Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Savings before TTC

50 replies

lemongrassmartini1989 · 23/05/2020 17:56

What savings did you have specifically for a baby in the months and years before trying to conceive and whilst pregnant?

What did you end up spending it on? maternity pay top up? Baby equipment? furniture for nursery? Nursery fees? Or did you end up just putting it in savings for the child?

OP posts:

Herecomestreble1 · 23/05/2020 21:02

£45,000 in savings is not necessary OP. Please don't get worried by some of these very Mumsnet responses to savings!

Original poster

lemongrassmartini1989 · 23/05/2020 21:15

looks like the consensus is to put aside for childcare and reduction of salary rather than material things.

OP posts:

1stTimeMama · 23/05/2020 21:22

None. It never crossed my mind.

torthecatlady · 23/05/2020 21:23

I have just over £8.5k saved specifically for an extended maternity leave. That was my goal figure and I'm still adding to it as we're still ttc 4 years on.

We sat down and worked out the figures for our household bills and it makes me feel like I'm doing something constructive during the long wait.

We will mostly buy second hand items, except a new mattress and travel system.

BumpBundle · 23/05/2020 21:25

@Everynow Sorry if I was unclear. Childcare fees are a kicker - we are very lucky to only be paying 15% of them.

Popcat120 · 23/05/2020 21:26

We didn't have any saving before our first baby, and we've managed just fine.
We brought bits every months throughout pregnancy, and had some help to buy the pram from family.
I work in NHS so my mat pay wasn't terrible.

We've opened a savings account for DS when he was born, he's got about 600 in there now, from birthdays, Xmas etc, I also put half the child benefit in most months. I think that's just as important to have an account for when he's much older.

Waveysnail · 23/05/2020 21:26

With dc1 we saved enough for me to take a full year off work. Next children we saved enough againnsoni could take a year but I went back pt after dc2 so needed to save less.

MeadowHay · 23/05/2020 21:28

We only had a few grand which we burned through in day to day living mostly while I was on mat leave as I only got SMP, but partly when I was only getting SSP for a few months too whilst off sick with hyperemesis. Wouldn't recommend it, we have only managed due to assistance from family which lots of people obviously cannot count on

justhereforthetips · 23/05/2020 21:31

We didn't save before ttc (got married and had a honeymoon). When I was pg with ds we saved enough to top up my maternity pay.

Shmithecat2 · 23/05/2020 21:31

It totally depends on your circumstances. We didn't save because we didn't need to.

holyshmoly1 · 23/05/2020 21:44

I saved about 5k and had everything bought too. I then took a year off and got OMP From work and I had two jobs I got TWO lots of SMP so it was fab! I actually saved more money on mat leave tbh. We lived off my dh's wage and left mine.

holyshmoly1 · 23/05/2020 21:47

I forgot to add that was just my savings. We had a joint account with about 4K and investments of approx 40k at the time (although they have dipped a bit after corona)

KTCluck · 23/05/2020 21:59

Before TTC I worked how much I’d lose in salary on mat leave (around 8k), and aimed to save that, plus around 2k for baby things. I knew that was over-budgeting though and actually spent less than 1k. I worked out what childcare would cost us too, and we started living as if we were already paying that from just being a few months pregnant. The money I saved on fuel and car parking while on mat leave, plus not having our usual holiday that year was a good chunk towards the savings target. I liked having my mat pay topped up to my usual full amount as it meant I could enjoy my leave without stressing about finances and we didn’t need to adjust our lifestyle too much (although as a PP said childcare is a killer). Considering number two and have already started trying to save the same amount in case we decide to do it, but also to save a bit towards childcare this time, as although DD will likely be in school by the time DC2 would need nursery, we’ll still require wrap around care and holiday clubs.

So I’d say work out what you’ll lose on mat leave, budget a bit to buy baby things and if you can have some savings for childcare / a safety net then great. However, that’s in an ideal world. You don’t need to spend a fortune on baby stuff, and there are plenty of people who have unplanned pregnancies with no savings and manage.

Thesaltandthesea · 23/05/2020 22:11

I'm only 11wks pg. We had about £5k saved up until last month but some of that will now be used to top up income while I'm furloughed and still liable for childcare for older DC. When I'm on mat leave that outgoing (twice our mortgage) will go and by the time I go back to work my middle DC will be at school so no increased childcare costs.

