How bad do you think this financial situation is?

[Charcole]

I am very stressed about our financial situation at the moment and wanted some honest outside perspectives on how bad it is or how bad you would find it, as I keep switching from thinking that we are OK to waking up at night in a panic.

I am on maternity leave and get £620 maternity allowance each month. Whilst I was working I saved £9,000 to supplement my maternity pay. DH has been made redundant and is looking for another role. He has about £10k in savings.

Our monthly bills are relatively low as we have quite small rent to pay, so bills come to about £1,200 PCM this is not including food or any unexpected expenses/ living expenses.

What's worrying me is that we obviously don't know how long it's going to be until DH finds another role, his usual salary is about £50k but he may not get offered anything at this level.

How bad do you think this is?

I appreciate why you are worried (especially with such a young baby) but with the savings you have, and DH looking even though the timing isn't great, you'll be fine.
One piece of advice, DH and I had a dramatic change of circumstance, totally out of choice, which we went into with our eyes wide open. However, while on one hand we knew we didn't have as much income it took us a while to actually adjust our lifestyle to match. And it is especially hard around Christmas.
Enjoy your little one and having your DH around.

we could get by on £2,000 a month but because we are used to having more, I think we spend more like £3,000 a month at the moment.

I was going to say the same thing. Your situation is keeping you awake because you're used to much more. To many people you're very comfortably off even with neither of you working. You'll be fine.

Is your freelance work something you can do from home? If so I’d return part time with dh caring for baby in another room. Then the other half of the hours he can job search.

Has your husband looked at claiming contributions based JSA ? Once your joint saving drop below 16k you may also be able to claim some help from Universal credit with your rent. You don't say whether you have had your baby yet but it may be that if your dh can't find another job quickly then you need to return to work earlier than you planned and he look after your baby. You have significant savings between you and one of you has a job so I think in the grand scheme of things you will be ok even though it is a shock to lose a big income.

we could get by on £2,000 a month but because we are used to having more, I think we spend more like £3,000 a month at the moment

That's the mindset that needs to change unfortunately. You really do need to spend as little as possible until either your DH gets another job, or you can go back to work.

What if it takes your DH a year or more to find another job, or he gets one and it pays £30k not £50k?

Your savings will last so much longer and life will be so much less stressful if you get into a lower spending mindset. Look at all the discretionary spending and work out what you can live without and what you want to keep but can do cheaper.

Shopping around, taking a picnic and a flask instead of going to coffee shops, using vouchers etc is your new normal. You're in London, so take advantage of all the free stuff that everyone always says is in abundence there.

I was going to say what Babyroobs has just said. Your DH should claim contributory JSA ("new-style JSA" if you're in a Universal Credit area) and if your savings fall below £16k you will probably be able to claim means-tested benefits (income-based JSA, Child Tax Credits and Housing Benedit under the old system, or Universal Credit under the new system).

I recommend Moneysavingexpert for brilliant advice on budgeting and reducing expenditure. As long as you manage your money carefully and your DH keeps looking, you'll be fine. You have a relatively big safety net.

We wouldn’t worry at all in your situation. We’ve been through times when dh has got made redundant from min wage jobs and we’ve had no savings and I’ve been unable to work due to disabilities- both dc and mine. We’ve managed okay, it’s not been ideal but it’s amazing how you can manage when you need to. Dh applied for everything and anything and has been back working full time in a new job for 4 years now since that time.

You’ll be fine.

In your situation I would be making plans to start work again when your baby is 3 months old. I wouldn’t wait until your savings are depleted.

I disagree with PP, I wouldn't want to go back to work with a 3 month old baby unless I absolutely had to, and with your savings you don't have to.

You can afford to wait until baby is at least 6 months, and if DH still hasn't found a job by that point (unlikely) then you could go back to work yourself.

Just my two cents FWIW.

The fact you are in london explains a lot. Im in the same position as you, on mat leave bringing in around 580 pcm. DH is on less than half of your other half and our bills are the same as yours not includong food. We run 2 cars. I feel well off. In west midlands. I think you need to cut back on a few things if youre finding it tight. There are people in a lot worse positions (i dont mean me, i mean A LOT worse. Like food bank at xmas type situations).

