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Maternity Entitlement & Savings
Hope you dont mind me asking this - it may well come across as nosey but i am genuinely interested...
What maternity packages do you have for those ladies who are currently in work? and for those ladies who are in work or are stay at home mums have you got savings for our new arrivals??
As this is my first baby i am a bit anxious as to how im going to cope on a reduced salary.. i do work in the public sector so am well aware i have a generous maternity package but as hubby is self employed i am also aware of the stresses this can bring!
I will receive 90% of my salary for the first 6 weeks.. for the next 12 weeks i will receive 50% of my salary plus SMP (up to a maximum of full pay).. and for the next 21 weeks will receive SMP. Maternity leave for weeks 40 - 52 would be unpaid..
I have in my head i will only have 6mths off due to money - hubby thinks we will be able to cope longer but im not sure... we havent saved anything up to now..
Previous experiences and general thoughts on your own options would be much appriciated
xx
What maternity packages do you have for those ladies who are currently in work? and for those ladies who are in work or are stay at home mums have you got savings for our new arrivals??
As this is my first baby i am a bit anxious as to how im going to cope on a reduced salary.. i do work in the public sector so am well aware i have a generous maternity package but as hubby is self employed i am also aware of the stresses this can bring!
I will receive 90% of my salary for the first 6 weeks.. for the next 12 weeks i will receive 50% of my salary plus SMP (up to a maximum of full pay).. and for the next 21 weeks will receive SMP. Maternity leave for weeks 40 - 52 would be unpaid..
I have in my head i will only have 6mths off due to money - hubby thinks we will be able to cope longer but im not sure... we havent saved anything up to now..
Previous experiences and general thoughts on your own options would be much appriciated
xx 0
Replies
I'm deeply concerned by how we will cope as I have a good job so losing this for a year is going to be tough. I really want that year with my baby so I'm trying to save some money over the next few months.
People keep telling us that we will cope, it's just a challenge, I'm still anxious though.
Xxx
Unfortunately hubby is unemployed at the moment so timing isn't great for new baby. He's already stressing about July and us having no money, we struggle on my wage alone and have to budget so don't know what we'll do when I'm not even getting that. My employer keeps asking me whenI'm going to start maternity leave but I can't answer that. If hubby gets a job I'd ideally like to have 4 weeks off before baby, to spend some time with my 3 year old. If he's not got work then I'll have to work right up to the birth!
It's a bit of a sucky situation but have to stay positive. He's got a job interview today so keeping my fingers and toes crossed. Sorry to have a bit of a moan in your post.
With first baby we were both working and we manged to put some savings away each month so that we didn't feel the going down to one wage too much. I also bought one baby item a week, ie nappies, nappy cream, bedding etc so that it didn't feel like a huge chunk in one go.
You will manage, you find the way and once baby is here it's all worth it! Xx
I think you learn to live within your means quite easily so don't plan to head back too soon for purely financial reasons. You also get around ??90 per month of child benefit which helps a bit.
I used to earn ??30k a year but decided to go self employed at the end of my maternity leave. Dome months I earn about ??500 and some months nothing but we have coped fine on my husbands salary.
After you have a baby you probably won't do many of the things that cost you lots before like eating out, the cinema or posh holidays. I also used to spend a fortune on clothes and would think nothing of blowing ??50 on one top.
Now I get 3 or 4 things for the same price from supermarkets, primark or peacocks. I actually found going to work quite expensive as I needed to look smart so spent a lot on clothes, shoes, travel, expenses and lunches out with colleagues.
A few small lifestyle changes really do make a difference and if you can try and save a bit now, then even better
Reading this post I feel quite lucky with my work, I get weeks 1 - 18 full pay, weeks 19 - 39 SMP + my company will pay ??100 a week, weeks 40-52 are unpaid.
We are planning on saving as much as we can the first 4 months when on full pay and I'm not working, saving on petrol and costs of work.
I also don't lose any holiday entitlement when I'm off on leave so I plan to used alot of my holidays at the end of my maternity leave so we only have 2 months unpaid instead of 3, as I really want to take the year.
Agree with earlier posts, I think we will become more efficient with our money!
Dxx
I took a full year off last time and saved ??6,000 to get me through my entire year off. You probably don't need nearly this much but I wanted to make sure that we weren't struggling for money. Am planning to do this same this time - although it always depends on employment e.g. if my husband gets made redundant, I will go back to work and he will stay at home.
Sheffield and Joey youve reminded me how lucky i am.. i definatly dont take it for granted but like you say going from a full time wage to much less is always going to be a bit of a shock.. Joey hope your husbands interview went well!!!
I like the idea of one baby item a week.. i have nothing yet and was pondering on how im going to get all the bits together!
Like bebeduex said we probably dont realise how expensive going to work actually is!!
I know one thing for sure.. i wouldnt change this little bean for all the money in the world