For context, I had DD whilst at uni. I lived in a rented flat share I could barely afford and was scraping together the minimum payments on my student overdraft and credit card every month only to max them out again. We survived.

hammeringinmyhead · 23/05/2020 22:29

We found that we could afford things with our wages (instead of putting any extra in savings) over the course of a few months between the 20 week scan and birth. For example the cotbed was an Ikea jobby for about £170. Bedside cot was £150. Travel system including car seat was about £450. Everything else was much smaller chunks of money like a £20 changing bag, muslins and babygrows from supermarkets, bouncer which was was £30. When the baby is born you get about £80 a month child benefit which covers most of the needs of a very small baby.

We managed fine with DH's wages and my mat pay because commuting costs went down to zero, we didn't go on holiday other than a couple of weekends away, and we don't live in the SE with high rent or mortgage payments. If you're going to need £1500 a month rent that requires 2 salaries normally then it would be wise to save some backup for that.

mistermagpie · 23/05/2020 22:34

We had no savings at any point in any of our attempts to TTC, pregnancies nor when I have had my three children. I'm generally not the most financially sensible person though, but we're all surviving ok. It wouldn't have occurred to me to have a figure in mind that I wanted to have in the bank before planning a baby.

zipzap02 · 23/05/2020 22:38

You might have twins

Spagbol88 · 23/05/2020 22:40

Started saving really hard when I got pregnant but already had £5000 in savings. Managed to have £12000 by the time baby arrived. Spent £5000 topping up my maternity pay. Spent another £1000 on baby things, clothes etc. I didn't need to spend as much but she will be our only child and I've already sold lots on and made some back.

mrsed1987 · 23/05/2020 22:44

I saved about 7k, still got 5k of it, lo is 16 months now. Luckily i had enhanced mat pay so just used a little bit for 2 months when i didnt get anything. NCT sales were great for nearly new bits so we saved a bit there.

ChocolateChipMuffin2016 · 23/05/2020 22:55

Nothing, in fact we paid the final balance on an outstanding credit card debt the month after DC1 arrived. But we’re lucky it, as others have said, babies don’t actually cost that much. I took only the paid mat leave (so 9 months) and we’ve faired ok.

nancyjuice7 · 23/05/2020 23:16

Basic maths of:
How long do you want stay off
How much MAT pay do you get
How much would you like/need to live on each month your off
Add up the difference

Plus how much would you like to spend on baby things?

They can cost £500 or £10,000 so it's a choice of what would you like/what can you afford?

Charlottejade89 · 24/05/2020 10:13

we didnt have any savings, just bought things as we went along but dudnt go mad with gadgets and clothes. We pool our money si were able to afford our Bill's etc together and I was only on smp. Imbpregnant again now and this time will try to save a few thousand towards maternity leave but we will be refusing most baby things from dd. All we will need to buy is clothes. And as pp said £80 a mo th child benefit will cover you for formula if you use it and nappies

EverdeRose · 24/05/2020 10:23

I'll have a about 3.5-4k saved when i go on Matt leave, but I'm having a year off and need to top up my wages. I'm hoping not to spend it all so we can have a holiday at the end of it.

don't worry about what you've got saved too much, babies don't need a lot of stuff really and most can be picked up second hand. Plus it's amazing how generous people want to be when they know a baby is on the way.

Belledan1 · 24/05/2020 10:23

I know a lot of people in mumsnet are not entitled to it as they earn too high but check if you are entitled to tax credits when on mp esp if doing it alone ie. one salary as they take smp off before calculating it. Also we had a 2 month mortgage break whilst off. I had bit savings to cover other mortgage payments.

CatLadyP · 24/05/2020 10:36

We always have a few £k saved but didn't save specifically before having babies. I did a budget spreadsheet based on DH's salary and my maternity pay, taking into account buying things the baby would need, and worked out we could get by OK as long as we weren't frivolous. If there'd been a deficit we'd have saved enough to cover it.

Then made a longer term budget for after maternity leave with estimated childcare costs etc. to check we'd get by OK.

Flip

1 2