How to cope on maternity leave.

Allycat

HI, I have just had my second baby (13weeks ago) and have been on maternity leave since the end of February. I am about to go onto SMP which is about 450 pounds a month, whcih I know for some is their normal montly salary but for me is less than a quarter. my montly outgoings are not going to change much (my mortgage is 550 a month!!) and I don't think my tax credits are going to increase (boo hoo)
So my question is does anyone have any tips on how best to use this site to save money or how i can general cut my outgoings or how best to manage the debt i will probably end up in.
Thanks for your help
:A

foreversomeday

Try the Debt-Free-Wannabe board and the Old Style board - they have fantastic support and suggestions for cutting back.

mrcow

Lods of tips! lol

Stick with us and you'll be better off by miles.

One of the main ways to save is to to go through the links at the top of this site and go through each item.

You can also give yourself a money makeover which can be as quick or as in depth as you like.

Write shopping lists for all your supermarket itemsand use www.mysupermarket.com to then go through the list and compare products on price for you. I've saved a small fortune using lists in this way, as many offers that are current are not listed on the shelves (but are still current on the tills).

The main thing is to keep going. Just when you think that you can't save/earn or cut bck more, you'll find something else that will save you money.

Posting an SOA is a great idea too for ideas as to how to save on stuff.

Also, looking for free days outwith your family is a worthwhile task....you don't have to fork out a small fortune to keep everyone entertained. And sign up with yourlocl library if you haven't already and use it regularly.

I thought I was good with money before I joined this site all those years ago.....now I must be positively enlightened lol :beer:

Congrats on your baby :T

PinkLipgloss

Welcome to MSE Allycat,

I second everything Mr Cow suggested.

Have you signed up for Martin's weekly tips email? If not I highly recommend that you do.

This appeared in the latest one......(when I read your post it reminded me of a member who has just given birth and is saving a fortune through various MSE techniques - I think you'll find it a very interesting read)...

Memorygirl's 'how to get thrifty in six months' diary. This is a fascinating and inspiring diary about turning thrifty… If you’ve got time have a read. Make do and mend

mrcow

PinkLipgloss wrote: »

I second everything Mr Cow suggested.

:rotfl: Can I use that in my signature?

PinkLipgloss

:rotfl:

Sure why not?

MrsTinks

Interesting thread When Mr Tine and I have little uns I get an OK maternity package from work but after that I might want to go on SMP for a bit longer... question I have been asking is how on earth we'd cope!
Like you SMP is less than a quarter of my salary and whilst I know people make do on far less then the thought of having to obviously worries me
Thankfully Mr Tine will still be paying the mortgage (ours is a teeny bit bigger than yours... like double...) and we CAN live on one salary - especially if I sell a load of junk and get rid of my debts in less than a year

squashy

Have you double hecked about tax credits? They disregard the first £100 a month of maternity pay so they will only count your income as about £50 per month.

I am currently at the end of my mat leave and am currently getting...nothing! For a while we put a little extra away to help cover the bills for when my pay dwindled, and I also made sure my bank had the facility for a free overdraft (Nationwide) to help tide us over.

poppyolivia

old style boards...hey I made crumble for 2 nights in a row...got a sore stomach now mind but was well chuffed with myself!!lol