Due in March - Thread #5

[charlybs]

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Am I living in a bubble..

My OH is so worried about next year when I am on MAT Leave. Bills/Mortgage/food etc

I have started saving so I am not just relying on MAT Pay, think I am doing pretty well so far. I am a really organised person, plans ahead for everything so I don't waste energy worrying, my OH is the opposite...

I did him a nice spread sheet to show in coming and out going, to me looking at it in black and white it looks like we will be fine. He is worried we will eat away our joint savings coz we will only have his wage coming in. Told him if we start to struggle I will go back to work earlier then planned and to stop worrying.

I am getting really giddy now we are nearly half way there to welcoming our little Bean to the world and he is really starting to kill my buzz.

Am I in a bubble?

Carolann it doesn't sound like it with the spreadsheets, the saving and the budgeting. Even with a house move, some DIY (and some workmen in) and a major drop in incomings due to my maternity leave we were better off than we expected after DD was born. But I think that was because we underestimated quite how much money we spent on leisure (holidays, eating out, nights out etc.) pre DD which all pretty much stopped once she arrived! Maybe your OH is in the bubble and not realizing how much your spending may be limited in the first year! newborns are really not that expensive once you have bought the basics.

Thanks Butter He is a worrier, we currently have my older brother renting a room from use, he will be moving out after new year so make room for the babies room, not need yet but want it ready for when we do need it. So OH is worried about not having brothers rent as income as well, He doesn't pay a lot (£250 pcm) but I have even accounted for that as well. As I look after the household finances and he pays money into my account each month I would be in the best position to know how we will cope. Maybe I should let him take it over for a while

Need him to chill a bit and let us enjoy the next 20 or so weeks, coz with holiday, xmas and new year beany will be here before we can blink.

Carol
I don't think you're in a bubble, it sounds as if you're being realistic and organised (impressed that you've done a spreadsheet!) Have you factored in child benefit (only £20.70/week but every little helps!) Depending on your partner's income you might also be entitled to Child Tax Credits while you're on maternity leave. Info at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/children-and-young-people/child-tax-credit-overview/

Anyway, it sounds as if you have things sorted and your partner is just stressing, which is totally understandable (DH and I have been fighting the stress!) but it is a bit of a downer. Is he generally a bit of an anxious/stressy type?

You know Namechange this is my second child and I have never got my head around child benefit or tax credits. We never applied for anything with DD as I assumed that we would have to pay it all back as DH is a higher rate tax payer. Now you have reminded me it may be time to have another look into it all.

He's more of a "leaves everything to the last minute" type of person which just creates unnecessary stress, so he worries about next years situation now but won't do much about it til next year if you know what I mean.

I didn't even think about the child tax credits while I'm off as I know our joint income means we won't qualify once I am back at work (yes that organised I have gone that far ahead).

Butterpuff if DH is higher rate tax sadly you won't be entitled to either . Pretty sure once you hit the higher tax bracket they stop child benefit . In fact I think it was a salary limit of £40,000 even as a couple ! Child benefit did use to be for everyone but Cameron scrapped it .
Wow Carol you are so organised ! I am self employed and work from home . I can't even apply for self employed maternity pay for a while yet and don't even know if I will be accepted so I may be having to work all the way and rely upon DH much more .

Think I am filling the form in wrong on the claim checker, it still says I' am entitled to zero. Think I will ring nearer the time and speak to a human normally I love online forms with no hassle but I've never made a claim before so all very new to me

I'm struggling with what I'm entitled to as well, in the last year my salary has gone up by £10,000 pushing me from low/average earner to middle range. This means I haven't any savings as only became a middle earner in the last few months and was paying off debts. Also I won't have had a full year of receiving higher salary before maternity leave and due to when I started my new job will only be entitled to SMA. As a result of all this i have no idea what I am entitled to although I'm afraid it might be zero...

If one of you earns over 50000 as a single salary then you're not entitled to child benefit however you can both earn up to 49000 each and still be entitled to it. So you can earn over 50000 jointly and be allowed it but singledly and you can't. If that makes any sense 😂

So read my notes and turns out i do have an anterior placenta after all 🙈 blooming typical. Thought I had a better placed one this time. Oh well.

Ps carol I think that sounds very organised. You learn to live to what u have coming in and as long as you're careful it's perfectly doable. I did use my savings but still had some left when it came to the end and I took a year off with dd. We still managed to go on holiday too.

