Fostering is one of the noblest things a person can do for another young person who lost their parents or needed to be taken away for other reasons, such as abuse or negligence or any other related issue. It is quite rewarding spiritually for the person doing it and could change the caregiver’s life. Fostering could help those who can’t have children, people who don’t have a stable partner, someone who needs companionship or anyone really.
Fostering is a beautiful form of change that we need right now in our world and gives the young ones a chance. To add to all of this, it is a paid job! In the United Kingdom, it is treated as a full-time job with its own income and its own taxing system. Even though it is much bigger than a full-time job.
Throughout the article, we will have a rundown of the financial aspects of fostering as a career and tell you everything you need to know about fostering before you apply. Visiting sites and blogs like these will give you better insight into what you may need to do before you apply to foster.
Here, we will look into the technical aspects such as how the payments are distributed, taxation policies on it, and the real cost-benefit ratio. This discussion will help show you how much money you can realistically do with fostering. The decision is up to you on whether it is lucrative or not.
The Technical Aspects
Really anyone can join the fostering business and can make an income out of it. It has no degree requirements or any unnecessary discriminatory screening. All you need is an extra room, free time, a big heart and a lot of understanding. Nevertheless, one should be quite aware of how payments in this field really work. So, they can at least cover the child’s expenses. For those who are interested in understanding the inner workings of how much they would make and how it works, this is the section for you.
Allowance Payment
In fostering, you get two forms of payments. The first of which is an allowance payment. The purpose of this allowance payment is to help the foster parent take care of the child’s expenses. These could include things such as food, clothes, pocket money, general household expenses, outings, medical bills, telephone, and travel. These funds are more or less meant for the child but can also benefit the whole household as well. There is no clear division between the household and the foster child who is coming in to join.
Reward Payment
The second type of payment that exists is the reward payment. The reward payment, like with any job, is a compensation for all of your hard work with the foster child. The payment, of course, differs from case to case. Also, different agencies and fostering centers give different rates and have different arrangements. I would suggest that you pick the best one that fits your situation.
The financial benefit you would get with fostering a child is that under the English tax system you exempted from taxes on your income from fostering. This means you are better off than with a normal job or better yet you get a nice source of untaxed income. This would add a nice chunk to your yearly income. Also under the English tax system, most taxpayers are already given a personal allowance. So, there is more income for you in the end.
The Cost-Benefit Ratio
Even though you should not really be thinking in the terms of cost-benefit while doing something like fostering a child, it is only responsible to understand what you are getting yourself into financially speaking. So, there are many cases where the child might consume even more than that income because of certain issues they have or even the state of the economy. It just happens that things might not go according to plan. So, I would suggest that you take this as a warning more than a passage shooting down the whole pursuit. It is very possible to make a decent income from fostering but I would suggest that one prepares a bit. A little financial planning could go a long way.
Wrapping it all up
To conclude this discussion, raising a foster child might be one of the noblest things a person could do. It is such a liberating and empowering experience for both you and the child under your supervision. Also, a bonus to all of this is that it is a paying job with its own income and tax exemptions. If you plan it out well, you could make a decent amount of side income for your household that will also benefit your foster child as well. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Before you apply for fostering, you should read up on it and understand the system.