To ask if you’d get into debt to take more maternity leave if…

[AS28]

You knew your childcare bill was only going to be £200 a month?

When we began TTC we factored in that childcare would be about a grand a month.

However… the 30 government funded hours are being applied for 9 month olds from September 2025. Our baby is due in November.

We have enquired with two providers, both childminders, in time for my return to work next year. Their day rate is £45 for a 10 hour day, and we will require 3 days a week due to compressed hours. In term time the funding the childminders receive covers their day rates. Both have confirmed this to me. There is an optional £5 a day consumables, but you can avoid this if you send your own food. Obviously the funding is term time only: our preferred childminder then spreads the cost of the holidays across the whole year, meaning that our bill will be only around £200 a month if we opt to pay the consumable charge. On top of that we will get tax free childcare so another 20% off.

I was under the impression we’d be paying £1000 plus a month for the next 5 years, but £200 feels like nothing.

Mainly because of childcare costs, I initially factored in that I could only have 9/10 months off. I am now wondering why don’t I take the full year, as borrowing 3k on a 0% credit card would be paid off in several months after returning to work. Given we thought that money and some would be going to childcare, what’s the harm in using it to buy more time off? Everyone says you never get that time back.

(We haven’t saved to cover the extra time off as we didn’t think we would need to).

Tell me if it’s silly!

I’m very credit card averse usually but if it’s 0% I’m not sure there’s much harm in it?

I would as long as I had the wiggle room to make the payments. But I'm fairly easy on debt and not at all debt adverse!

(Coming from someone who took 6 months off with my first!)

Time you'll never replace with a new born, although It wouldn't be my first choice to go into debt to take time off, I'd look at every other option first, save up, cut back etc. but if you have job security, and you can pay it back then do it.

I would and did. Do it OP, sounds like you’ve done your sums

This and I had 4 months off with DS. TBH I don't regret it and now he's off to secondary school I wish I had used some unpaid leave between age 5ish-10ish

I would take as long as I could with baby - it really is such a nice time that you can't get back.

I have just pushed my return back by a month and wish it was longer!

I'm always surprised people don't take a long term low interest loan to see them over the early years. I got one for a kitchen and spread it over 7 years and it only costs me £200 a month for borrowing £15k, obviously there's interest too but the monthly payments are affordable.

The downside is if something unexpected happens which means you cant go back to work like accident or illness and that puts you in a financial pickle

That’s true. It does spread the cost

Another option would be go back when planned but drop hours.

I'd do that

No, because it tells me you have zero savings and are living hand to mouth, with a child on th way you need back up money , you need a buffer, things happen, so there is no way I’d do this.

You don't really know how you will feel when baby is here. You might long to be working again if only to have some adult conversation.

I'd take a loan to have more maternity leave, but only if I thought we could repay it if the childcare didn't turn out to be £200. As it is, it is all too uncertain to trust it will be £200.

think through your options, you don't have to decide now.

I would, going back early is a regret of mine - you only get the time once and it’s a measured risk. You might find you’ll spend less than you think on maternity leave too. Enjoy your baby.

I did this and have no regrets. But you need a good financial plan and budget. The early years are expensive and you need to do what you need to get through them. Just make sure you get into good financial habits. I learned a lot of money saving tricks while on extended mat leave as I needed to make my money stretch as far as possible to limit spending on my 0% credit card

When you come out the other side and start to build up savings it’s feels good! It’s helped me value my time and be more careful with money, if I’d have gone back to work earlier I don’t think I’d have been so disciplined money-wise and I’m not sure I would be in the financial position I’m in.

This is not the norm for many families with young kids now or in the past. You’re coming from a place of massive privilege here. Most families only start to build up savings after the early years. Comments like this make people who are very normal feel inadequate. It’s extremely difficult to have a roof over your head these days and start a family… savings are a pipe dream for many.

You couldn’t be more off beam if you tried. Like seriously.

Does your DH/DP get any enhanced shared parental leave payments?

My DH gets 6 months full pay, so we're splitting the year 6 months each.

Does your DH/DP get any enhanced shared parental leave payments?

My DH gets 6 months full pay, so we're splitting the year 6 months each.

Nope, @WanOban is very correct in what they say actually

I had two close together and took six years off work in total (with one lot of full maternity pay and one lot of SMP). We did get into a small amount of debt but it was worth every penny and was cleared within a year of me going back to work once they were both at school.

No regrets whatsoever, do whatever you can that buys you time with your children.

You’ve misunderstood, I come from poverty, so I’m not talking from privalge.

and so no, you don’t get to judge anonymous people on line.

and if you agree with the poster, then surely the answer is you don’t take on thousands of debt to stay home for a few weeks, if you will be living hand to mouth for years.

I can’t imagine choosing to take on debt while also adding the expense of a child to your life. Who knows what additional expenses may crop up. Save the option of debt for true emergencies.

I'd take the year off if I could do it without borrowing, but I wouldn't take a loan. Accrued annual leave will give you an additional paid month at the end of mat leave.

If the unexpected childcare from 9 months is giving you some extra money to play with I'd rather reduce my hours that take extra time at the end of mat leave (but to be honest I found mat leave boring towards the end. I was ready ti return to work)

Nowhere have I said we’d be living hand to mouth for years.