Should £1900 be enough

fly_dragon_fly

That's exactly the same as us but living in the Kent it doesn't get you much does it

Chakani

Why not "practise" living on £1900, and save the remainder, then you will know just how far it goes, and will have a nice little buffer saved up for all the things you can't predict.

74jax

When I was pregnant we lived off what we would have when I had stopped work and saved the rest. The first month was really hard, but we soon got the hang of it. We then bought baby stuff with the money we had saved.

Catty89

Thanks guys, from Jan/feb we are going to start living off £1900 thanks for the ideas, will help alot buying baby bits aswell

matlem

Hello,

I would also join your local freecycle/ freegle forum if you have one near by. Lots of mums and dads offer baby stuff once they have been outgrown which you could start collecting now so you dont need to buy it in a few months time. Also I'm sure i read a thread on here earlier where somebody did a freecycle wanted post and manage to get lots of things that nobody needed anymore but prefered to give to a good home, rather than throw away.

Charity shops also great!

Hope that helps and good luck!

tootoo

Hi, sorry if i repeat anything, not had chance to read above comments.
You should be entitled to tax credits which will start when on maternity (try to ring sooner rather than later after birth though, as they only let you back date so long).
Have you thought about cloth nappies? I didn't use them with my first, but I do with my second and I love them. Not for everyone, but they really do save money.
Congratulations.

loubylou35

Just to echo what everyone else has said.
Start on the budget now, then it will be second nature when the baby comes.
Yes Breastfeeding will make a huge difference as will cloth nappies and wipes. (huge huge huge savings if you can do this, I used these with all 3 of my kids)
Meal planning so you are still eating well, as this is going to be especially important now.
Good luck.x

Catty89

So we tried this month to live on the income we would have and currently have only saved £100 ahhhhh..... this is much harder than i thought!!

I guess when i know the money defo isnt there then i have no option.

All i want to do now is stock up on baby things and get the house in order (curtains, things we were meant to get done but never did)

Heres hoping next month works better!!

Spendless

January can be quite a hard month to start saving. Especially if, you were paid early in December and are now playing 'catch-up'. Have a look on the old style board for ideas on reducing your grocery budget. Look through the families threads about what baby does need and can manage without. Are you putting your savings away as soon as you are paid?

dancingfairy

I think it can take a few months to make any big changes as well. I moved house recently (ish), first month I went a bit mad, second month I tried to budget in various categories ie clothes, food entertainment (I overspent), next month I tried just having a running total so I could see how I was getting on (again overspent, but by less (it was christmas as well which didn't help in the slightest), this month I have divided it up per week and am finding it seems (tough wood) to be going better. My point is that it can take a while to find systems that work for you.
Hopefully you are keeping a spending diary so you canwork out where the money is going. Dont' forget that any work related expenses ie maybe lunch at work/leaving does/coffees etc, petrol, car expenses and things like clothes for work will be a lot less when you are on maternity leave.
100 is not a bad start (I presume you are maybe also trying to get a few baby bits and bobs as well?). Lets hope this month is better.
For me food planning and trying to batch cook is helping to reduce bills a bit (as is being more organised and planning rather than takeaways/ready meals or buying too many veg that may go off).
Best of Luck
df