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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Can I ask how much you saved before ttc?

31 replies

Ladyoftheloch · 21/01/2019 20:02

I’m trying to work out how much I need to save to take a year of mat leave. I’ve listed income and outgoings below for context.

Mat leave policy is 3 months full pay, 3 months half pay, 3 months smp and then 3 months unpaid.

Joint income: £3,600pcm (£2k is my wage, £1.6k is DH’s)

Outgoings:

Mortgage: £900pcm
Gas / electric: £120pcm
Phones: £70pcm
Council tax: £110pcm
Car payment: £150pcm
Internet / tv: £50pcm
Insurance (various): £70pcm
Commuting: £54pcm
Total: £1,500ish

We also spend about £400pcm on groceries, fuel, toiletries, household products etc.

At the moment we save about £300pcm but now increasing this to £500pcm.

We have about £3,500 in savings already.

How much did you need to save for your mat leave? In my head I have £12k as the figure I want, but some days this feels like loads and other days like nothing! I want to start ttc at the end of this year - is that feasible?

OP posts:
TheBigBangRocks · 21/01/2019 20:06

We saved the difference between my salary and maternity pay and added extra on top so I could occupy my maternity leave. We didn't want to use our regular savings as couldn't sleep without a safety net. I didn't spend it all but knew it was there.

Wonkypalmtree · 21/01/2019 20:09

I only saved once pregnant, about £8k, so I could pay myself £1k a month after paid maternity finished. Wished that I had saved more tbh but got through

QueenofmyPrinces · 21/01/2019 20:11

With my first pregnancy we started saving £300 a month as soon as I got the positive pregnancy test. I work for the NHS so have a really good maternity package anyway but that saved £3k was a fantastic buffer once my maternity pay had stopped at 10 months post birth.

With my second pregnancy we didn’t save any money and were just more careful with that we were spending.

Myusername101z · 21/01/2019 20:11

None but paid all my debt , next time I will save

Youngandfree · 21/01/2019 20:11

I think I saved about 5k but we didn’t have a mortgage to pay as it was paid off. And no car paymen. So just bills and we had other savings as an extreme back up. I took the full year, actually I left at 29weeks and didn’t return to work untill 5.5 yrs later. But only you know your true financial situation so if it feels right for you to save 12k then do it.

KTCluck · 21/01/2019 20:21

I just worked out how much less my maternity pay would be over the leave than my normal salary would have been and saved that, plus a little bit extra to buy what we needed for the baby. We were lucky enough that it didn’t take long to conceive DD so didn’t have much saved in advance but saved hard during my pregnancy and factored in what I’d save on travel costs and parking at work. Outgoings didn’t change otherwise so as long as I had the difference between normal pay and maternity pay available then we were no worse off. For us DD didn’t cost us a huge amount extra (no more than what we get in child benefit) and we were spending less socialising etc. If there’s a next time I’ll probably try and save a bit extra to help with childcare fees when I go back but we mamanged fine with what we did this time and could probably have got by with less.

Original poster
Ladyoftheloch · 21/01/2019 20:22

but we didn’t have a mortgage to pay as it was paid off

Jealous! Staring down the barrel of 25 years on mine 😭

OP posts:
Sunshinegirl82 · 21/01/2019 20:26

Enough to pay the mortgage for the year I was off plus a bit extra for baby things. We didn't have anything left by the end but got through!

3WildOnes · 21/01/2019 20:36

Nothing. We have savings but not for maternity leave. I was richer on maternity leave than going back to work as childcare and travel ate most of my earnings. So I would work out how much childcare is and maybe save enough so that on maternity you have the same after you go back minus childcare. Nursery where I am is £95pd and childminders £10ph.

Original poster
Ladyoftheloch · 21/01/2019 20:57

We are very lucky re childcare - we have 4 very willing potential grandparents close by and DH gets a subsidised crèche at his work, so I’m hoping that between that and flexible working we’re hoping childcare costs will be minimal!

OP posts:
Highonthehill · 21/01/2019 21:12

Joint income = 2950
Outgoing = 2670 (includes everything)
Balance = 280

Save as much of that as possible

I have attached an image of my calculator using your 2k wage based on the info above. This is very vague and wouldn't take into account the smp top up you should get when your pay drops to 50% nor the £80 monthly child benefit.

