quiery on benefits before pregnancy commences

jockdee

Hi. My fiance and i are wanting to go ahead this year and try for a baby but unsure if finances would be overstretched. i'm on 23k pa and she's on 16.5k, both full time but she'd consider going back part time after maternity leave ends.
i've heard there's a new scheme coming out to cut benefits in april but not sure how much this would affect us.
checked government site and looked a lot of jargon and any calculator i could find was only helpful if you already had a child.
all comments appreciated, thanks

viktory

Best advice I can give is for you to get your financial house in order before trying to concieve. Make sure you are debt free and have a very healthy amount of savings. Ensure that you have scaled back on expenditure where possible. Do your sums and make sure you can afford to have a child. After all, you would ensure you could financially care for a dog before you went ahead and bought one, wouldn't you? Consider that when you have your baby you and your partner will be solely responsible for its upbringing - not the tax payer. Any benefits you might be entitled to will be a bonus.

khague

i would think thats more than enough as i dont work and my oh earns less than you but we have 2 kids and a large mortgage and we manage just fine but its all about everything else you spend or owe? best thing is to sit down and work it out maybe try putting info into benefits checker as if you have a child?