Please tell me I'm doing the right thing

[boredboredandmorebored]

I turn 32 next month and would like to start trying for a baby but we have 7k off debt we want to pay off first. Part of me knows I need to be sensible and pay it off first as once I'm on maternity, pay will obviously drop and we want do use my pregnancy to get lots of savings. But also part of me says it could take so long to conceive that we should start trying now. Am I doing the right thing?

In my opinion, no. I conceived first try and many people can conceive very fast. Don't just assume it will take ages. 7k is also a lot of debt and babies are expensive. I had to shop around and hunt like mad for the best deals and offers.

But ultimately it is up to you. I am much younger than you and had a baby young, but I had my own home (rented) and wasn't in debt luckily. It's your choice to make, and I completely understand that huge need for a baby, but in your shoes I'd wait 2 years and try to clear that debt and save.

@boredboredandmorebored I was in the same predicament as you only mine is more like £10k, I am also 32 and started trying in Feb, I had a MMC which caused some complications and made me ill for a while and am now starting again with trying to conceive. I'm so glad now that I started because although it's not sensible, I know I can lower my payments if need be and the debt will wait, but who knows how long this baby making will take and there is unfortunately a time limit on that! Good luck whatever you decide xx

huffle that's great thank you. I did mean am I doing the right thing by waiting to try (sorry I didn't word it great) and you've confirmed that you think I am. I think I worry so much that it could take so long but if it does happen quick I think we would definitely struggle

baby sorry to hear that. It’s so hard isn’t it because if we knew how long it would take we could plan our lives accordingly. I hate the not knowing but also if it did happen quickly I think I would just worry about paying it all off. Maybe if I got it down at least a little bit I might consider start trying. Baby dust for you, hope everything goes okay xx

I'm an example of hitting it on the first try. The only difference is that we only started to try as I knew I could pay the debt off before I went on maternity, and my maternity pay was sufficient to cover our bills during my time off.

If you would struggle with the drop in income and the debt would make things worse while on maternity, I would focus on getting it down to a level that you know you can pay off/reduce to a level which will be comfortable while on maternity leave.

I didn't want debt hanging around as after maternity my income would continue to be squeezed due to nursery fees, which means I wouldn't be able to pay it off quickly.