Saving for our first baby!

[kipperba]

Hi all, I'm looking for additional tips on saving in the run up to the arrival of our first baby in December.

we're currently putting aside a lot (4-5k a month depending on my bonus) and used some of this to pay off our student loans and now are putting it into pension and to overpay on our mortgage.

However I'd like to build up our personal savings (currently at 12k) in case one of us loses our jobs or we need a new car. To do this I'd like some tips on small changes I can make to lifestyle to save some pennies!

Our combined salary is 165k, mine is 110k of that. I have stopped getting my hair coloured but will still treat myself to cuts, and I like to get my nails done once a month so won't stop doing that.. We give ourselves £200 each spending money although we rarely use that each month. We eat out or takeaway probably once a fortnight, but if we do that we pay from our shared card.

I know I am very lucky and I should still enjoy myself, which I do! I just want to feel secure during maternity leave.

Thanks!

You may feel differently about going back to work at 6m once baby is here. And be prepared to do your job on very little sleep as quite possibly baby won't be sleeping through the night by then either.

Anyway, I digress!

Do you have a car? Does your partner? Do you need a car? Big savings opportunity there potentially.

Boots advantage card? Register for their parenting club to earn more points on baby products from them.

Buy second hand - lots on eBay and Vinted are 'bought new with tags' (BNWT). Buy very little - babies don't need much and ou won't know until baby is here what you might need. What works for one family might not be suited for you!

Try and get your individual (not joint) 'adjusted net income' to below 100k then you'll be able to utilise the government tax-free childcare and make a saving there... obviously that's for later down the line though. Salary sacrifice into pension is a good way to do this.

I'm surprised you only have 12k in savings though based on a household income of 165k!

Good luck!

Each time you’re in the supermarket, put a tin of formula/pack of nappies/whatever in so you’re not suddenly buying a load of it at once. You will hardly notice the cost va buying it in bulk later.

Im really confused how you can make over 100k a year, you don’t even get your hair done regularly, and you still only have 12k in savings?
12k isn’t even a months household income for you, it’s blown my mind that you opted to pay student loans before you gave yourself enough of a cushion to pay your essential bills for a few months if you lost your job or wanted a longer mat leave or if you had an unexpected large cost.
at this point that would be my priority. I wouldn’t continue to overpay mortgages or anything else until you’re back at work after mat leave.
otherwise you can look at buying things second hand, only buying what you need, coordinating baby gifts so you get useful things, go through your outgoings and see what you can cut back on - subscriptions etc. Meal plan to save on food waste. Do a clear out to make space for the babies things and sell off a bunch of things. Take overtime if there is any. Can dh get any extra work and income? But really if you save 4-5k a month for the next 4 months then you’re in a better position that 99.9% of women having a baby in this country so I wouldn’t worry too much. Since you get full pay for 3 months you can put another 4-5k away those months too. So you’ll have 28-35k and you can cover everything on half pay and DHs wage then for a couple of months.
though I would question if you can put 4-5k away a month - which is presumably approx half your monthly income, why you can’t live on half wage for 3 months. Isn’t that the same

Me too I am using savings for mortgage for the second half of my Mat leave. Can DH do shared parental leave for the second half of babys first year?

Yup babies get really fun at 5-6 months you'll want to do classes etc with them from 6-12 months

And stop doing mortgage over payments while your interest on mortgage is lower than what you could be earning in savings accounts!!

How old are you?

6 months really isn't enough maternity leave. It sounds a huge amount of time when you don't have a child but when you do, the time flies so fast. I'd save money to increase your mat leave. I'd put student loan at the bottom of the priority list. Make sure you do pay into your pension while you're on mat leave.

I agree. Six months is not long enough. You get statutory for 9 months too. Esp if you will be leaving baby for long days. Time with your baby is not replaceable.

No point overpaying student loans at all. Just view it as graduate tax for time being.

Seriously OP - your income is large, stop worrying!

I caution that your mindset may change when the baby is here. You have dismissed shared parental leave as it will delay your husband career progression but you already an amazing household income, why so keen to keep earning and investing and saving more and more? Genuine question, what is the end goal as you seen overly anxious given you already live very frugally in comparison to your income and prioritise investing into your pension and mortgage over lifestyle spending. That's great and very sensible, but be careful not to be so focussed on future financial security that you miss out on living for today! Why not cut back on the pension contributions for a few months so you can take an extra couple of months maternity leave?

Similarly would a 3 or 6 month delay to DH finishing his training and increasing his earnings really matter in the grand scheme of a career? My DH took some shared parental leave and would highly recommend it.

Seems like you have already saved the deficit for your 3 month's half maternity pay. An extra £1000 savings for essential baby equipment in the first year (a good car seat will be a big chunk but most other stuff can be bought reasonably or second hand) and anything on top is a bonus!