Coping after SMP runs out

Lu_T

We too are due a baby in July - our second. We are lucky that my maternity pay will be good for the first 18 weeks, but we will have to manage for the remaining months after that. I'd like to have the year off, but realistically will go back to work after 9 months.

Have you tried using cashback sites? You can get paid just for clicking through to various sites or doing searches. You could earn up to about £20 a month (so I've heard) by doing this. You'll get much more if you use them when shopping - I even get cashback on my Ebay purchases and the big things like home & car insurance (I know you don't have a car) can really bring some money back in. You have to wait (sometimes up to a couple of months) to get the money, but if you get in the habit of doing it and draw the cash out regularly then it would top up the funds.

Mystery shopping is also a good way to earn extra cash. There are who sections of the forum dedicated to this with people who know way more about it than I do.

I would thoroughly recommend real nappies. They are no hassle at all and cost next to nothing once you've bought them. I will be using mine again for baby #2 so they are double-y MSE :money:

There are loads of things you think you need when you're having a baby, but actually very little you really do NEED.

A pram - buy carefully as most people end up buying more than one after their first turns out to be too big/cumbersome/impractical. In your situation I'd be looking for a buggy suitable from birth which you can fold with one hand. You could even manage without this for the first few months if you bought a sling, but this could turn out to be a more expensive decision in the long run.

You need somewhere for baby to sleep - Ikea do very cheap cots which could be small enough to go in your room, getting rid of the need for a moses basket. If you do get a moses basket you don't need a stand. My daughter's lived on two dining room chairs next to our bed for the first 5 months, then she went in her own room.

Ask friends and family to give you gift vouchers instead of buying gifts for the baby. That way you can use them towards what you need, rather than what they want baby to have. Boots would be good as you can get clothes and practical things.

If you get gifts and don't want/need them, don't be shy about leaving the labels on and returning them to do a swap for something you do need. This is especially true of clothes, which you will be given loads of.

Finally, say YES to everything which is offered. I can't remember the full list but when our daughter was born 2 years ago we got a pram, travel system 2 car seats (knew & trusted the owners), moses basket on loan, sling on loan, whole set of real nappies & accessories, clothes to take us through the first year, books about babies & pregnancy. The list was pretty endless. Some of the people were friends of the family who just wanted to help. Just don't be proud.

There is the MSE Parent Club http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1162063&page=64 & the MSE Pregnancy Club http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1349615&page=154 which you would also find a source of support both now and when baby arrives.

Good luck. Do hope to see you in the other 'clubs' soon.

eadieb

Hello,
I've recently had 3 children in the last 5 years and took maternity leave for each of them. Tax Credits are what saved us. As soon as you have your baby you will be able to claim child tax credit. Tax credit normally base what they will pay you now on what your whole families earnings were in the last complete financial year. So for you, you would not get much as they would base it on your full wages and your partners put together for the last financial year. However, once you have applied for it and had the initial notifications come through you can phone them and instead ask them to pay you based on an estimate for your earnings in this financial year. So instead you would give them an annual figure made up of your partners wages + any actual wages/maternity pay you will be paid in this financial year. Depending on when in the financial year you are having your baby, this usually reduces what your annual salary is and therefore gets you more tax credits now when you need them.

Also, for every week you earn statutory maternity pay you are allowed to ignore £100 per week of income. So, you come up with what your actual joint income figure will be this year and then deduct from it the amount of weeks in this financial year that you are on SMP x £100. It can knock several thousands of pounds off your declarable income and again increase the amount of tax credits you receive.

The catch is that you must try to be as accurate in your estimate which you give to tax credits as possible because by giving an estimate that is too low you will get an overpayment which will be taken back from you in the following year. At the end of each financial year, tax credit do a round up of what you have actually earnt during that year (based on your P60's). So if you told them you were going to earn £17,000 but actually earnt £17,500 then you would be overpaid on the £500 and owe tax credit money.

Sorry if this is very complex but it can make a huge difference to surviving on maternity leave and the amount of increased tax credit it can get you will be much higher if you have a low income and more children. You will need to check with tax credit in case anything (rules or amount disregarded) has changed in the last 12 months since I did this

We found that we are better off financially with my partner and I both working part time (3 days each per week) than if just he went to work full time.

One last thing, once you are in receipt of child tax credit you can claim the Sure Start Maternity Grant which is £500. You must be getting a certain level of child tax credit (above the minimum amount). You can get this 3 months before the baby is due if you already have a child tax credit claim running or you have 3 months from the birth of your baby to claim it.

cue

pinkpig08 wrote: »

When I go back to work after Mat leave I'll be paying the childminder £300 per month and taking home about £250. I would love to be a SAHM but we just wouldn't be able to afford it. We should get an extra £40 per month tax credits and £50 per month child benefit. DH's CSA payments will also go down by about £20 per month.

The way I look at it is that when the baby eventually goes to school (DS is 6 and at school already), I'll already have a job that suits the school hours and won't have to start looking for another. If I give up my job now I can't be sure that I'll find another with the same hours.

You can always ask your employer about child care vouchers - if a few people are int he same situation it'll save you and the company a lot.

helenpatmore

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone that's replied to my post!

There's been some really helpful advice given, and we both feel a lot more confident that we can do this :j

Helen x