First baby on the way, tips welcome!

ironman1

Hello, I posted not long ago that my GF is around eight weeks pregnant (we found out a couple of weeks ago) and I was wondering how everyone on here 'coped' with the money side?

I work full time in the building trade but work is tight, no over time is available and a pay rise is not gonna happen. My oh works with kids and will get around 6 months off with full and then half pay, but I really want her to have a year off at least. Nursery fees will be too high anyway.

We have helpful families and will get help with buying baby clothes/babysitting etc whether we wanted help or not. When we eventually get down to paying our mortgage and bills on just my wage it is do-able but doesn't leave much spare. Basically we just wan't tips on how others cut back and managed. Obviously going out and holidays will have to be reduced big time but any other advice is welcome.

Before anyone asks, we are ready to have the baby, if we wasn't we wouldn't have tried for one. We live together and already have a spare room and have a few grand saved up.

Is there any help we can claim, tax credits etc? Hopefully someone can help, if you need to know anything please ask me!

dizzybuff

When you have the baby you will recive a bounty pack which will already have the tax credits docs in to fill in.

It all depends on your income , even though she is on mat leave she will still be classed as working. If she works with kids , and you have the space what about her training to be a childminder , kill two birds with one stone .


Depending on where you live a childminder can earn 500 -750+ per month per child .

Use a basic benefits calculator it should help .

http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx

ironman1

Thanks, we will have a look. We live in London

picnmix

Great news and many congrats to you both. You will manage, babys are not that expensive, they don't need a great deal, I know when I was pregnant with DD, all sorts of offers came of used baby things, which was great. They grow out of their clothes so quickly so don't go overboard with the buying of them. You will get family allowance and then some form of tax credit, at the very least I think you may get 20 per week for the first year tax credits, if not more.
Your whole lifestyle will change so much, so maybe that will save you a few bob as well, I remember not going for a night out for 5 months after having first DD!!!!!Children get more expensive as they get older, but only as expensive as you let them be. Try not to worry too much, relax throughout the pregnancy and enjoy your lovely new arrival.

ironman1

So we will get something then? That's good news. I know we could probably get someone to look after the baby after the six months but I want his/her mum to be there with him when I'm at work. I will get more work at weekends if I have to

claretmatt

Congratulations I became a dad for the first time 6 months ago and it isgreat.

You expect it to be a nightmare but you do honestly cope. As a couple before DS came along we were going out for meals, drinks etc and as this stops you save money from that angle.

Others have said about the benefits that you can receive.

We got a list together of all the things we needed and sourced them from the cheapest stores and bought many things on ebay. It is easier to buy when you have two wages.

Make sure you are on the cheapest electricity and gas tarrifs for your area.

If you have credit cards then try and get these on interest free.

Your mortgage can be a friend or enemy. Is it a tracker mortgage and how much would it go up by when interest rates increase? Could you cope with these increases? Do you want the security of fixing the mortgage?

Insurances - what would happen if you were ill, unemployed or died? Have you considered the benefits of having Wills drafted?

We also cooked and froze meals for us for the first month. We had an extra freezer so may not be practical for you, but having that was a god send and higly recommended

ironman1

Our bills are all as low as they can be in terms of Electric and the like. The only thing we could lose is Sky but if we are staying in alot whats the point?! I would get rid if we needed to obviously. The mortgage is fixed for another three years. Our food and shopping is already quite low I think, around £120 a month including bread and milk on top of lunches, cleaning items etc.

My main concern is although we cope and overpay on the mortgage at the moment, after six months my GF will get no income from her job (as far as we know) so it will be just my wages. I worked it out that we will only have about £100 a month left after bills when this happens. Although we do have savings as I said.

redstararnie76

Is it possible to either take a payment holiday on your mortgage or to switch to interest only while your GF is off?
Might be worth talking to your bank

ironman1

Well we have overpaid on average £400 a month towards our mortgage each month since it started around two years ago, I'm sure we are allowed up to a six month holiday even without doing that so thats a great suggestion. We will definitely look into that if needed.

It's tricky as we are in a shared ownership on a new build so we have to pay the rent side no matter what with maintenance so that's around £350pm without the mortgage

redstararnie76

Ah - I'm in shared ownership too! I would probably advise drawing up an anticipated SOA for when the baby is here. See what difference taking the payment holiday will make to your outgoings. What sort of shared ownership is it? Is it with a housing association? If so it might be worth talking to them as well, and see if there could be any flexibility on the rent - ie. paying slightly less while gf is off, then upping the payments later?

ETA: Sorry, just seen that it's new build - please ignore me then!

Make-it-3

Firstly congratulations. Secondly, babies don't have to be that expensive and friends/family will chip in with gifts nearer the time. You can pick up a lot of what you need second hand at NCT sales, ebay, car boots sales etc.

Your partner will get child benefit - about £20 a week. Also, check out the HMRC website to see what, if any, working or child tax credits you may be entitled to. There's a quiz there which you plug in your income and it give you an indication of what you may get.

Then you can budget accordingly. And do remember you'll be saving on, nights out, fancy holidays etc