Entitled to benefits during maternity?

Brighty

Can your husband quit his course and get a job?
Not still going through with the house purchase are you?

Brighty

kingfisherblue

May I suggest that you fill in a Statement of Affairs and post it on the Debt free Wannabe board? You don't have to be in debt to do this, but you are likely to find that the posters over there are very good at helping you cut costs. Just as an example, £400 for food is way too high for a couple with a young child. I spend half of that (myself, two boys aged 16 and 18, both with hollow legs!) and we eat well, with lean meat, fish, fruit and vegetables making up the majority of our diets. We have some treats as well, included in the weekly shop.

thriftylass

UntilIAmInGlory wrote: »

Rent: 1600£
House bills: £420 are you on the best deal, can you reduce some, cancel SKY etc
Personal bills: £180 (mobile, gym..) Can you cancel some, reduce some etc., that seems a lot
Transport: £400 this will come down during maternity I guess but why so much?
House food tesco shoping: £400 have a look at the grocery challenge etc to try and reduce this, meal plan, use Aldi and Lidl


Extra 400 for baby clothes Tesco will do or even second hand, entertainment will need to be reduced, buying house ?? and personal stuff will also need to be cutetc.

I.e no money left over.. I cook food at home to take to work currently and not even saving for holidays etc. Husband takes care of baby while studying cause we cannot afford childcare.

..

Ok, it's time to budget some more. I also recommend to post a detailed SOA. For now my comments are in red above. You have another 8 months to make changes and save. Could your husband take a break from studying for a semester and work. Or get an evening or weekend job? I know not the best solution while studying but many do it, even just for a year.

Good luck

UntilIAmInGlory

He has already started looking for some shift work in some supermarket's, althrough since he's studying full time and also taking care of our little one while while I work, at the moment I can't see him doing anything apart from nights and he'll be stressed out a his mind.

Might have to consider moving temporarily out of London for the first couple of months after baby is born- except I can get something from the council in london temporarily? -is this possible? Even if we save 1000 in rent from moving, I still can't see how we will survive. Our savings won't last us more than 3 months.

We've already thought about selling mobiles and put cash in saving to pay for phone contract. Cancel gym membership subscription. We don't have any tv subscriptions. All the other house bills are the basic (gas n electricity, water, maintaince fees, insurance, landlines, broadband etc ) and none can be cancelled.


So far planned outgoings for 3 (soon 4) of us is still around 2000£ and income is only 600£ from maternity pay. - child benefit additional income will help if I can claim... but anything else?

UntilIAmInGlory

Perhaps my husband could claim unemployment then?

UntilIAmInGlory

Not house buying!!! ( I meant buying household stuff)

I'll post a detailed soa. Thanks for the suggestion.

I can sort out outgoings, but need to know potential income from other sources .

WantToBeSE

I wouldn't encourage your husband to quit his course, unless he has only just started it.

i would just cut your outgoings down to a bare minimum, save as much money as you can until baby is born then (if you can save enough) live off that.

If not, you will have to return to work 6 weeks after having baby.

Placitasgirl

In order to claim unemployment benefit (now called Job Seekers Allowance) your husband needs to be seeking work, and able to demonstrate that he is actively doing so by logging job applications, interviews etc. He'll also need to attend regular appointments for support with his search for employment.

I don't believe you will qualify for any help with accommodation from your local council given the level of your income.

The cold hard fact is that an income of £60k should in most people's eyes be sufficient to allow a family of 2 adults and a child to live comfortably and enable them to save for "the unexpected" and is above the level at which you would normally qualify for state help.

Even with London rent there must be significant savings you can make to help you through your pregnancy and early days with your new baby. If you haven't sufficient savings to continue beyond 6 weeks after the birth it appears your only options will be for your husband to suspend his studies and secure employment, or for you to return to work earlier than you would ideally like.

Do you have any family or friends who could help with childcare so that your husband can work, even part time to help out?

sheramber

Shop at Lidl or Aldi- cheaper than Tesco.

UntilIAmInGlory

We used a large portion of our savings to pay for university fees. He's in his second year. Quiting is not an option but we can look to pausing.

In regards to savings we have around £10,000 extra... but I don't think this will last long if we stay in London and have to shell out about 2000£ in rent and house bills before we even do anything else.

as I said baby was not expected. And I just switched jobs to find out my new work place offered absolutely no extra maternity pay (would've stayed with old company with offered 4 months pay). If only hubby can be pregnant for us instead . Lol