“Mum in finance” helps young parents in the blurred world of child allowances and discounts

Her try-out class was fully booked within one hour and for the workshop premiere last Wednesday she hardly needed advertising. Finance Mum Anne-Dorine Ligthart gives voluntarily grip to young parents in arranging and organizing their infants’ taxes. The idea for the workshop came from the 33 year old mum’s own personal situation. She missed out on a huge child daycare allowance, because she discovered that there was a time limit to apply for her use of daycare in 2012. She thought it would be easier to wait until she knew how many hours her daughter had spent exactly in daycare during the year and how much income they earned in total. “Looking back that was a stupid mistake with big financial consequences. I started to dig in the world of baby allowances and discounts and started to make an overview of all the issues that were applicable for my family,” says Ligthart. The sum of the child day care allowance is dependent on  a number of factors. Ligthart describes a common situation in where for example both parents are working and with an average income they could receive around  8000 euros a year government subsidy. Certainly, a substantial amount. The Finance Mum says that in the Netherlands child allowance and child daycare allowance are quite common and known within the Dutch society. But the deductions such as the discount on tax for working parents (in Dutch: inkomensafhankelijke combinatiekorting), the discount for single mums and dads (alleenstaande ouderkorting) or the maternity leave discount (ouderschapverlofkorting) are less familiar. By talking about this subject in a personal setting, Ligthart hopes she can help young parents with sharing information, ideas and tips. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"17633","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-full wp-image-5258","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"221","height":"166","alt":"Workshop picture II"}}]] An impression of the workshop held in the Nationale Nederlanden – Douwe Egberts Café in Rotterdam. by Mum in Finance

The first workshop has been held in the Nationale Nederlanden – Douwe Egberts café in Rotterdam. Ligthart explains that this café was a perfect place to create the “living room touch” she wanted. “I made a booklet with all the information beforehand, so the parents didn’t need to write anything down. In this way they had time to relax with a cup of coffee and listen to eachother. Starting a real conversation like they were sitting next to their best friend on the couch at home, talking about all the financial aspects of having children.” According to Ligthart, parents in The Netherlands are less comfortable talking about money in these situations. “You rather spend your time about sharing ideas for the baby room or what kind of daycare you pick.” However, with the success of the first workshop it seems that there definitely is a need for parents to get some more useful information. The questions that she received during the workshop were quite various. “After the seminar I had some interesting new cases to dig in. I am not a tax consultant, but for me this is also a way to expand my knowledge that I can share in the next workshops,” says Ligthart. The Finance mum will give a new workshop in Rotterdam this October and November. She is also planning to expand by holding the seminar in a new location in Amsterdam, but as she is running all her activities voluntarily she first needs to find a sponsor who can offer her a suitable location. She is also planning to give workshops in English. “I don’t make any money with it, but for me this is my way to make my contribution for society and moreover I love doing it!” For information about the workshop and contacts visit the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/muminfinance. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"25899","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-5256","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"111","alt":"Mum in finance FB page"}}]] Mum in finance facebookpage, http://www.facebook.com/muminfinance