Can we afford a child?

claire16c

I wouldnt even consider having a child until your husband has a job.

Otherwise if he doesnt get one, you will be living off your maternity pay, and if youre breast feeding you cant just pop back to work after 6 weeks. What if you want to take longer? A newborn baby will be exhausting.

Plus you dont know what is going to happen in life. What if you were ill after the birth and it meant he had to be the one to go out to work?

I couldnt live as a couple off one minimum wage job, let alone with a baby too.

Ladyhawk

The responses of "benefits" is what is so wrong in this country.

Wait until you have your "proper" job before even considering babies. No disrespect meant to of friends in the fast food industry, rather I meant the job that she was trained for.

fluffnutter

Have you got any savings? Maternity pay will typically be 90% of your weekly wage for six weeks, then drop to a maximum of £135.45 for a further 33 weeks. That's assuming you earn at least £107 a week at present.

That won't support three people (although babies are pretty cheap at first and you'll also receive child benefit).

fluffnutter

Better_Off_1983 wrote: »

If I had to ask the question, then no, I would not be ready to have children.

I do not want children because you never know what will happen in life, you could be in a great, well paid job and then BANG you are redundant in the recession... with mouths to feed and if I was unlucky...the infamous CSA to deal with if my partner and I split up.

May as well not do anything then. Don't get a job, you might lose it. Don't try to buy a new house, it might fall through. Don't leave the house, you might get run over. Don't meet someone new, it might not work out. Hell, you could apply it to everything... don't cook dinner, the oven might explode. Don't buy a new coat, the sleeve might fall off. Don't buy a new book, it might be missing its last page.

What a bizarre way to live. There are no guarantees in life.

UsernameAlreadyExists

fluffnutter wrote: »

... There are no guarantees in life.

Yes there are. Death & taxes

Marshflower

It depends how old you are i suppose. If you are very young then i would say wait a while until you are more sorted financially. If it's a case of having to have a child now or possibly miss the boat then I would say you have to consider it very carefully.

I would say one never feels financially ready for a child but in your current situation the financial aspect would add an awful lot of stress. If you can, wait. It will mean you can appreciate the experience all the more if you aren't stressed about money.

Robin_TBW

Newly-Wed wrote: »

and I want to know they won't be taken away from us because we can't afford.

This is the part that worries me the most.

Everyone here raise your hand if you've EVER worried about your child being taken from you.

If you're worrying about this before you've even started then you're !!!!ing mental and no, you should not have a child.

browneyedbazzi

suki1964 wrote: »

Obviously not heard about benefits

Aren't benefits meant to be a safety net to help us through when something unfortunate/unforeseen happens and we need a hand to bridge a gap rather than a planned income stream?

People should think harder about how to get themselves into the right financial position to have the life they want rather than focusing on how much benefit they can squeeze out of the system. I really don't understand how able bodied people can plan to claim benefits and not feel ashamed of themselves.

In answer to OP's question - no, you probably can't afford to have a child in your current situation. You'll also probably find it a lot easier to get a better job before having children - employers aren't supposed to take whether you have children or not into account when hiring but they do so if you want to start a career in your chosen field it's better to at least get on a rung in the ladder before having a baby.

suki1964

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

Aren't benefits meant to be a safety net to help us through when something unfortunate/unforeseen happens and we need a hand to bridge a gap rather than a planned income stream?

People should think harder about how to get themselves into the right financial position to have the life they want rather than focusing on how much benefit they can squeeze out of the system. I really don't understand how able bodied people can plan to claim benefits and not feel ashamed of themselves.

In answer to OP's question - no, you probably can't afford to have a child in your current situation. You'll also probably find it a lot easier to get a better job before having children - employers aren't supposed to take whether you have children or not into account when hiring but they do so if you want to start a career in your chosen field it's better to at least get on a rung in the ladder before having a baby.

I totally agree

But nowadays it's all about benefits and kids having kids because benefit pays for them

It's not for nothing I've no children There were no benefits when I was young enough to have had kids and we couldn't afford them as we were paying out vast amounts of his income to his previous wife and children ( as he should have). There was no tax credits, it was child benefit only

If there had been those benefits about then I would have a child today

Unfortunately waiting until we were financially in a position to means I missed the boat

So nowadays because there are the benefits people really can afford kids when their income says otherwise

cootuk

Financially you can get an idea from the many benefits calculator websites. But it's a lifetime commitment of time, money, and emotion.

I imagine your DH would look after the child whilst you work?
Could you allow that? Or will you expect to turn into a sahm and get him a job? (It does sound like your career prospects are better than his for the forseeable future).
Do you have relatives/friends with children as being the couple with a kid amongst childless couples sets you apart a little.

If you are on a budget then a child needs love and caring parents more than new clothes and the latest toys.