Benefits advice is part of my day job so this will be a long (and hopefully helpful) answer!

Child Benefit:
If you or your partner earn £50k-£60k you can claim CB but you have to pay some of it back in extra tax. If you or your partner earn £60k you can claim CB but you have to pay all of it back. Some people choose not to claim BUT you should still apply and choose not to receive payments, because you will get National Insurance credits. There is basic info at www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-charge and a more detailed explanation at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/tax/how-to-pay-income-tax/child-benefit-and-tax-if-you-have-a-high-income/

Child Tax Credits:
Eligibility depends on circumstances but generally, if you have one child you will be eligible if your household income is under £26k (the threshold is higher if you have more children and/or anyone in the household has a disability). Crucially, SMP and Maternity Allowance are not counted as part of your household income. So even if you're not usually eligible, you might be during maternity leave. However, the calculations are usually made based on your income from the previous tax year so you would need to make it clear that your income has changed (or is about change) and request calculation based on your current income. Then you just notify them when your income changes again (eg when you go back to work).
More info at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/children-and-young-people/child-tax-credit-overview/

MotherofA You will probably be entitled to Maternity Allowance:
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/children-and-young-people/benefits-for-families-and-children/#h-maternity-allowance

If anyone is confused or just wants to check with an actual person (rather than online) I do recommend contacting/visiting your local Citizens Advice as they are usually very good!

Thanks name

The technicalities of SMP and MA had my head in a complete spin so I'm just going to send off my MATB1 and follow the process from there. I think I will be on MA

I was about to ask why anyone would claim CB only to have to pay it back? It makes sense though to apply and not receive payments, I've copied and pasted what you wrote and sent it to DH so he can have a look too. Thanks so much!

Had my scan last night, we are expecting a boy! DP is beyond excited! They refused to write it in a card for a reveal party as they said some parents had sued other hospitals for getting it wrong!

Congrats Becca!

Thanks Name, that's really helpful. I'm applying for MA as I started my job just after getting pregnant, however we're thinking of moving next year so I might not return to my current job. Do you know if I can claim MA for the full 39 weeks if I leave my job before the 39 weeks are up?

You're welcome, glad you found it helpful.

Happy The simplified explanation is that if you started your job at least 2 weeks (approx) before you got pregnant, you will get SMP. If not, you will get MA.

alpha Yes I think you will be able to claim MA for the whole period, because eligibility is based on working for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your due date, so as long as you meet that condition it won't actually matter whether you are currently employed or not. And I think MA is paid by the government, not your employer (whereas SMP is paid by the employer but they claim it back... I think!)

Becca Congrats! Welcome to the boy club

(What kind of twat would sue an NHS hospital for getting the sex prediction wrong?! )

Namechange, it's a bit more complex in my case as I work on the NHS staff bank. I had a weeks holiday (where I got pregnant) which means I don't have 'continuous service' because each shift is considered an individual contract so I have to work at least one shift a week which I didn't realise. However, if you include my mat leave from my previous job, plus the job I am doing now, I should have enough weeks where I was 'classed as earning' to qualify for MA..... however when on Mat leave with my previous employer, I wasn't under contract as they had made me redundant, but they paid me 39 weeks of SMP and I didn't get my P45 until April this year. I started my job at the end of May..... we'll see, hopefully I will be entitled to something! Otherwise I am a bit screwed, I really want to have time off with the baby, I want to breastfeed and going back to work early would make that pretty much impossible as I'm not really in a job where I can express.

Happy Yes that does sound complicated! I do think you should be entitled to MA though, fingers crossed!

Great thanks Name!

Morning all, how are we doing today. I'm knackered and annoyed with DDs nursery. Poor little DD has impetigo, nursery knew it was going round but didn't bother telling any of the parents. Id never heard of it till yesterday and assumed she just had another teething rash. Now it looks horribly painful. If I had known it was going round I would have been more proactive, got her to the doctors earlier and saved her a lot of discomfort.

Hope your all having better days.

As is well in our camp Butter

DH decided he was making tea last night was lovely He's not a very confident cook but will give it a go every so often. Then had a lovely soak in the bath (not as hot as I would like but still nice and relaxing) while he watched a bit of football and his "soap" Mount Pleasant lol

Sorry to hear DD is unwell, hope she feels better soon

x

that should have been ALL is well and As is well