a flair for designing and making things? What about designing t-shirts or knitting baby clothes? Do you like photography? There are websites that will pay you for your photos. Can you write? Become a freelance writer and get paid for your work - or write a book. Become a blogger and Google how to make money from your Blog. Good at organising? Become an event or wedding planner! Crafty? Make gift items and sell them online or a local markets/wedding fayres. Do you have accounting experience? Become a freelance book-keeper and offer your services to local businesses.Good at baking cakes? Make them and sell them to your friends or through the internet.

I could go on but I think you get the idea! Find something you love to do that you could do for a minimum of 16 hours a week, or less if you already have some paid work, and you can claim Working Tax Credits of anything between £10 and £130 per week to top up your income.

So ladies, and gentlemen, don't hold back. Go to the HMRC website and check out the online calculator to see how much you could claim. Do it now!!

Finally, an appeal. If you know any 1950's lady who lives in the Chorley, Lancashire area who would like to join the WaspiChorleySupportersGroup please ask them to contact me by email at waspichorley@gmail.com. I would be delighted to welcome them to our group.


Thanks for visiting!