baby help please!

smallwren

Hi,

My husband and I are thinking of trying for a baby but are unsure on if we can afford it.

I know what my allowances would be from work (statutory maternity pay only) but don't know if i would be eligable for any tax credits, child support or income support?

My husband earns around £48kpa and my salary is £25kpa and we live in rented accomadation through a private landlord.

Where can we find this information?

Thanks in advance for your help

smallwren

notlongnow_2

I doubt you would be entitled to anything else other than child benefit on a combined salary of 73k.

alwaysonthego_2

Are you going to return to work?

You should get the Health in Pregnancy Grant from 25 weeks.

smallwren

Please could you let me know how much child benefit is?

Many thanks for your help

skint-student-nurse

child benefit is approx £20 pw for the first baby. check entitledto.com to see what you are possibly entitled to. hope this helps!

smallwren

Yes i would return to work.

I'm aware how this sounds like a silly question to ask as we have a combined salary but we don't want to go into this without making sure we are doing the right thing.

Once again thanks for your help

alwaysonthego_2

smallwren wrote: »

Yes i would return to work.

I'm aware how this sounds like a silly question to ask as we have a combined salary but we don't want to go into this without making sure we are doing the right thing.

Once again thanks for your help

Your joint income would be too high to qualify for TC, however when you go on maternity pay and getting SMP because of your lower income you could get CTC [you disregard £100 per week off your SMP for the purposes of TC]. However you would need to ask TCO to base it on the current years income when you have had the baby. When you go back to work again you would not qualify.

TBH babies do not cost much and on your income you should manage just fine.

welshmoneylover

alwaysonthego wrote: »

TBH babies do not cost much and on your income you should manage just fine.

ahh, but babies soon grow into very expensive teenagers with an eye on the designer labels. :rotfl:

LizzieS_2

alwaysonthego wrote: »

TBH babies do not cost much and on your income you should manage just fine.

News to me that babies are cheap - they get even more expensive as they grow up too.

OP is suggesting they may struggle, so it isn't really right to judge their ability to afford just because their income looks good.

OP, as you are returning to work, have you decided what you will do about childcare? Tax credits are unlikely to give you anything towards childcare due to total income. May be worth checking if both your employers operate a childcare voucher scheme - if they don't, now is the time to show them the benefits (they save on NI contributions) so a scheme will be in place when you need it. Childcare vouchers is a salary sacrifice scheme where you save on tax and NI, and both parents can claim the vouchers at the same time.

Molly41

Money is the last thing you should be thinking of when considering a baby. You earn a load of money between you...of course you may have a load of debts but....there is more to having a baby than the financial element. Perhaps that is a smoke screen to concerns about you lifelong committment and sacrifices to a child. I have said it before and will say it aagain...

" A child is for life not just for christmas"....they should come with the same warning as dogs.

By the way - Im a mum to four teens and a community midwife by trade so know what im talking about. It made no difference to me when I visited a mum whether her babe was lying in the newest designer pram or snuggled up in an old but clean battered pram....as long as it was wanted and loved. Thats all a child needs...the rest will follow somehow.

Good luck with your decision.
Molly

alwaysonthego_2

LizzieS wrote: »

News to me that babies are cheap - they get even more expensive as they grow up too.

OP is suggesting they may struggle, so it isn't really right to judge their ability to afford just because their income looks good.

I have two children and I have found them not to be expensive. It is a matter of budgetting and careful shopping. I certainly was not judging the op just giving her encouragment and the confidence to take a very big step that will change their life for the good.