Saving for maternity leave

[TiReDmUmone]

Hello, I'm wanting some ideas please on saving up for maternity leave to cope with the reduced income. I'm wanting to cut back on how much I currently spend on food and wondering how others have done it do people do a large shop for month then top up, what cheap family meals people make? There is 2 adults and 8 year old DD. I'm only in my 3rd month of pregnancy but with Christmas and DD birthday I'm hoping to save as much as possible. Thanks

Number 1 thing is where do you shop? Moving from Sainsbury’s to Aldi saves us nearly 1/3rd off our bill. Cut off sky tv- really don’t miss it. Oh the gym went, never had time to go once back at work with a LO. So check any direct debits you no longer need.

@OnlyFoolsnMothers I don't really shop in one place I have just found that morrisons is doing discount for NHS which is good. I don't really have any memberships. I think I need to be more organised shopping since having to que I've spent more going to our tesco garage I have lipodema so I can't stand in ques long periods.

A monthly shop is impossible for me, we just do a weekly shop and probably 2 top ups.
Write a list and even with a discount I would do comparative shops- I recon Aldi/ Lidl will save you loads/

I don't find Lidl/Aldi cheaper as I have to drive 20 mins to get there (compared to free delivery from Sainsbury's) and then can't do a whole shop anyway. Most people will advise meal planning, batch cooking and using up left overs, which are great and make some difference, but our food bills are significantly lower as I'm vegetarian so we don't buy much meat. I get a big delivery every 2 weeks or so including all heavy stuff and then top ups at the local shop.

I can’t get everything at Aldi /Lidl no (95% I can) but tbh once you see savings you do make changes. We no longer eat Heinz baked beans or Heinz ketchup- savings the equivalent of £120-150 a month doing the big shop at Aldi is worth it to me. Everyone’s situation is different and to some it’s not worth the change.

With the food shop I've found that making a list of meals we want to eat is really helpful, make a list of items you need from there. Oh and check what's in the cupboards already!
Another way to lighten the load could be to stock up on some items that can save your shopping bill later on, for me it's things like fabric softener, washing powder etc. Just put it away and forget you've got it and don't dip into it.

I also agree with the poster who says to cut all unnecessary direct debits.

I had a box that I stocked up on toiletries, laundry and cleaning products which I got on offer. For the first 6 months of mat leave we didn't have any of them to buy and it helped cut a fair bit off the weekly shopping bill.

In essence, meat is more expensive than not having meat, and fish is more expensive again.
Plan to have 2 meals a week without meat.
Use lentils to 'pad out' one pot dishes even if they are mince based - chillis, bolognaise, curry etc.

Difficult to make suggestions of what you can cut down on, without knowing what you spend on though really.
Cakes and biscuits and crisps tend to really push the food bill up
But then, so does fresh fruit.
Eating fruit and veg that is out of season is a lot more expensive than eating it when it is in season.
Don't throw food away - some people meal plan to the nth degree, others keep an eye on the 'BBE' dates and make sure all is used. Then freeze left over portions, or eat for lunch the next day.
Take packed lunches when you go to work rather than buying out.
Ditto not buying drinks out and about.

Do you usually buy branded goods or shop's own, or Basics / Savers ? Most supermarkets have 3 levels. Try the cheapest, and, if not keen try the middle layer. Some of the basic level stuff is fine. (Though, as others said, when I switched to Aldi about 15 yrs ago, my bill dropped by a good 30% week upon week.)

Aldi worked out more expensive for me I use morrisons and sainsbury's I check what's on offer online before I shop and plan my shopping around that also buy reduce wherever possible 5p loaves of bread I stock up and freeze fruit and veg I get delivered from a veg person ever 2 weeks and use frozen I now spent 130 a month of 3 of us 50 is the fruit and veg delivery. We dont eat red meat only chicken and fish so I buy in bulk once ever 2 months alternately between chicken and fish. I get 5kg about 18 breasts of chicken breasts for £22 at local butchers fish from morrisons ie a whole salmon I get 16 to 20 portions ect

I'm awaiting to see what my maternity plan will be, I have been informed by a friend who is a nurse that she got 6 months full 3 half 3 no pay to me I couldn't manage this the second option is to have the amount divided by the 12 months this is the option I think I will go for it means reduced to what I'm used to but not having a significant cut later.
I'm also on the bank so when I feel a little better I hope to get the odd shift in to add to the pot.
My DP and DD are quite fussy eaters, I have started stocking up on toiletries farm foods has an offer on 4 large comfort for 10 pound and 72 toilet rolls for 10 pound they are selling them off after people stock piling.
I think my anxiety of being left short is from when I was a student 18 months ago I know it won't be anything like that but that was an awful time.
I think I need to look at cutting down shopping wise because after being a student with nothing sometimes I go abit over board and just buy things that are not really needed🤔

