End of maternity leave help!

[Giggy1]

My maternity leave is coming to an end and I really dont want to go back to work. Panicking financially about it. Childcare costs will take up most of my wages and I'm not ready to leave my baby. I've tried to apply for universal credit and we cant get anything. Is there anything else I can claim? Thanks in advance.

Following as I'll be in the same boat soon .

But it’s not up to you on your own to pay the childcare bill OP?surely your dp will have to pay some too?? I’m not in the U.K. but isn’t there a 20% voucher scheme over there? Assuming that’s where you are!

But it’s not up to you on your own to pay the childcare bill OP?surely your dp will have to pay some too??
Why do people trot this out? It’s household income so it’s irrelevant.

@ MyDcAreMarvel that’s what I mean!! She needs to consider the whole household income not just her own like she is in her post!

Why do people trot this out? It’s household income so it’s irrelevant.

oh gosh yes, how hard is it to understand!

She needs to consider the whole household income not just her own like she is in her post!

it's the same
and you don't even know if the OP has a partner!

She said “we”

She also said “childcare takes up most of MY wages” ...therefore I’m assuming she treats the wages separately. 🙄

She also said “childcare takes up most of MY wages”

it doesn't matter if separate or join, HER wages will still be taken by childcare... How hard is it to understand, some posters are always so obtuse.

we cant get anything suggests that there are two adults in the family .

I was in the same position as you 2 months ago, we would be only be about £50 better off if I went back to work full time (as obviously childcare costs would take up a lot of the household income)
I also really really didn’t want the leave DD, id even cry about it.
Anyway I ended up not going back to my job, I instead got a part time job cleaning offices after 5pm til 8pm, three days a week. I love cleaning anyway and DH would be home when I went to work so he could look after DD. I’m only away from her for a few hours so it’s not bad.
Also because we aren’t paying for childcare, we are strangely better off by over £200 than we would’ve been of I’d gone back to my old job.

Is this an option for you? Do a few hours when DH is home?

Could you cut back and survive on one wage? I know this isn't always possible but this is the way that we went when a return to work for me looked to be a bad idea for our family.

Yes we have less of the material things , but with a rotating shift working husband , a baby that hates sleep and a job that would've made us only a couple of hundred a month better off we're happy with the decision we made.

@JusticeForSandra Are you actually going to try to help the OP or did you just come on here to tell me how well you think you know her finances???? And seen as you are so determined to insist she will solely pay for childcare she hasn’t got much choice then has she?!!she either pays and continues on her career (if it’s worth it to her) ...or she stays home!!🙄

@Lipperfromchipper my DD starts nursery soon as I'm going back to work. We're paying half of the nursery fees each. Household expenses are split how we have the same amount of spending money, but still conscious that £400pm is coming out of MY wages. That doesn't make it solely my responsibility.

If you won't be any better off by you going back to work and you don't want to go back yet I would stay at home with the baby for a while. Does your work offer career breaks so you have a job to go back to?

Some companies offer childcare vouchers which is a tax relief thing.
There is a tax office scheme where the parent pays in and the tax office pay a percentage.
So there are a couple of options, but as pps have said, if you really don't want to and you can manage then don't .

I was thinking something at night would be best. And yes my husband said he would pay half. If and when I go back I only want to do part time. And for the sake of £100 a week take off £30 childcare plus travel expenses. Is it really worth it? I was just interested to see what other mums did and how they felt. It's a massive worry trying to enjoy my last month of leave and I cant stop stressing about it. Btw this is the second baby and wow it makes a difference! Exausted!

Negative comments are unnecessary.

@GiveHerHellFromUs that was my initial point! It’s not SOLELY her responsibility. Her dps wages should be taken into account and half should come from his! Like you do...

@Giggy1 is DH happy for you to go back on reduced hours?
Don't forget it's not just about finances though- I think it's lonely being a SAHM (although would definitely manage ok if we were rich ).

If he's happy maybe find bar work or something that earns you some cash for treats but doesn't mean you're losing out financially.

I think it's worth returning to your job if you value your career and if you would struggle to get another job in the same field, or if having a longer break from it will damage career prospects. Otherwise, I'd look into doing a day a week on a weekend or evenings as you're already considering when your DH can look after the DC.

@Giggy1 it sounds like your financial situation is similar to ours tbh. We got around losing some income by getting SIM only phone contracts and giving up our weekly takeaway. It's actually not been too bad and well worth it to have a parent looking after our son at home. I certainly don't regret it as I'll be going back to work in the next year and a half when our son is at nursery.

I would think very carefully about giving up your career and becoming dependent on your partner's wage. I went back to work after mat leave and made a loss every month. But I worked hard and got a promotion soon after and a few more since. It was also not long after that that I found my ex was cheating and I was able to not just walk out but not have to worry about money.