Want to have a baby but have money worries

FERRY-ACROSS-MERSEY

Hi Everyone,

I am in need of some advice.
Me and my husband have decided to try for a baby, and I was over the moon about it, then I went to have a look at how much my maternity pay will be from work and what sort of CTC and child benefit we can get and it has put such a big downer on me that I don’t know if I can afford to have a baby anytime soon.
I work full time on NMW and 3/4 of my wages go on my bills, e.g. phone, rent, council tax, water, heating and electricity; I also have a loan with the bank and a large overdraft that I got to pay off my other debts. so after all the bills are paid I’m left with about £200/month spare, which is pretty good I think, but when I worked out my example maternity pay (I work in HR so it was easy to do) the maternity pay only covers the bills and I would be left with no money spare.
The CTC and child benefit come to approx £120 month. I am really not sure that this is enough to pay for baby's everyday needs. Also, I don’t know how soon I would be able to claim after the birth.
All my friends and relatives keep going on about how expensive babies are and that you need about £1000 a month to be able to provide for your baby… this has really scared me, as I do not have this sort of money.
I’m now thinking, should I postpone the baby and pay off my loan (have about 2 yrs left on it) and save some money and then go for it, or will I survive on the minimal wages that I will have for the duration of my maternity. Also I am planning on going back to work full time as I just can’t afford not to. But then the nursery costs come into play and as I hear they are rather expensive as well. I work 4 days and was planning to have my mum and my hubby’s mum look after the baby on 2 days and 2 days will be in nursery and that comes to £200/month (based on £50/day rate – not sure if this is correct, I think my brother in law pays that).
What does everyone else think I should do? Should I wait and pay off my debt or just take the plunge, after all we might not get pregnant for some time.
I am not even starting to think how I will pay to kit out the nursery, but I believe eBay and freecycle are great places to start.
Is it wrong of me to be thinking on how to save money of the things that a baby would need and buy second hand, after all I have decided to bring this child into the world and it is up to me to ensure that they have everything they need shiny and new?

All your comments are greatly appreciated, sorry for all the rumbling, don’t really have anyone else to talk to. Too scared to talk to my hubby as he will most likely to say we should wait for a while before trying and I don’t know if I really want to wait.

PS i have worked out the maternity pay from 1/12/11 for 9 months , my company pay 6 weeks 90% and rest at the government going rate and the CTC and child benefit are based on our joint household income.

RazWaz

What about your husbands income? You make it sound like you'll be paying for everything alone.

leos-mummy

You should look into whether you may get some housing benefit for help with the rent and also tax credits can pay up to 80 percent of childcare fees aswell so its worth lookin into that aswell. As for a child costing 1000 a month this has never been the case for me. shop around for deals on nappies buy in bulk and remember the most important thing u can do for ur baby is love and nurture them not kit them out in designer clothes
All the best

zaksmum

I don't think there's ever a good time financially to have a baby. If you wait till after you have savings, or after you have just one more holiday, or just get a bit more established in your career, suddenly you'll find the fertility clock ticking and it might be too late.

When I had my kids, we didn't have any money, but the kids were well cared for and much loved and they had the best I could give them.

And really, that's all any child needs.

JodyBPM

You don't sound in a great situation to have a baby TBH, with debts to pay off and so little surplus in your budget. How old are you? If you are still young, I would suggest paying your debts off first and trying to build up some savings, if you are 35+ I'd probably say just go for it, otherwise you could miss the chance! Is there anyway you can up your income at all (extra work or better paid job) to get yourself financially sorted quicker? And what is your DH contributing towards the baby? This would be a pretty good incentive to save, save, save!


Good luck whatever you decide! (and no, babies do NOT cost £1000 a month! The biggest cost will be your loss of earnings and childcare!)

leos-mummy

The OP works as does her spouse so therefore is paying taxes. dont be so negative!

mum2one

Theres never a right time to have a baby, but from the sounds the biggest expense is the loan, without sounding awful if you did start trying, there is a possibility that your not going to get pregnant on the 1st month, thou it does happen, (I have the daughter!!).
Items for the baby
You don't have to have the best of everything, the rolls royce of the prams, -
You can a brilliant travel system and cot from argos, (i found Argos a godsend when expecting DD).
As soon as you say your expecting, your be surprised how many friends find items that their babies have grown out of, and they've kept it, the baby isn't going to know that its a babygrow thats been wore a couple of times, the first few months, you go through sizes so quickly, that if anyone offers say yes, you can always take them and if there no good, then pass them along to someone else or a charity shop.

