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!

That’s a very small wage to manage on, especially if you’re thinking of moving down south Of course it does depend on your outgoings but not working and not having the money to have a reasonable life style will soon lose it’s appeal.
I certainly wouldn’t give up work, I’d just look to drop my hours, especially if you’re not married. You have no legal protection at the moment. Has he made a will. If not, and something happens to him, you’ll potentially be left with nothing.

Threads like this make it clear to me just how removed London is from the rest of the country! When I read the OP, my response was going to be a categorical 'no, that is not enough to support one adult'. Then I read the other responses and realised that my reality is not everyone else's.

Perhaps we should move. There appear to be places where we would be living the high life. cries gently in £3K mortgage monthly payments

Good luck, OP! I hope it works out.

Just to bring some perspective, if you were existing entirely on benefits (UC) you'd get roughly £7750 plus rent per year.
So with your mortgage of £5760 per year the equivalent income needed to survive would be £13,510. That's to survive, with no luxuries, no safety cushion, no new clothes etc etc.

Bath/Bristol are pretty expensive places to live, higher than Yorkshire. Can you stay put?

Not relevant to you.. But I'm a single working parent and I earn less than your husband and I manage ok.. With rent, bills and childcare. I'm just meticulous with money.. I have to be. I don't receive any child maintenance from my daughters father either so 100% of costs fall on me.
It's useful for you to do a list of outgoings that you have against your husbands salary. You may need to ask him to account for money for you and baby for clothes and toys and treats etc.. As they get older of course.

Bristol and Bath have similar house prices to parts of London (and surrounding areas aren't much cheaper).

How much were you earning?

Surely you should have a good idea of whether the salary you were earning was all disposable income or not?

I think it's probably doable in Yorkshire with the housing costs you've quoted. Unless you have a ton of equity, housing costs in the southwest/bristol would cripple you i think.

Definitely not in bath or Bristol. Didn’t you do the math before you quit work? Seems a very low salary indeed to me but we are in the SE. I also don’t like the idea of having the account for every penny and going without any treats whatsoever, but everyone is different.

I read £24,000 as £2,400 and I thought, we wouldn't be able to survive off that with mortgage bills and lifestyle. On a salary of £24,000 your take home is £1,600 roughly depending on pensions etc and I wouldn't want to live off that! However, you will get maternity allowance, which could be as much as £150pw or as low as £27pw.

No way would we afford to support a family of 3 off that

Are you in receipt of any benefits.........

As others say it depends on your outgoings. However, for us it definitely wouldn't be enough - it wouldn't cover our basic outgoings. Our mortgage is double yours though and in addition to basic outgoings we would like to have a small amount of treats/holidays.

It also depends on your career. Taking a long time out can damage it and in my situation I've worked really hard, so won't give it up.

Personally OP I’d be worried about the longer term implications of not working - how long are you planning to be a SAHM for and how do you plan on plugging the gap in your pension and other contributions?

I know hindsight is a great thing but it does amaze me when people don't think about things like this before even trying to have a family and giving up a job. You need to sit down and budget with him, go through your bank statements and compare outgoings and salary.

That's what I earn roughly but I wouldn't manage with me and my 2 kids without the money I get from my ex. My mortgage is double yours though.

I guess it depends what you prioritise. I like to be able to do nice things (pre covid) with the kids and there is only so much you can do for free. I was also very glad of my job when my ex had an affair and our marriage broke down. I don't know what I would have done otherwise.

Why did you give up work OP? Would you not have been entitled to mat pay/leave?? Seems an odd thing to do?

3 kids here. We have lived of that amount for years. Now a bit more. All fine. We even pay £900 a month rent.

We are not consumerists though.

£24k salary
£1,600 a month take home pay

£500 mortgage
£120 council tax
£100 gas/electric
£50 water
£25 house insurance
£100 for Tv licence/broadband/subscriptions?
£60 for mobile phones for 2 adults
£400 food
Total = £1,355

Leaving £245 a month for incidentals
You'd get child benefit of course which is £80 but honestly a baby costs more than that a month with the nappies, clothes, formulae if you don't breastfeed?

You'd be on the bones of your financial arses. There is living frugally and not having a car or holiday and then there is putting yourself in a vulnerable financial position as you would be?

How does your partner get to work? Do you really not need a car??

@ivfbeenbusy

£24k salary £1,600 a month take home pay

£500 mortgage
£120 council tax
£100 gas/electric
£50 water
£25 house insurance
£100 for Tv licence/broadband/subscriptions?
£60 for mobile phones for 2 adults
£400 food
Total = £1,355

Leaving £245 a month for incidentals
You'd get child benefit of course which is £80 but honestly a baby costs more than that a month with the nappies, clothes, formulae if you don't breastfeed?

You'd be on the bones of your financial arses. There is living frugally and not having a car or holiday and then there is putting yourself in a vulnerable financial position as you would be?

How does your partner get to work? Do you really not need a car??

Thanks. We have a car, we just bought it outright.

@GoodbyeH

3 kids here. We have lived of that amount for years. Now a bit more. All fine. We even pay £900 a month rent.

We are not consumerists though.

That's reassuring, thanks! Do you live south or north?

I think if you keep a small mortgage it's doable. Travel costs/childcare and mortgages are the things that people spend huge amounts of money on that makes 24k per family unrealistic. If they are minimal, and you don't have a need for fancy clothes and holidays, you'll be ok.

Just to clarify, my husband is wonderful and I am in no way trapped, he'd be super supportive if i wanted to work, he's good either way.

My advice is dont quit. Go part time. Youre screwed later down the line if you give up your career now. Voice of bitter experience here as im divorcing after decades of marriage and raising kids to give him the chance to pursue his career to the fullest. Hes laughing financially now, im screwed.

£24k will result in a very sparse existence. Might be manageable during MAT leave but it accumulates with applicants breaking, clothes replacing etc.

Being skint is wearing and doesn't help your relationship

It’s definitely doable, but there would be very little in the way of luxury.

Why would you give up your job at this stage? Why not leave at the end of maternity?