Is there any way I can make money on Mat leave?

[bells2810]

I’m due to go on maternity leave in January and will be claiming Maternity Allowance as I just missed the threshold for claiming SMP from my employer (I’d changed jobs shortly before getting pregnant and haven’t worked at my new role long enough to claim SMP). My salary will be more than halved once I’m on MA, my partner works full time but gets paid the National Living Wage, with the cost of living crisis, we are managing at the moment but I’m really worried about what will happen once I’m on maternity leave with such a big reduction in my pay.

We had been saving since we found out we were pregnant but have unfortunately had to dip into our savings for some expensive structural renovations and damp proofing in our house before baby comes, which has taken a big chunk out of what we’d hoped to have to fall back on during my mat leave. I had spoken to citizens advice who told me not to worry as I’d be entitled to benefits, when I’ve looked on the turn2us benefits calculator it said my only entitlement was the £20 a week child benefit.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience or tips of ways to make money whilst on maternity leave? I wish I was crafty/artistic and could set up a business selling my own products but sadly I’m not. Once baby is here I know I will be focused on looking after her but I really wish there was something I could be doing to bring in some extra cash. If anyone has any tips or experience I’d be really grateful to hear about it.

Is shared parental leave possible?

You can't do any additional paid work on MA, it stops the MA.

But we were also told we'd get UC, and it turns out that we couldn't. DP was on NMW and I was on MA. I had to go back to work. We got child benefit, but that was it. MA is calculated differently to SMP when it comes to UC, and so it canceled out the entitlement we would have had if I'd been on SMP.

The sure start grant might be useful, if you qualify.

Also, just incase you haven't done it yet - damp proof courses tend to be an absolute waste of money and often do more harm than good, so I'd get a second opinion on whether that's a good idea, or necessary right now.

Matched betting is perfect for maternity leave. It's not classed as income and isn't taxable.

It's nowhere near as lucrative as it once was but sure you could make several hundred a month. Plenty of sites to guide you through it eg oddmonkey and profit accumulator