For the first few years the child won't care whether they had the best pram etc, they want love, and thats priceless.

Maybe moneywise, it may be worth looking at doing a Statement of affairs, and see if anyone can suggest any mone saving ways, which could free up money and go off the debts.
Try simple things, like surveys, ebay, carboot etc, then put that money up, and if and when you need items for the baby, you've got a little cushion.

I went from earning 1k a month, to SSP, (then was £55 pw), then maternity pay, then was £70, topped up by Income support, but I have a gorgeous daughter, she doesn't go without and she's loved to bits. xx

Tebheag

Hi
You do not mention your age also that you seem to be paying for most of the bills I have 2 wee ones and it can be a real financial strain if you are not in a rush due to your age i would say wait a bit more and get your self sorted finacilly also don't count on the benefits as they seem to be going down especially if your one of these poor people that are have good jobs !
babys do not care about new or old things as long as its clean and safe my kids favourite toys are always cardboard boxes !
Good luck

mildred1978

FERRY-ACROSS-MERSEY wrote: »

I work 4 days and was planning to have my mum and my hubby’s mum look after the baby on 2 days

They may not actually want to do that - you shouldn't expect it.

FERRY-ACROSS-MERSEY wrote: »

and 2 days will be in nursery and that comes to £200/month (based on £50/day rate – not sure if this is correct, I think my brother in law pays that).

£50 a day
£100 per week
£433 per calendar month.

I don't know where you got £200 per month from.

nonnatus

Oh. My. God. She's even got a sticker to help you avoid her and yet still you spew nastiness!

Leave the Newbies alone, go and play with people with your own post count or something. At least the poor woman is thinking about the financial side BEFORE she has children.

CH27

FERRY-ACROSS-MERSEY wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

I am in need of some advice.
Me and my husband have decided to try for a baby, and I was over the moon about it, then I went to have a look at how much my maternity pay will be from work and what sort of CTC and child benefit we can get and it has put such a big downer on me that I don’t know if I can afford to have a baby anytime soon.
I work full time on NMW and 3/4 of my wages go on my bills, e.g. phone, rent, council tax, water, heating and electricity; I also have a loan with the bank and a large overdraft that I got to pay off my other debts. so after all the bills are paid I’m left with about £200/month spare, which is pretty good I think, but when I worked out my example maternity pay (I work in HR so it was easy to do) the maternity pay only covers the bills and I would be left with no money spare.
The CTC and child benefit come to approx £120 month. I am really not sure that this is enough to pay for baby's everyday needs. Also, I don’t know how soon I would be able to claim after the birth.
All my friends and relatives keep going on about how expensive babies are and that you need about £1000 a month to be able to provide for your baby… this has really scared me, as I do not have this sort of money.
I’m now thinking, should I postpone the baby and pay off my loan (have about 2 yrs left on it) and save some money and then go for it, or will I survive on the minimal wages that I will have for the duration of my maternity. Also I am planning on going back to work full time as I just can’t afford not to. But then the nursery costs come into play and as I hear they are rather expensive as well. I work 4 days and was planning to have my mum and my hubby’s mum look after the baby on 2 days and 2 days will be in nursery and that comes to £200/month (based on £50/day rate – not sure if this is correct, I think my brother in law pays that).
What does everyone else think I should do? Should I wait and pay off my debt or just take the plunge, after all we might not get pregnant for some time.
I am not even starting to think how I will pay to kit out the nursery, but I believe eBay and freecycle are great places to start.
Is it wrong of me to be thinking on how to save money of the things that a baby would need and buy second hand, after all I have decided to bring this child into the world and it is up to me to ensure that they have everything they need shiny and new?

All your comments are greatly appreciated, sorry for all the rumbling, don’t really have anyone else to talk to. Too scared to talk to my hubby as he will most likely to say we should wait for a while before trying and I don’t know if I really want to wait.

PS i have worked out the maternity pay from 1/12/11 for 9 months , my company pay 6 weeks 90% and rest at the government going rate and the CTC and child benefit are based on our joint household income.

You don't mention what your husband's wage pays for?
Does he have surplus money at the end of the month?

How big is your overdraft? Is it clearable within 6 months?

Have you actually asked the Mums if they will have your baby?