Fostering a disabled child
The role of an independent fostering agency
What support is available for foster carers?
How to choose a foster care agency
Foster Care Fortnight: How to raise awareness about children in foster care
Can I choose who I foster?
How to foster
What are the benefits of fostering with an independent fostering agency?
What happens when a child is taken into care?
Fostering process: what happens on an initial home visit?
Can you foster if you have mental health issues?
Fostering with local authority vs independent agency
Interview: Life as a foster parent during the pandemic
A complete guide to becoming a foster carer
How Are Children in Foster Care Matched with Carers?
Foster Care Budgeting Tips
Becoming A Foster Carer
Benefits of becoming a foster parent
What is a Care Leaver?
What is a Foster Carer?
What is Foster Care?
Do I become a Foster Carer?
Fostering Regulations
How much do Foster Parents get paid?
How to Foster a Child
How long does it take to become a Foster Carer?
How to foster – everything you ever wanted to know
Facts about Foster Care
What are the Foster Care requirements?
Foster Care Handbook
Foster Carer Job Description
Changing IFA - Transferring to Capstone
Fostering Definition
Foster Care Statistics
What does Every Child Matters Mean for Foster Parents?
Fostering Stories
Fostering Children UK
Children needing Fostering
8 reasons why a child may be taken into care
Fostering as a Career
Looked after Children
Can you foster if you smoke or vape?
A guide to fostering assessments
LGBTQ+ Fostering
Equality, Inclusion & Anti-discriminatory Practice in Foster Care
What can disqualify you from foster care?
Can you foster if you’re on benefits?
Top transferable job skills to become a foster carer
Fostering as a same sex couple
Fostering while renting
Is there an age limit for fostering in the UK?
Do foster carers get a pension?
How to foster a child: A step by step guide
How do DBS Checks Work?
Can I foster if...?
Mythbusting the top 10 Foster Care Myths
Can I foster if I am disabled?
LGBT Fostering Mythbusting
Can I foster if I have pets?
Can I Foster A Child?
Can I Foster and Work?
Can you Foster with a Criminal Record
Can Single People Foster?
LGBT Family and Foster Care
Fostering across Cultures
Muslim Fostering
Christian Foster Care
Sikh Fostering
Empty Nest Syndrome and Foster Care
Can I Foster?
Fostering Babies and Young Children
Fostering Babies - Myths
Focusing on Parent & Child Fostering
Fostering Siblings
Fostering Teenagers
Fostering Teenagers - Breaking down the Myths
Fostering Unaccompanied and Asylum Seeking Children
Mother and Baby Foster Placements
Private Fostering
Therapeutic Fostering - Multi-disciplinary Assessment Treatment & Therapy Service (MATTS)
Young Children Fostering Placements
Difference between short and long-term fostering
Reunification and Birth Parents: A Guide for Foster Carers
What is an EHC Plan? A Guide for Foster Carers
How to prepare a child for becoming a care leaver
Children who foster: impact of fostering on birth children
Fostering LGBTQ+ Youth
How to prepare your home for a foster child
How to help a lonely child: A Guide for Foster Carers
What are the National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services?
10 tips for foster children's education
How to prepare your foster child for secondary school
Tips for coping when foster placements end
Tips for foster parents during Coronavirus
What happens if foster parents get divorced?
5 ways to manage Mother's Day with foster children
Tips for managing foster children's bedtime routines
How to handle foster child bullying
Fostering allowances and the gender pay gap
What discounts can foster carers get?
How to adopt from Foster Care
5 ways to manage Father's Day for children in foster care
8 most common fostering challenges
FosterTalk Membership with Capstone Foster Care
Supporting foster children's contact with birth families
A guide to independent fostering
Keeping Children Safe Online: A Guide For Foster Carers
Movies About Foster Care
Play-based learning strategies for foster carers
A Guide to the Staying Put Program
How to deal with empty nest syndrome
How to recognise signs of depression in foster children
Can you take a foster child on holiday?
Tips and advice on fostering with a disability
10 tips on connecting with your Foster Child
Fostering vs Adoption - What's the difference?
How Fostering can change a future
How to adopt from Foster Care
How to encourage children to read in Foster Care
How to prepare a Foster Child's bedroom
Reading and Storytelling with Babies and Young Children
Supporting Children's Learning
The 20 most recommended books Foster Carers and young people should read
Things you can do when your children leave home
The impact of early childhood traumas on adolescence and adulthood
Anxious Disorders in Foster Children
What is sexual abuse and sexual violence
Foster Child behaviour management strategies
Foster Parent Advice: What to expect in your first year of fostering
Capstone's twelve tips at Christmas
10 celebrities who grew up in Foster Care
Celebrating our Children and Young People
Could Millenials be the solution to the Foster Care crisis?
Do you work in Emergency Services?
Form F Assessor and Assessment Training
Foster Care Fortnight
Improving Children's Welfare - Celebrating Universal Children's Day
It's time to talk about Mental Health and Foster Care
New Year - New Career - Become a Foster Carer
Promoting the rights and wellbeing of persons with Disabilities
Refugee Week
Young people and Mental Health in a changing world
Young People Charities
Fostering is an important calling, one where you can make a real difference to a child’s life. With the rising cost of living, and concerns about whether you can afford to look after a child, it’s important to consider your finances before applying to become a foster carer. Before you write yourself off as a potential foster carer it’s important to remember that you are entitled to a Fostering Allowance. This is to support a happy and healthy lifestyle for the whole fostering family. In our guide, we’ll share our top budgeting tips, so that you can make the most of your fostering allowance, for you and your foster child.