We shop at Aldi and I get so so much more for my money. I can make a few meals out of one big pack of mince for 2 adults and 11 month old DS. Spag bol, shepherds pie etc.
Also you can get a big pack of chicken which is about £10 I used to get this but felt like it went off quick because the pack was open for too long now I just buy 2 packs of the £5ish chicken as lasts longer because I'm not wasting it and the other pack of chicken doesn't have to be open at the same time. But from one pack of chicken I can do, fajitas, Mexican chicken, chicken chasseur etc. With meals once you've added peppers, onions etc it packs a meal out a lot so you find yourself not using as much meat

But I also don't buy stuff we won't eat. I don't do a list but kinda have a meal plan prepped in my head. That would save you money if you know what meal you're doing on what day.

For my first maternity leave I stocked up on laundry stuff, shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste whenever it was in offer so I didn’t have to buy on maternity leave. Same with baby wipes and nappies (although you do have to think about sizes there).
Beforehand I cut everything that was unnecessary out of my spending and tried to spend less on food by looking a cheaper alternatives to branded items and batch cooking.

Review all your spending and make sure your partner is also on board, assuming that he's on the scene.

No point you living on lentils if he's still spending freely. Address the project on a household basis.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/budget-planning/

I'm not sure that maternity pay is right. The NHS offer something like 8 weeks at 90%, months 3-6 50% plus smp, months 7-9 smp (£140 per week), months 10-12 unpaid. You can officially return early and take annual leave at the end.

I would aim to save first. Take out an amount and put it in an account you don't have much access to, then you can't overspend on birthdays etc. Definitely set a strict budget for presents. If you geel bad remind yourself that being sensible now means things will be better for your children next year. Lockdown has got us into good habits. A weekly shop from Asda delivered and then only top up for essentials e.g. milk. We only top up once a month or so, most weeks we don't need to. Look at bills, can you switch any to cheaper?

It's very important that you sit down with your manager and find out exactly what you're entitled to with mat pay, the NHS is a reasonable package as far as o can tell- at least then you won't be guessing and panicking! Does your partner help with the cost of shopping?

Are you with the NHS? If so it's 8 weeks full pay, 18 weeks half pay plus or minus SMP and 13 weeks SMP.
You can also ask for this to be spread over 9 months.
I find I spend less when food shopping if I plan meals for the week and buy accordingly.
With other bills have a look at all your outgoings, see what you can reduced aka phone bill, electric and gas suppliers also. ? Mortgage holiday if your have a mortgage x

NHS T&Cs can vary depending on the time of joining, so not everyone has the same entitlement. As the OP mentions being a student 18 months ago, it sounds like she's a recent entrant, so her entitlement might be less generous than someone working in the NHS for 10/20 years.

Don't take a mortgage holiday unless you really need to, it can cost a lot extra in the long run.

I know this isn't the point of your thread, but just to say you pay less tax and student loan repayments on maternity as your pay is less. So that might be what your friend is referring to. I found the money I actually received was higher than expected. You can Google NHS maternity pay calculator for a rough idea.

@BarbaraofSeville with her saying student days 18 months ago I assumed she had 12 months service which is what I suggested.

Mortgage holiday is a suggestion. It suits some people as it may be cheaper to stay off work and have a mortgage holiday rather than paying for childcare etc.

@BarbaraofSevillie I rent my current property I'm still saving for the deposit so I would still will have to pay rent

@StoneSourFan I'm quite lucky I don't have to pay childcare as Mil does childcare as she doesn't work i also have my sister we help each other

I'm hoping to start saving for liposuction but I'll have to wait until I go back to start that journey I think as it's quite expensive and im not even going to try the NHS route as I know many who have been turned down

We have three meat free family dinners a week and at least two really cheap meals like pasta with pesto and peas, jacket potato with beans, soup with cheese on toast that sort of thing.
I also have a stock of easy oven food in the freezer for nights I can't be bothered cooking.... frozen pizzas, fishcake and oven chips that sort of thing. It is far, far cheaper than a takeaway.
If we shop at Aldi, meal plan and make all of our own food (sandwich at home rather than grab a ready made one out for example) then we save a huge amount.