Partner's salary/stayathome mum

[calistassouth]

Hi!
I've stopped working due to us being due in March with our first baby.
My husband has said it's fine that I am a stay at home mum and he will support us.
I feel happy to do this, but I'm worried that his salary will end up being too little to support a whole family of two adults and one baby. Or will become an issue as baby gets older?
He makes £24,000.
Does anyone have any thoughts on whether this is going to be enough for us to live comfortably?
I know there are other factors, like mortgage etc (£480 per month)
but in general, is one salary at this bracket enough to be okay..?
Thanks!

Depends where you live and your outgoings.

It depends what your outgoings are.

It’s impossible to say without knowing all of your outgoings. My partner and I both earn over double that and I’d be concerned about one of us giving up work. However, we pay £950 in rent currently and have a lot of other outgoings that you might not.

You need to write down everything that you have coming in each month and then everything you have going out. So all bills, subscriptions, what you typically spend on food etc. If there’s money leftover from your income then great but if you’re short you’ll either have to find some additional income or look at where you can cut your outgoings.

Is there a reason you've stopped working? You could have stayed at work til maternity leave and taken the full entitlement of it before becoming a SAHM?

It's also impossible to say without knowing the living costs.

Depends on your outgoings and expectations.

Would not be enough for my family.

My husband earns the same amount and I gave up work to have our DD 4 years ago. Our mortgage is £630 and we manage fine but don't have takeaways and treats etc - lockdown has helped with nowhere to go lol

If you are not married please think very carefully before giving up your job.

she's married

It will be tight but feasible until your baby reaches 3 and gets free hours at nursery, then return to work - this is what I did and most my friends

Does your DH have a private pension ?

It’s not very much & I expect things will be tight. Depends if you’re happy with limited treats, holidays, meals out etc.

What do you have coming in?
What do you have going out?
Can you live on what’s left?

Similar to PP depends on your outgoings, whether you will have more DC, whether your DH is likely to grow his salary, whether a SAHM means his career will accelerate if he has more time / headspace etc, ..

Have you thought about how you will both save for retirement?

There is another thread ongoing where the poster has been told that they contributed nothing due to being a SAHM - have you really agreed or is this just the easier path right now

£24,000 wouldn't be enough for us to live on by a long way - but our outgoings might be higher than yours.

You need to work out your outgoings/bills/regular spending habits and then you will know if it's doable.

Have you checked your entitlement to any benefits (turn2us and entitledto are quite good calculators)?

Sit down and do a detailed and realistic budget (don't write down £40 a week for shopping if you know you will spend more like £70, remember to include money for one offs, Christmas, birthdays, holidays, savings, repairs, etc). Compare it to your total income if only your DP works. Is it sufficient? Do you have breathing space?

And then think about how you will protect yourself as an unmarried SAHP. Is your name on the mortgage? What pension provision do you have?

Thanks all.
We don't have many outgoings right now. We live a pretty quiet life.
He was raised with a stay at home mum and thinks this is beneficial to the child, which I agree with. He doesn't mind what we do but likes the idea. I'm happy not to work also as I don't enjoy it particularly.
We live in Yorkshire but plan to move to Somerset/south west.

OP if you can provide a breakdown of your costs (usually how threads like this go) then it’s gonna be a lot more helpful and people can give you proper advice.

For example all of mine, DH’s and babies monthly expenses. Inclusive of petrol, nappies, wipes, pet supplies and a monthly contribution towards annual one off expenses comes to £2250.

The only thing on top of this is our weekly shop which is higher due to covid and expensive town supermarket so about £80pw.

After student loan and pension DH makes £3300pm.

We could manage on this. However, we do like a holiday and occasional nice things so I wouldn’t give up my PT job.

@HappyTrain

My husband earns the same amount and I gave up work to have our DD 4 years ago. Our mortgage is £630 and we manage fine but don't have takeaways and treats etc - lockdown has helped with nowhere to go lol

Thanks :-)

I live in South Yorkshire and, to be completely honest, I don’t think it’s enough.
Do you have car payments?
It would be fine during lockdowns but I don’t think it would cover days out, clubs, holidays etc in (hopefully) a post Covid world.

24K for a small family is doable in a poor Yorkshire town (like where I live). Definitely not in the South.

@movingonup20

It will be tight but feasible until your baby reaches 3 and gets free hours at nursery, then return to work - this is what I did and most my friends

Thanks, that's the plan at the moment :-)

@Beans13

24K for a small family is doable in a poor Yorkshire town (like where I live). Definitely not in the South.

South west? Bath/Bristol area?

@LadyWhistledownthe1st

I live in South Yorkshire and, to be completely honest, I don’t think it’s enough. Do you have car payments? It would be fine during lockdowns but I don’t think it would cover days out, clubs, holidays etc in (hopefully) a post Covid world.

No car payments. Fixed mortgage repayments. Not that bothered about abroad holidays.

Have you started on maternity leave or actually quit your job?