How much did you save before going on Maternity Leave?

rach83

The title says it all really. Just wondering how much people managed to save before going on maternity leave. I hope people don't think I am being too nosey I am merely being curious!

I have so far saved up £2,000 since I found out I was pregnant with #1 at the end of September 2009 (myself and OH do not have a huge amount of disposable cash). When I am on Maternity Leave I will only be entitled to SMP.

My parents have kindly bought me a travel system and I have bought a few clothes from Asda. I am borrowing a crib and a steriliser (although I am hoping to breast feed) from a friend and have a second hand cot frame.

I am not really planning on buying loads of stuff before the baby is born. I am going to try and wait and buy/borrow/find second hand items as and when I feel I need them.

I would be interested to hear how other people went about things.

Thanks

mistrihelen

I'm going on maternity leave in ten weeks (although I then have four weeks of annual leave) and have so far saved very little as we're in the process of moving into our first (mortgaged) home and I've had to buy a fridge, carpets, etc. Luckily family are helping out with the cot and the pram and I've had a lot of hand-me-down clothes given to me.

Still need to buy a new car seat (as they are best new unless you know the driving history) and think I'd prefer a new moses basket, but other than that I'm happy to look at second-hand for things.

Next week, once we're in our new house, I seriously need to examine our finances (should've done this already) and see how much I can afford to save. We'll get by when I'm on SMP, but any extra will make a huge difference.

csh_2

You'll be amazed at how much money you won't 'waste' cos its not there! I'm on SMP and I'm down over £1k a mth at the mo and I honestly can't say that we've had any noticeable hardship. Things are tight but its short term, feeling the pinch a bit now with 2 mths to go.
Get your (financial) house in order, get your outgoings down to essentials only, make savings where you can.
I meal plan now which keeps me on budget for food but I don't batch cook cos I like fresh stuff.
Get the things you'll need nappies, wipes and such like when they are on special offer.

Nobody can tell you what to save as we don't know your commitments, good luck with the baby!

trufflebuggy

Congratulations.

Well done for putting some savings away, are these savings just for things for the baby or to help you financially with the cost of living after the baby is born?

If it's just for the baby then I'd say you'll be able to achieve quite a lot with that. It's always hard to know what you really need when having your first, all those magazines and books advising you on a lot of expensive stuff which you may well be able to do without.

Firstly I wouldn't worry about buying newborn sized clothes, go straight for 0-3mths they grow out of it so quickly. it'll only be abit baggy for a few weeks unless babe is very small. Also friends and family will buy you a lot of clothes when baby arrives so don't go too over board as you'll just end up with clothes never being worn.

I've never had a baby bath, always just used the sink and the bath never had any problems. Similarly didn't bother with a changing unit, just have a couple of change mats (one upstairs one down) and the floor/bed etc.. I used the family moses basket just got a new foam mattress for it, which cost under £10, they'll not be in a crib or moses basket for long, I would say borrow or get one secondhand. Or just put them into a cot from the word go, depending on how much room you have in your bedroom.

I have been really pleased with the clothes I've got off ebay, as most babies grow so quickly most stuff looks like its hardly been worn.

with DS1 I brought an express pump and microwave steriliser etc..... used it twice breast fed him until he was 13 months and never really needed it as he wouldn't take a bottle.... my sister got more use out of it than I did, it's lurking around here somewhere but I dare say I'll not use it this time either (DD nearly 4mths).

Obviously if you intend to bottlefeed, bottles etc. are something you'll need to think about before baby comes.

Remember all they need is love, warmth and food and they'll be happy.

Good luck

rach83

trufflebuggy wrote: »

If it's just for the baby then I'd say you'll be able to achieve quite a lot with that. It's always hard to know what you really need when having your first, all those magazines and books advising you on a lot of expensive stuff which you may well be able to do without.

It’s not entirely for the baby its mainly to top up my income when I am off. I am going to try and save some more money out of my last 2 pay packets. I also know that I am going to get £200 from my private healthcare scheme that I am in at work. Its called a Maternity Cash Benefit and I think it is to compensate for the fact that in my area you can not have a baby privately.

I have been advised on another forum that I may be able to claim the Sure Start Maternity Grant but only once the baby has been born. I am not convinced about this but I am going to look into it.

csh_2

rach83 wrote: »

I have been advised on another forum that I may be able to claim the Sure Start Maternity Grant but only once the baby has been born. I am not convinced about this but I am going to look into it.

Its means tested but if you pop your details into entitledto.com and it gives you a child tax credit award of more than the basic child element, you may be entitled to it.
Remember the first £100 of your SMP doesn't count as income for tax credits.
Always worth an application if you aren't sure.

trufflebuggy

Have you been told about the health in pregnancy grant, available to all from 25 weeks of pregnancy (£190) get info from your midwife.

I saved quite a bit before both of our children, as I am the main breadwinner so needed to be sure that all the bills would be paid for during the year I was/will be off. I am fortunate that I was able to squirrel away spare money into savings, you have to be fairly anal about it all I'm afraid..... have a saving account that you can squirrel money away into, even if it's only a few pounds... online banking is great for this, when I'm paid each month I actually put the balance left from the month before into the savings account, even if it's a relatively small amount.... every little helps.

brians_daughter

i saved up 2 months salary- i got paid 2 months mat leave at 90% of my full pay,2 months at 75% and then 3 months at 1/2 pay then SMP for 9 weeks or so. I then had a further 3 months unpaid leave so didnt really need more than 2 months for additional mat leave.

We too didnt buy loads of stuff, just the basics,. when lo was born he got bought that many outfits in that many sizes he still has some clothes ppl bought him in his wardrobe that he is yet to wear and he is 15 m old!

gizmodo_2

We're TTC and are saving for maternity leave. I've worked out that for 7.5 months I need a minimum of about £4k and even better £7k. Saved £2k so far.

I'll be entitled to SMP (90% 6 weeks and the £120 for what is it? 33 weeks?)

I sat down and wrote a SOA working out the absolute minimum we'd need to pay the bills, car, mortgage, food, etc. Then tacked on £100 a month on top for unexpected things that might crop up.

How many months leave are you intending on taking?

rach83

gizmodo wrote: »

How many months leave are you intending on taking?

At the moment I am planning on taking 9 months and see how it goes from there. I am considering taking my car off the road whilst on maternity leave as I wont be as reliant on it and it would save me a lot of money. Haven’t entirely squared it with OH yet which could be mighty difficult as his car is his pride and joy and only comes out in fine weather or if he is racing it at a racetrack somewhere :eek: it is in no way baby friendly so we would basically have no car unless I can get him to make his car more road friendly instead of track friendly. It could be possible but I doubt he would let me drive it day to day!

I am reasonably lucky in that my housing costs are relatively low really so we are just going to have to live on my SMP and OH's salary. It will be a good challenge!

rach83

trufflebuggy wrote: »

Have you been told about the health in pregnancy grant, available to all from 25 weeks of pregnancy (£190) get info from your midwife.

Yes, thanks for this. I claimed this at 25 weeks and I have just put it into my baby fund