How did/do you find maternity leave, financially?

[theversion]

We earn about 60k between us dependent on commission split evenly. Despite a fairly generous OMP (10 weeks full pay and 20 weeks half pay plus stat, 9 weeks stat then unpaid) I still feel a bit apprehensive and worried we’re going to be skint forever. Hopefully I’ll take the full year or as close to as possible and use KIT days at the end.

If you could rewind, or you’re currently in the middle of your leave, what things did you or could you have done to make things more financially buoyant for your family?

Our rent is quite a small proportion of our income and then we just have the usual utility bills, food shopping and car finance of a few hundred pounds a month. I just know I’m going to want to go to all the classes - sensory, swimming, meet up with friends for a coffee… and if I can safeguard future us against having very limited disposable income I really want to, just so I can enjoy the time so much more and without worry.

Suggestions from my friend have been shop on Vinted and bulk meal prep to save money in this way. I am an avid bargain spotter on Vinted anyway so I’m sure I can do this for baby clothes. I also wondered about bulk buying some household essentials prior to mat leave, like laundry tabs/loo roll, lots of wet wipes so those things don’t need to be considered.

Personally, I feel less worried about finances after returning to work. When it comes to going back to work hopefully I will still work full time or as close to as possible, we have family help offered & we do work mostly opposing hours so would likely only need one maximum two nursery days. Hoping that in addition to this 30 free hours will be in place anyway.

Does anyone else have any tips? I appreciate everyone’s situations are so different

Just giving this a nudge

My work averaged out my mat pay over the whole time I was off, so I received the same pay each month, which helped budget. You find you spend less on mat leave on pre baby things like nights out.

Baby clothes are cheap, you'll be gifted lots of items too. But you could start adding more to your weekly shop now. Make sure you and DH have equal spending money despite only your earnings decreasing.

Going back to work, you won't get your 30 hours until baby is 3 (or is it 2 now?) plus you need to consider will you want to work full time, will you be exhausted by a non sleeping baby/toddler, what if childcare arrangements break down, baby is sick and can't go to nursery, how will you and DH get time as a couple/family when working opposite shifts. It's this stage when costs come into play moreso than on mat leave itself.

In the early days when I was on full pay I was spending out on things like breast pumps and parenting books and new equipment. But after that I settled into a rhythm of living pretty simply. I paid for one class a week and went to loads of free classes at libraries and children’s centres. I received lots of gifts for dd so hardly bought any baby clothes and I didn’t go on expensive boozy nights out because I needed my sleep and I was feeding through the night.

Your housing costs are low so that puts you in a better position than most. I think you can make it work. Obviously winter will be harder to afford because of increased gas bills so will be good to plan ahead and possibly save for that / do KIT days around that time if you can.

I saved up big time to cover myself

Sorry if this isn't helpful but as the y, i cant rely on anyone else

I don't think there's any childcare funding available for kids under 3

You don’t say how soon your baby is arriving? I believe funded hours from 9 months isn’t starting until September 2025, currently the funded 30 hours are available from the term after they turn 3.

if you can minimise childcare costs, that is where you will save, most other costs are a drop in the ocean in comparison.

Not pregnant yet, planning prior to TTC so we have the full financial picture and budgeting sorted.

We saved and saved while pregnant to top up May pay but then just cut really back. I did all the classes but would meet friends for coffee after and just have one coffee/tea and not eat out when they did. Started shopping at aldi and Lidl instead of Tesco.

Bought and sold baby stuff on marketplace etc.

Just wanted to say don't put too much pressure on yourself to go back full time. You may well want to but you could also have a big change of heart when your baby arrives.

Honestly I’d have not had a child! And it’s one of my reasons for not having another. My company only offers SMP which is around £500 per month. I took out a credit card and relied on that a fair bit which isn’t great but we needed to eat.

I got back to work full time as soon as I could which helped, but then we were knocked sideways by the cost of childcare. Thankfully we’re a good few years down the line now and in a much better position, but it was difficult for a while!

Mat pay paid me with more than I get while paying childcare and working full time.

It's rough but worth it

Your life is changed, don't try to keep standards the same and budget/use cashback etc.

Do KIT days if you can, you can do 1/2 days as well as full days and they are paid at full pay so you can top up your income for the period of time when you are only getting stat pay.

Having looked after loads of kids over the years I can honestly say that Aldi nappies and baby wipes are the best and very cheap compared to others. Likewise the IKEA high chair is about £15 and it’s absolutely fine.

As well as baby clothes you can also buy shoes, toys, books etc secondhand. Facebook market place is also good as well as Vinted. Also look out for your local Baby Boutique sale they have 1000s of items really cheap, a lot of it is new/almost new.

You probably won’t spend much during the week, if you went to a baby class and coffee 3 times a week it would cost around £20.

Factor in a potential tax rebate when your salary drops.

The free childcare hours are being phased in from April 2024-Sep 2025.

A big saving is not doing a nursery and waiting until your child is a bit older and you’re back at work. If the baby is going to sleep in your room for the first 6-12 months there is little point in them having their own room at that age. Perhaps just a chest of drawers with a nice changing mat on top in your room plus their bedside crib?

Batch cooking is a good idea for cheap meals, I’d use a slow cooker so you don’t need to spend hours cooking every few days.

I think 30 hours kicks in Sept 25, but 15 hours kicks in Sept 24.

I’m answer to the question.., I didn’t find it too bad. I didn’t save particularly, but we had some money put by, I just had to have a cheap three months at the end. It was Jan-Mar anyway so no one does much!

I think in essence… it was a lot easier than I expected. I was sick of being skint at the end of the three months but voila was earning again.

agree with other posters -just save up as much money as you can.

don't fall into the trap of thinking you need lots of baby items. there is a booming market of 'must have' items -bottle warmers, baby wipe warmers, changing stations, nappy disposal units, steam sterilisers etc. you can do without these things, but if you really feel the need for a particular item, wait until the baby is born and see how you get on.

baby classes - more for parents than babies. by all means, do a class if you enjoy it, but your baby won't notice either way.

Didn't really do paid-for baby activities. Mostly used free children's centre groups or cheap church playgroups. Didn't do many meals or coffees out either. My first was a nightmare so couldn't have done that, second was easier in those situations for the first few months but after that I still felt it wasn't worth the money. I don't enjoy spending money to awkwardly jiggle my baby about or walk them around and not be able to talk to anyone etc cos they're fussing. I guess some other people have more chilled babies. Most clothes were hand me downs or gifts, when we needed to buy we tended to do that in multipacks from supermarkets which is cheap. Mostly did baby led weaning which is cheaper than buying lots of expensive pre-made baby foods. Breastfeed second child more successfully so saved money on formula there but then I bought a more expensive pump and more nursing attire so possibly it balanced out. I don't drive so walked most places so no transport costs, occasionally got the bus. I only got SMP both times and it was fine, and our joint household income at that time was about £50k I think.

A generous maternity package and saved pre pregnancy so no difference in money. Also went back to work full time after six months - normal maternity leave then.

It was cheaper being on maternity leave on reduced pay, than going back to work and paying for childcare...

If you're not yet pregnant then save every month towards funding your maternity leave. That what I did and most of my friends too.
If your going to be paying for childcare when you return to work it will get you used to having less money available every month

I’m coming to the end of my maternity leave and I haven’t found the pay bad at all. We saved a little while I was pregnant to top up my wage that has helped. We also stocked up on nappies & baby wipes. Bought a range of sizes of nappies and we are actually still working our way through them 11 month later.

We just lived frugally. Which we do anyway.