The first step to make the most out of your fostering allowance is to create a budget, understand what your fixed income is every month and along with your non-negotiable outgoing expenditure.
Example 1:
Jenny fosters 12 year old Joseph all year round, and as he is in Therapeutic Foster Care she receives £650 per week as a fostering allowance. As Jenny is fostering as a full time career, her total income per month is £2816, she lives with her husband John who is a primary school teacher who earns £2083 after tax and deductions. Below shows a table of their monthly fixed incomings and outgoings.
|
Incomings |
Outgoings |
|
Fostering Allowance: +£2816 |
Mortgage: -£1330 |
|
John’s Salary: +£2083 |
Council Tax: -£177 |
|
TOTAL: £4899 |
Gas and Electricity: -£150 |
|
|
Internet: -£20 |
|
|
Mobile Phone Contracts: -£80 |
|
|
Car Insurance: -£80 |
|
|
Home Insurance: -£35 Petrol: -£200 Food: -£400 TOTAL: -£2452 |
Example 2:
Eli fosters 6 year old twins Luka and Emilio all year round, and as they are in Long-Term Foster Care, she receives £502 a week for each child.
|
Incomings |
Outgoings |
|
Fostering Allowance: +£4350 |
Rent: -£900 |
|
TOTAL: £4350 |
Council Tax: -£217 |
|
|
Gas and Electricity: -£180 |
|
|
Internet: -£40 |
|
|
Mobile Phone Contract: -£40 Bus Pass : -£65 |
|
|
Food : -£300 |
|
|
Home insurance : -£15 TOTAL : -£1757 |
After you’ve added up your outgoing expenses and income, you should have a good idea of how much money is left every month, so that you can budget accordingly to make the most of the allowance enabling maximum support and wellbeing for the child.
Example 1:
After their fixed outgoings Jenny and John have a total of £2427 left of their budget to spend every month. This is how they spend the remainder of their budget.
|
Outgoings |
|
Savings: -£1100 |
|
Clothes, toiletries and shoes for Joseph: -£250 |
|
Clothes, toiletries and shoes for Jenny and John: -£350 |
|
Family Days Out: -£200 |
|
Pocket Money: -£60 |
|
Netflix - £11 |
|
Swimming Club for Joseph: - £60 |
|
Gym Membership: - £40 |
|
Meals Out/Take Aways: -£300 |
School Fund: -£56
Example 2:
After his fixed outgoings Eli has a total of £2593 left of his monthly income to budget every month. This is how he spends the rest of his budget.
|
Outgoings |
|
Savings: -£1158 |
|
Clothes, toiletries and shoes for Luka and Emiliano: -£250 |
|
Football club for Luka and Emiliano: -£200 |
|
Family Days Out: -£100 |
|
Pocket Money: -£60 |
|
Books and toys: -£50 |
|
School Fund: -£50 |
|
Cinema membership: -£30 |
|
Emergency fund: -£200 |
|
Clothes, toiletries and shoes for Eli: -£200 |
Part time masters: -£295
There are many simple swaps and access to financial support available for foster carers. For example, you can access a number of discounts such as the Blue Light Card, for discounts on high street shops and restaurants. You may also be eligible for a discount on your council tax depending on your local authority – all which can make your Foster Care Allowance go further.
Buying second hand is not only good for the environment but is also good for your wallet. Second hand clothing apps like Vinted and Depop are a great way to find unique pieces, and what’s more, you can easily resell them when you’re finished.
There are also a number of free events and locations that make fantastic days out for you and the fostering family. Most museums and art galleries are free to enter and are a brilliant way to help to support and develop your foster child’s interests. You can also take advantage of any sports interests with after school clubs, or free fitness classes such as the junior park run or Nuffield health’s free fitness classes for girls.
Here at Capstone Foster Care, your happiness and growth in your role as a foster carer is important to us which is why we offer full training and support, including free clinical support should you need it. Our partner FosterTalk is also on hand to offer additional financial advice.
Our competitive Foster Care Allowance is provided to alleviate the financial worries of supporting a foster child, with a monetary bonus every year you are reapproved. So you can focus on what you signed up to become a foster carer for – making a difference to a vulnerable child.
Our refer a friend scheme can also boost your fostering income, as we reward any successful referral generously – we’re always searching for like-minded individuals
Interested in fostering? Find out about the benefits of fostering with Capstone, or get in touch with a member of our helpful team today for more information about our foster parent training courses.
Request a brochure today and take the first step to becoming a foster carer.
If you’ve got any questions or would like to find out more about fostering with Capstone, fill out the form below.
An experienced fostering advisor from your local area will then be in touch.
Start the conversation today. Our team of friendly advisors are on hand to answer any foster care questions you may have. We can offer you honest and practical advice that can help you decide if becoming a foster carer is the right path for you.
