Today I wanted to discuss the cost of family tickets, and the fact there isn’t an option for a single parent family ticket. Well. I’ve never seen one, have you? I remember having a conversation with a friend about just this topic recently. She was going to go to a theme park and was pricing up the tickets to go with her two children. She said her children were really looking forward to going, and she couldn’t help but think when she looked at the prices and budget for the trip (we all know how expensive it is to go to theme parks) that going as a single parent meant that she was paying so much more than a two-parent family. This is something I have thought about a lot over the weeks, especially whilst thinking about holidays and days out over summer. It does seem really unfair that companies don’t have a one parent family option when it comes to tickets, to make it more affordable.
Payplan made a really interesting infographic which I’ve shared below and a blog post explaining some of the points and some more thought-provoking points about single-parent families and paying for childcare.
Here are some ways you might be able to save extra money as a single parent:
- Get 25% off your council tax if your children are under 18 and you don’t live with another adult
- Claim Child Benefit
- Get a one-time payment of £500 from the Sure Start maternity grant for pregnant single mothers
- Apply for the 30 hours free childcare scheme, whereby your child aged 3 or 4 can have free childcare if you’re working
- Get up to £150 to go towards your child’s school uniform from the council
- Get a one-off £140 discount on your winter energy bill with the Warm Home Discount Scheme
For me, it just doesn’t seem fair that there aren’t more ‘family’ options available. Surely we recognise in this day and age that families and family units come in all different shapes and sizes. One in four families are single parents, that in itself should show that there is a real need.
It’s actually quite scary that one in ten single parents have also used a food bank or got a payday loan. I do wish companies could implement a system for reduced rates, it only seems fair doesn’t it? We all know about how unfair it is for a single person to pay a larger fee for a holiday when there’s only one person in the room or cabin, well this I think is just the same, if not worse!
I really hope you enjoyed this post in collaboration with PayPlan. If you have any experiences that you would like to share then please do let me know in the comments below.
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