So based on this you would need to save about £8.5k to remain in the same position as you are now from weeks 1 to 36 (9 months) so if you want 12 months don't forget you would have about a months worth of leave to take. So 12k may be a stretch but doable.

Can I ask how much you saved before ttc?
TheGoogleMum · 21/01/2019 21:14

Didnt save anything really. We earn less than you. I can't afford a whole year but think I'll manage 9 months. When starting mat leave I saved enough to cover bills for those last 3 month's of smp only

Highonthehill · 21/01/2019 21:15

Sorry thought it looked strange one of my formulas was off. You only need 5k to be in same position for 9 months so 12k should be adequate!!

Can I ask how much you saved before ttc?
PurpleTigerLove · 21/01/2019 21:19

Id aim to save as much as I possibly could . I can’t remember having a particular sum in mind. We didn’t have a mortgage either so didn’t have that to worth about . Live below your means before you get pregnant and you’ll be fine

Highonthehill · 21/01/2019 21:26

Re read your op. If you conceive in jan that gives you roughly 17 pay days to save. So that would give you the 12k target, which using my rough calc would be enough to get you to 12 months not factoring in the additional.

Also don't forget for first 3 months of mat leave you are still on full pay so that's another £1500.

If you pay 10 monthly council tax that's another £200 est saving.

Don't forget though that you will have additional out goings not only to buy baby the main bits but ongoing, clothes, nappies , wipes, Calpol ect but the £80 benefit should cover the majority of that.

I also save loads of money using quidco cashback and supermarket points.

Sainsbury's with their nectar do a double up points before Christmas I use that for Christmas presents and also to buy dd the next year's clothes.

I think you will be fine and you won't be spending as much during mat leave anyway as you won't have work out goings.

WonderTweek · 21/01/2019 21:29

I didn't even think about saving because I was a newbie. 😅 I only realised that my bank account was looking sadder each month of maternity leave and I just stopped buying stuff, learned to cook cheap food from scratch and budgeted like hell. Luckily I'm stingy to begin with and had about £4-5k in my account and my husband had some savings so we managed on SMP and then on zero income for me as I had to take 14 months off due to not finding a nursery at first.

I'm not having any more kids but if I did I would definitely save up leading up to maternity leave. It gives that peace of mind when you don't have to stress about being able to afford baby stuff or food.

Original poster
Ladyoftheloch · 21/01/2019 21:31

Thank you so so much everyone and @Highonthehill THANK YOU - that is so helpful!!

OP posts:
ChiefSpoon · 21/01/2019 21:33

Nothing 🙈. Unplanned baby.

However I got 5 months full pay so saved during that and pregnancy to pay myself 3 months of SMP equivalent. DH got a massive promotion before I fell so we didn't "need" more than SMP. Getting used to that also has meant now I'm back at work paying nursery fees I'm coping on the budget totally fine.

Lazypuppy · 21/01/2019 21:36

I saved whole i was off on maternity but i hqd full pay for 6 months so only needed to top up my salary for 3 months that were on SMP, and my partner put more into the joint account each months so i just had to cover my personal bills.

Probably saved about £1500 for the 3 months SMP

tinytreefrog · 21/01/2019 21:37

I saved nothing! Haha! I was 18 and broke, we got by and managed to buy our first house with a 100% mortgage when dd1 was under a year. Even with DD2 we couldn't really afford to save. We weee just careful, it was fine.

It's a good idea to have some money put aside. It would have made things easier, but I wouldn't get to hung up on having huge amounts in the bank.

annie987 · 21/01/2019 21:38

We saved enough to cover the difference between my maternity pay and my usual pay. Actually, we didn’t save it at all - we sold avert nice car we had and bought something not so nice!

Hohofortherobbers · 21/01/2019 21:56

My mat pay was like yours, I saved up 6 months salary to roughly cover the difference

WineAndTiramisu · 21/01/2019 22:12

I saved 10k, but then had to spend it on finishing the house (which we only managed to move into a couple of days before I went into labour!)
Am now having to do more KIT days than originally planned...

AndhowcouldIeverrefuse · 21/01/2019 22:15

Saved £10k. 2 DC later I have £50 in the bank

BlitheringIdiots · 21/01/2019 22:17

Didn't save anything as self employed so took less than a month off.

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