budget help please

Does Mila qualify for the Child Disability Allowance? I imagine she does if she's already on Neocate. It's pretty hassle-free to set up, thankfully. A child with a severe allergy or even just severe reflux qualifies. You ring WINZ to ask about it, and they note the date you rang and will backdate any payments till then. You then take the form into your GP, then take that to WINZ, and you're good to go.

You can save on wipes if you're happy to go cloth. I've used thin flannels on my babies while they're young, just wet them in water. I'll admit wipes are more convenient, but the flannels saved $$ and were great for sensitive skin. If the idea of flannels cleaning up poop is too gross, you could always save the wipes just for #2s and use cloth for everything else. Theyr'e cheap as at the Warehouse. You can get barrier cream free if you ask your GP for a presription for it. Comes in a giant tub.

I'm totally behind the times on OB, so 'scuse my ignorance, but are you working, or on DPB, or a bit of both? Is Mila's Dad around (and helpful?). Have you been into WINZ and asked them what you qualify for? Sometimes there's a benefit out there that we don't know about because no-one's told us, so might pay to ask. Are you receiving any child support? If not, and you qualify for it, you could follow that up with the IRD. I'm assuming you've got rid of all the unnecessary expenses like Sky if you had it, that sort of thing.

You could save $ with cloth nappies, but the outlay is a lot in the beginning, so that mightn't be any help. Cloth flats are cheap enough, and I have one friend who uses them and is happy with how they work. I'm too chicken for them! You might also need to go up a size in Mila's pants if she's in cloth, so needing to buy a new set of clothes all of a sudden could defeat the purpose.

Good luck! That's a fair bit of financial worry to put up with - sooo not what a busy mum needs.

Edited by Andie

I second cloth wipes - I spent $45 on Cheeky Wipes when Jack was born and only use disposable wipes when we are out (so I buy wipes - cheap ones like Pam's - once every 2-3 months).

Also cloth flats if you can find someone to donate them to you are fine. We use a mixture of BG and cloth flats. They are more work but once you get into a routine are fine.

If you have any hire purchases for essential items (car, washing machine, fridge etc) that you had for a certain period of time before going on the DPB (if that's what you're on) you can get an extra benefit to help pay that. You should qualify for disability allowance too?

I think making an appointment with WINZ to discuss your situation would be best. It's often not until you sit down with your case manager that they tell you about all the 'secret' wee things you can get. Also, you are entiitled to grocery vouchers if you can prove (bank statement) you have no money for food, so take a prinout or something in so you can get a voucher to help and maybe stock up on nappies etc with that.

It may also sound really annoying, but I've moved into Jack's spare bed or the couch for most nights of the week so we're only heating his room and the lounge as it's too expensive otherwise.

child support was mentioned - as far as I'm aware after talking to my lawyer recently you don't get child support if you're on the DPB because the IRD takes it to offset your payments

And if all else fails, swallow your pride and ask your parents to give you a regular topup if they are able to. I know you probably don't want to, but parents are usually more than willing to help and would rather see you happy than completely broke and starving.

Yep there are a lot of different ways winz can help. If you have HP's you can also go to a budget advisor and quite often they can get the payments reduced. Do as much research as you can on winz though cause quite often unless you know about a certain type of payment they wont even mention it.