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Newbis Parents - URGENT finance help

41 replies

Daddy2BabyD · 20/08/2011 16:32

hi there

jsut lookign for help. my partner and I have just had a beautiful baby girl 3 months early:

were are really worried about the finances:

please could someone give us some help on what benefits we can or cant claim for:

i earn £1300 a month after tax

and my partner is only on £480 a month stat maternity.

please could someone tell us what we can claim for or any other assitance.

we are both really stressed and worried. and we dont have enough time to sort out and ring alot of people as we have to go to the hospital 3 times a day for at least 2/3 hours a time.

PLEASE HELP . . .

OP posts:
sleepevader · 20/08/2011 22:41

Sorry I meant bliss helpline not tommys

Bliss freephone telephone helpline 0500 618140 is available Monday to Friday between 9am to 9pm

Daddy2BabyD · 20/08/2011 22:44

we are getting child benefit, and are going through the tax credits now . . and yes the parking and petrol is killing our budget . . 3 times a day for 2 hours a pop soon adds up . . .

she is on smp now

OP posts:
festi · 20/08/2011 22:44

I understand its a difficult time but people on benifits dont get 'most things on a plate' If you had planned for your child then you must have known that you would be needing to look at and plan and organise your finances, I can undersytand a baby arriving three months earlie must be a difficult thing and has taken you by surprise, I hope she is well.

there is a yahoo forum called "Freecycle" google that and you may find lots of free stuff. but you say you have everything you need so what other free stuff are you looking for? you wont need a bed or much else for a while and believe me you will soon realise a child needs far less clothes than you first purchased. I get alot of dds clothes from charity shops

Daddy2BabyD · 20/08/2011 22:49

hi festi yes she was very much planned and we have already put things in place with items she needs, its more to the fact that we are worried about other bills like the morgtage and stuff, thats the worry i think, we know we can look after her needs with ease, its jsut we worry about the family finances not her needs.

i know freecycle, gumtree ebay and all the other places.

i just want to do right by my partner and child. its ok for me to stree but i dont want her to be stressing to.

OP posts:
gapants · 20/08/2011 22:50

Can you get hospital transport? can one of you stay at the hospital? Both of these options were available at the hospital where I gave birth in Somerset.

Also, check your life insurance policy, do you have any type of cover for this type of thing? you might.

gapants · 20/08/2011 22:52

Are you renting or do you have a mortgage?

If you are renting, perhaps consider moving to a cheaper place?
Mortgage- is it up for renewal, can you shop around for a better deal? A 0.5 percentage point might be the 100/50 difference you need each month?

MoaningMcMyrtlepants · 20/08/2011 23:09

Also get yourself on to the forums at
www.Moneysavingexpert.com and get yourself some moneysaving tips.

Congratulations on your new baby.

lachesis · 20/08/2011 23:11

Your council may offer refund or partial refund for hospital transport. Check with the hospital.

BertieBotts · 20/08/2011 23:15

She's probably stressing anyway - it's natural, and it's not helpful to bottle these things up. Talk to each other. Being there for her does not mean you have to shield her from everything. Also, try not to fall into the typical man trap (and I hate to generalise, but it does seem to be very common) of transferring all your worry and stress over the baby and the fact your life is changing by going into overdrive worrying about the finances. They probably aren't as bad as you think if you go through them slowly, and there are probably other things, more practical things which you can do to ease the burden on your wife rather than taking full and personal responsibility for supporting every last need of the family. If you had a choice between doing more hours at work for more money, or being around for your family more, most women would go for practical and emotional support every single time.

How much has your family income actually dropped by, and what kind of shortfall does that leave? (You may get a better idea of this once you get the tax credits claim back, but at the moment, work with the figures you actually have and don't count the tax credits at all. You can count child benefit though - £20.30 per week, paid 4-weekly, so £81.20 roughly once a month.) If the shortfall is small, it may just eat into your spending money, which is fine, you'll be spending less anyway. If it's larger it might be worth looking into getting a payment holiday on the mortgage or something like that. Extend your overdraft (you don't get charged if you don't use it, but if you need it, it's there). Do some food shopping on a credit card every now and again, if you have one. If you build up a small, reasonable amount of debt out of necessity, it isn't the end of the world. It's not going to be forever that your finances are lowered - STOP PANICKING! You've just had a baby. If you can't use your emergency buffers now, when can you?

Practical things - is your wife expressing breastmilk? This can be very draining, possibly more so than actually breastfeeding, since she won't have all the hormones the baby would be stimulating there to help. Make sure you're doing your fair share around the house, and if she is expressing, make sure you're doing more. Keep the fridge stocked. Make food for her so it's easy for her to eat well if she's completely shattered and can't face cooking for herself. When friends and family members say "If there's anything I can do, let me know" say "Yes actually, we don't have a lot of time in between hospital visits, if you could help out with a meal or two for the freezer that would be a great help."

Can you buy a pass for the hospital car park? DP's family have done this recently as his mum has been in hospital and they have all passed it around. Or parking a short distance away if there are free places.

LoveBeingAtHomeOnMyOwn · 21/08/2011 10:07

One of the biggest ongoing costs is baby milk, has she thought of bf? You need to sort out a proper budget mse is good for this.

Wrt hospital, could you get the bus, get lifts? It is a known issue unfortunately.

Liskey · 21/08/2011 10:13

DD was in hospital recently for a week and we didn't find out for 3 days that the hospital has a policy of letting childrens parents park free - you might ask if they have a similar policy? See if you can buy a weekly car park ticket which works out a lot cheaper and then you could maybe share it amongst your families as well?

HappyMummyOfOne · 21/08/2011 10:34

On a joint salary of £25k you'll only get tax credits at the basic amount, which is about £40 a month. CB will be £80 a month. Its unlikely you will qualify for childcare assistance as the cut off point for one child is around a £25k salary.

If you planned for the baby and finances like you state, then its only the parking etc changing your budget so ask the hospital what they can do to assist.

medusasmirror · 26/08/2011 22:03

Hi, congrats on your new arrival. My babies were prem and we spent the first 6 weeks at the hospital. I found that if you speak to the ward staff you can get a really discounted parking pass for the duration of your childs time in hospital. I,m not sure if its the case everywhere but its worth asking. Car parking costs are shocking at hospitals. Hope this helps

CogitoErgoSometimes · 28/08/2011 14:39

"we are getting really frustrated knowing that we work really hard and we plan for a baby and we know that we are going to be stretched to thepoint of breaking, when others get most things handed to them on a plate and then abuse it. . . "

Babies are very expensive things and most new parents struggle in some way, either drawing on savings or having to economise. Ask your own parents - it's always been like that. The website www.turn2us.org.uk has a very good benefits checker. Don't know who these people are who have it 'handed to them on a plate'. Certainly isn't my experience. Welcome to the real world. Hmm

grumpypants · 28/08/2011 14:55

When ds had meningitis we were able to get parking free oiirc. Spealk to the parking office.

ruddynorah · 28/08/2011 15:06

You'll get £80 a month child benefit and £40 a month child tax credit, no working tax credit, no help with childcare costs.

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