How can we afford to do this?

[Flightsandfeelings]

Posting for traffic and a hand hold.

Pregnant with first child.
DH on min wage job after being left redundant and once baby is here I will only get SMP. DH looking for other work but not getting anywhere.
Trying hard to get some savings together but I am so scared about how we'll afford to live once I've stopped working. Rent is so expensive, even in the crap town where we live. How does anyone afford to do this?

Just look at the turn2us benefit calculator (or one of the others) and put in the details as if DC has just been born (or whatever scenario you want). You don't have to put in any identifying details.

You’ll most likely be entitled to some universal credit op - I work full time on 30k and we still got universal credit when my husband was made redundant ! So if you are only getting smp and he’s min wage then I don’t know how you won’t get anything!

baby stuff - even if you had money I don’t know why you’d spend loads - I got almost everything second hand or free. All you need is clothes and somewhere for the baby to sleep really.

if you breastfeed then you don’t even have to buy them any food

nappies aren’t super expensive if you buy supermarket ones

www.entitled to.com

I’ve just punched in some figures assuming minimum wage 40hrs and it said 750 a month

Please stop giving incorrect advice. If OP is working and earning over min wage, and DH is working f/t on min wage then it's very unlikely that they will be able to claim for rent, as they don't currently have need for more than a 1-bed property until baby is older. My DS and his flatmate are both on min wage and cannot claim u/c towards their rent, despite living in a city centre and paying £1000 per month. OP also indicated they have some savings, and no mention whether DH received redundancy pay which will affect any potential claim.

I hate to say it, but you might need to take minimal/no maternity leave. It is, sadly, what I had to do. It's not the end of the world. If you can't afford to live on SMP then you can't afford to take maternity.

It's not incorrect advice, and is definitely worth checking.

Min wage, plus maternity pay, plus a child means op could very well be likely to get housing benefit.

Presumably your ds and his flatmate don't have a child?

Go to Citizens Advice for advice on benefits.
Go from there.
Most are able to get a benefit then baby is born unless you/your husband aren't highearners.

OP and DH don't yet have a child and are both working, so they would not be eligible. Having a child does not make any difference to eligibility to claim housing benefit, that is based purely upon income. OP may be able to claim u/c once on mat leave/baby is born, but currently there's no clear eligibility as they are just a married couple presumably earning over min wage and with savings. Entitlement to benefits is based on actual current circumstances, not what is or may be forthcoming.

Clearly I was talking about after op is on maternity leave/has had the child, since that's what she's stressing about.

You can recieve an additional amount in housing benefit for children depending on bedrooms needed.

So, again, it's worth checking.

We were in the same position - DH was on min wage and I had SMP. We weren't entitled to any benefits either. We scrimped and ate very basic food, no days out, holidays or Christmas presents, just the absolute basics. A few emergencies went onto a 0% credit card which I paid back when I went back to work.

It’s not just how things are now. It’s how it was for many of us older women. When I had my children in the late 90s many of us went back to work when our children were 3 months old. I managed to stretch it out to 5 months by taking very little annual leave in the previous year. I was entitled to 14 weeks on full pay, which was considered good at the time.

Most mothers I knew would have liked to stay off longer, but couldn’t afford to.

My sister works outside of the UK and within Europe. She stretched her first maternity leave to 8 months by having had no holiday for over two years. This time she thinks she might stretch it to four months. The idea that there is some sort of human right to a year's maternity leave a really good indication of how good we have it. That people think that things were better in some magical era that is just out of their own memory is an indication that we remain determinedly human.

This.

Hi. Just do the benefits calculation as if bubba is here. I am sure that you will be entitjed to something.

It’s not just how things are now. It’s how it was for many of us older women. When I had my children in the late 90s many of us went back to work when our children were 3 months old

Yep-I had my first in the early 2000s and went back when they were 4 months. I would have loved a year off but it would have been unpaid.

I mean the website itself specifically says to test for potential to put today’s date as baby birth date.

AND based on your other posts you’ve checked nothing at all. OP advised that husband was on minimum wage, so I put their details in based on minimum wage on 40 hours (which is a lot) and maximum allowed rent in a relatively poor part of the uk (my own area) and it still allowed 750. That would be more if his full time hours were less, and less if he works more hours.

but by all means, let’s advise @Flightsandfeelings that she won’t get anything and there is no way of checking until you are in the delivery room…that feels like it’ll be helpful

Yup, I’m aware the calculator advises using today’s date for baby’s birth. It also means they cannot claim until after baby is born, so if they are struggling now that’s no help at all.

I’m also aware that very many people on this thread seem really keen to trap OP and her family in the benefits dependency and poverty cycle. How often do we hear people on here say they can’t afford to go back to work because they’ll lose benefits, they can’t afford for their husband to get a better job because they’ll lose benefits? The best way to alleviate their money problems is for DH to find a better job and support his family as he wants to, not trap them on welfare. OP and DH have savings (we don’t know how much, but potentially enough to affect entitlement given DH was made redundant) and they are already struggling, but yeah, let’s encourage them on to welfare dependency rather than a short mat leave which they have saved to cover, then a return to work 🙄

I sell old baby clothes and buy new sizes DS needs on vinted. Also the use the pampers app to scan every packet get money off nappies. You should be entitled to the sure start maternity grant as well. I wasn't unfortunately entitled to it due to claiming maternity allowance but you should be on SMP. Also buying things in bulk when on offer if possible. Breastfeeding if you can and want to will save you a fortune as formula is expensive.

Someone I know is in this position, he lost his job, she is working but pregnant, applied for a joint universal credit claim and although because she's working they probably won't be entitled to anything at the moment they keep a claim open and once she's on maternity leave in a few weeks they will then be entitled to money due to smp and will probablygethelp towards rent and can apply for council tax benefit. Perhaps it's worth you opening a claim online and starting the ball rolling. It may be worth trying

Message me privately, I’m sure you’re entitled to a lot more than you think xxx

Haven't read through the whole thread but have you checked this as if the baby is here?

Op the thing I can add is as I get older the the only thing you can rely on is change. Your circumstances maybe be different by the time baby is here (hopefully DH might have a different job). Plan as much as you can but try not to stress until you are in the moment…easier said than done

OP people often end up getting told by the benefit calculators they aren't entitled to anything when they actually are. They can be a bit tricky. I can help you manually work it out if you would be willing to share your husband's monthly salary after tax and NI and your rent amount? Also is it just standard SMP of £187.18 per week?

You can still get the Sure Start grant if you're claiming maternity allowance. It doesn't matter if you get MA or SMP. You just have to be in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits which in most cases these days is Universal Credit.