If you’re freelance I would personally go back to work much sooner and have DH be the SAHP while he job-hunts. Also you need to stop spending like he’s still earning 50k. If you critter away your savings and neither of you are working 6 months down the line things will look a lot worse

I can't work from home and I don't want to think about going back with my DC a couple of weeks old. We will see how things go with DH and his job hunt and hopefully he will start hearing back from some of the things he's applied for before Christmas just to alleviate some of my panic. I know he is feeling down about it too which I don't like so I don't want him to see how worried I am.

The posters who have said it's the insecurity and not knowing are right- I hate living off savings and it's just not knowing if this situation will be resolved in one month, two months or six months which is going round and round in my head and I get into a spiral of anxiety and worry.

We are both committed to spending much less and have agreed no big purchases or luxuries until we have resolved this.

As you said you're in London this is the best place to be for him to find something. He needs to upload his CV to all the main job sites and apply actively daily. He may need to take a slight pay cut but given the situation that's still fine as would get him back into work ASAP. Savings go quick when you're used to more

I was back in a few weeks full time as I work for myself.
If you husband is out of work and you are freelance surely he shoudl be looking after the baby from Monday and you go back working full time?

Xenia
Erm, her baby is 2 weeks old! No way should she be thinking about returning to work. Your own return to work after 'a few weeks' is highly unusual and not something most women would want.

My DH was made redundant in 2009 when I was about 10 weeks pregnant. His industry was badly hit by the recession and it was about 9 months before he found another job. We had two small children and I hadn’t worked since the first was born. It was okay. We had just moved house and doubled our mortgage - there are schemes that will help, although now it is a loan rather than a benefit. Start looking at what you might qualify for. I know it is easy to say, but really, try to enjoy the time together with your baby.

Can your DH find contract work? It's often a much quicker and simpler recruitment process than for a permanent job?

@dimsum123 He is looking at contract work as well as permanent roles at the moment and sent an updated CV to his contacts in the industry last week. Some contract work would be great to bridge the gap.

@Xenia I appreciate everyone is different but I know considering going back to work now is not something I can do, physically or emotionally. I couldn't leave my baby less than a month old.

Sit down and go through all your outgoings and see where you can make savings, broadband, phones, insurance, entertainment/music packages, supermarket shop, energy. Even a few pounds here and there helps. Knowing your outgoings you’ll hopefully then be able to see how long your savings will last and have a contingency in place, for example if your partner hasn’t found a job in 3 months then maybe you need to go back to work sooner. Having a plan will hopefully make you less panicky.

If you’re not in a Universal Credit area then you can put in a claim for tax credits, if it is a UC area then you’ll have to wait till your joint savings go below 16K. Either way your partner will be able to claim contribution based JSA (sometimes called new style JSA).

Hopefully the cutting back will be short term and your partner will find a new job quickly.

Is it really worth all the anxiety and worry when there is a solution?

It might not be the one you want but it takes the pressure off and puts food on the table. Most men get two weeks paternity and then are expected to leave their children to work so it's not that unusual for one parent to return at this stage.

if your husband is at home now, you can go back to work and he looks after the baby. when he finds a job you can swop again (you said you are freelance, so it should be possible ). 12 month maternity leavd is a luxury very few countries have.

Because there's no difference at all between men and women having babies is there?

They have close to £20k in savings to give her a few months maternity leave and her DH could get a better paid job tomorrow, so while they need to be careful with money until he is working again, there's absolutely no need for the OP to be rushing back to work 2 weeks after she's given birth.

No way would I have wanted to leave my dc at 2 weeks old. You're anxious and that's understandable. You have savings and there is work out there if your dh will do contract/anything.

its an option in 1 or 2 months though if the husband doesn’t find work soon. 10-12 weeks maternity leave are fairly normal in most of europe. and freelance means parttime is very possible. so, no need to panuc, enjoy the unexpected time together with baby!