Coping on maternity pay

pinkshoes

Swapping my pay for basic maternity pay is going to cost me over £23k!!!

Go to https://www.entitledto.co.uk and fill in your maternity pay and your OHs salary, and you'll probably be entitled to tax credits etc... Unless your OH is on over £40k, I'm sure you'll be entitled to something!!

Also, if your work is more reliable than your OHs, could you not go back to work after say 3 months, and he takes over the child care?

ClareEmily

rach83 wrote: »

I am in the same boat here. I dont earn as much as you so it will be a smaller drop down but I am still concerned. I have managed to save £2,000 since I found out I was pregnant which isnt as much as I would like to have saved but my other half is a nightmare with money and has a big loan payment to make each month. He has also experienced a drop in income as well due to his income being mainly commission based. I am nearly 35 weeks pregnant now and I must admit I didnt save whilst we were trying to get pregnant as I had given up hope of it ever happening due to me having PCOS. It took a year and ironically I got pregnant whilst on a holiday which in total cost £3,000!!

I was lucky that my parents bought our pram. To be honest I havent really bought that much even now. I have the bare essentials and I am going to assess matters as and when they arise. I have been lucky that people at work have lent me a lot of items (a crib, baby rockers, sterliser) and I have just bought basic clothing from Asda/Tesco/Sainsburys. I understand that Asda have their baby event on from the 20th April to 8th May and during this time they have really good offers on nappies, clothing etc etc.

I am thinking about possibly getting involved with doing Kleeneze when I am on maternity leave to top up the loss of earnings but intitally I am just going to do my best to make cut backs (particularly on food shopping, takeaways and eating out and avoiding car use as much as possible, I have even been considering getting rid of my car altogether, it would be tough but I think I would survive (just!). As others have said if you drive to work you will save on fuel, lunches and if you are like me random lunchtime trips to the supermarket.

You are on the right route just continue to try saving as much as possible now and start making small cut backs its amazing how it all adds up.

Thanks for this Rach

I will pop to Asda's even if I stock pile some nappies will be a start.

I do use a lot of fuel travelling to and from work and you are right about wasting money on food whilst at work, thinking about poping to sainsbury's in a mo actually as starving, will have to make own sarni's.

didnt save whilst we were trying to get pregnant as I had given up hope of it ever happening due to me having PCOS - I also have PCOS been trying for 6 years and also thought it would never happen, so yes I would have also saved a hell of a lot more arghhhh.

Thanks again
Clare x

ClareEmily

old_motters wrote: »

Maybe hubby needs to get a job that will work around the taxi driving and leave the taxi-ing to the more lucrative times of day.

A very good suggestion, but don't know how this would go down with hubby well can only ask

ClareEmily

rach83 wrote: »

Dont know how true this is but I have been told that if you work and get under 50k a year you can apply for the Sure Start Maternity Grant (£500) but you must do this after baby is born and you must do this within 12 weeks as you will get the baby under 1 years of age amount it will be higher than the tax credit family element and you will qualify. You need to register birth, send off for child benefit and tax credits then apply.

I will look into this thanks again x

ClareEmily

pinkshoes wrote: »

Swapping my pay for basic maternity pay is going to cost me over £23k!!!

Go to www.entitledto.co.uk and fill in your maternity pay and your OHs salary, and you'll probably be entitled to tax credits etc... Unless your OH is on over £40k, I'm sure you'll be entitled to something!!

Also, if your work is more reliable than your OHs, could you not go back to work after say 3 months, and he takes over the child care?

We may have to do this, will just be very hard for me to leave especially if I am breast feeding.

JoJoB

It may be worth ringing up your loan company when smp kicks in and simply state your situation and that you can only afford a much reduced payment for the next 6 months. £260 is a lot to find when you are facing a drop in income! Offer them £50 per month and see what they say - if they know that your income will increase again in the near future they may try to accomodate you.

If that doesn't work and you are still short after doing everything you can to be frugal then you need to prioritise your debts and consider what would be the least problematic to get in arrears over until you are in a position to pay it off. For example do not get into debt over Council Tax or Rent as this can leave you in a very precarious position.

Is there any possibility of renting a cheaper place in the short-term?

How much do you spend on food shopping for the 2 of you per month?

If your partner's business is slow at the moment then he needs to consider other ways of earning while you are on smp - a couple of shifts in a pub a week might go a long way to making up the shortfall. It's not ideal, but it only needs to be until you return to work.

Take a good look around all your possessions and think about what you really don't need anymore. Then have a carboot sale or do some ebaying and put the proceeds in the baby fund.

hth!

mistrihelen

Hi there,

I'm in a not-too-dissimilar situation. I'm 31 weeks pregnant, we've just moved house and so finances are a bit tight, and in nine weeks I'll be on maternity leave. Eeep!

I've started off by doing a SOA that covers all our incoming and outgoing money for when I'm on maternity. Admittedly the results are pretty grim - looks like we just about cover outgoings but with nothing spare for emergency situations - but it's a good starting point to see where we can make savings. Plus I should have 3/4 months left of mostly full pay and I'm going to save as much as possible out of them.

You can also look at ways to bring in extra income. I believe that self-employed work is okay when you're on maternity leave and then there's selling things you don't need any more.

I'm probably going to start off by selling a lot of books we have on Amazon and then car boot them when they stop selling. It won't bring in a lot of money, but I think a tenner here and there can still make a big difference. Plus once I've had the baby and he's out of newborn clothes (and then the following age groups), they can be sold too on eBay and the like. I also intend to do some creative writing but that's unlikely to ever make me money (but you never know!).

As others have suggested, your husband might want to look at some kind of part time job he can do during 'quiet' hours and then doing the taxi work at more peak times.

One of the more obvious things we've done to save money include making our own lunches. Whether leftovers or sandwiches made with stuff from the supermarket, it's still a lot cheaper than spending up to a fiver a day each on the local coffee/sandwich places near work.

Good luck . I'll keep reading this thread so I can steal ideas off other people too!

Bitsy_Beans

Try Freecycle/Freegle for your local area and ask or look to see if anyone is getting rid of baby stuff.

I dropped circa £500 to change jobs to work at home with my kids - it was a culture shock but we just about manage.

Check out the OS board for tips on your shopping. Food costs is the one area which I can manipulate a little. I would suggest you start changing your spending habits NOW. That way SMP isn't going to be too much of a culture shock for you and perhaps you can stash away as much as possible before baby is born.

ClareEmily

Thanks everyone

I am printing this thread off every day, some really good ideas.

Clare x

choccybuttons

I went back to work early and DH looked after our son, as his work dried up completely. I was breast feeding and partially expressed when went back to work. It was tough but no other option really as benefits and mat wouldnt cover our essentail bills.