Child care nursury costs

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We can't afford any fees up front, and would be asking the government for help, how does this work and do you register your baby then get the money how does it work can't afford anything up front for care

Cheaper nursery
Childminder
Ask a friend to look after DC for a month
Cut out every non-essential that you can
Put child benefit into a savings account
Look into second jobs
Cheaper housing
Lidl and Aldi for all your food
Shop brands for all baby stuff
Sell things you don't need
Look at car running costs if you've got them

None of these sound particularly great but things off the top of my head

anyone have any ideas

Yes, like I said, use the £20 per week child benefit to save for nursery fees. You will save money from not commuting to work and buying lunches, coffees etc for 9 months too.

Any savings? If you are already tight what happens when your smp drops to £135 pw? You won't receive cb immediately so will get a lump sum in back payment initially. How much does oh earn , could you claim tax credits ?

He earns 1500 per month but we have debts to pay off debt judge me please I was not planning to get pregnant I'm sensitive please don't judge me, can't ask friends for a month they work too

Ok he earns £1500 per month, what will you be bringing in from your maternity pay? What will you be saving on commuting/work lunch costs?

You're panicking and that's making it hard for you to see solutions. You need to calm down and write down all your incoming money and outgoing money and see where you can save. You need to decide when you will be going back to work so you have a time frame in which to save. Then you look at your budget and see where you can save that money from.

But seriously, stop panicking, it won't give you the money

So scared I'm terrified if I didn't work we would have no way to live

I can probably save around 50a month but thst not going to touch what I need

I didn't get any extra so get smp, like I said 50 is the max per month I could manage I'm so scared and don't want to be judged

Stop guessing. Sit down with your husband and draw a line down the middle of a page. On the left write all your incoming money. On the right write down all your outgoing money. Get the final figure of what is left and see how you can reduce your outgoings.

You will also get £20 per week child benefit. That is around £80 per month.

In total you should have around £2100 per month to work with.

That's just while on maternity leave. This will increase when you go back to work.

Have you looked at childminders?

I have done that, that's how I have got the 50 figure, please please don't judge me we have everything down bare

Nobody has judged you but like the pp said, you're just coming across as panicking.

Look on the money saving thread. Your DH earns £1500 and you'll be getting £139 a week for SMP - write a list of where every penny goes. Draw up a budget, meal plan, shop sensibly, don't buy stuff unless it's absolutely necessary, stick to your budget and save what you need.

Nobody is going to be able to give you the answer you're looking for. It doesn't exist.

2100 yes but bills and food etc all adds up and we have everything bare as it is

Look no-one is judging you so can you quit with that? I'm trying to offer suggestions.

Not asking for a miracle just wondering how if you had no savings how you manged with nursery fees etc

Well, then you're in a bit of a fix aren't you? You will either have to find the money somehow or just give up work. No-one here knows your budget or your spending. We can't work it out for you.

Sorry I'm a new mum and extremely nervous scared and sensitive and lost

Nobody is judging you.

Your baby is only 7 days old, so right now you will be very sleep deprived and hormonal. It's not the best time to work out what you're going to do long term.

For now, just start saving whatever you can. Live as cheaply as possible.

In about 4 weeks when hopefully you'll be thinking more clearly you can start looking at the options people have given you in this thread.

But ultimately childcare does cost a lot, and most nurseries require payment in advance. This is how it is and nobody can give you a magical solution.

Also Tax credits don't pay 100% so you will have to be able to afford the difference once working. It's not completely free.

Can you get a 0% credit card and put household spends on that until you have your deposit and fees?

Pay it back at 50 pm and pay it off in full when you get your tax credits if it's not clear by then.

Check out Moneysavingexpert for some long term 0% deals and ability to check your chances of being accepted.

We've all been new mums, we know what life with a newborn is like. If you need additional support, you must ask your HV.

People pay for nursery by saving, going without or earning more money. You have to suck it up and make a plan.

Loan or salary advance if you are still short at the time? Try not to get over anxious about this at such an early stage. A child minder is likely to be more flexible. You could even stagger you return so you go to work fewer days initially and use up the accrued annual leave.

Do you or will you within the next three months get child tax credit and is this your first baby? If so you may qualify for a maternity grant.

www.gov.uk/sure-start-maternity-grant