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Parenting

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Should partner pay?

35 replies

Mummyofone18 · 06/08/2018 11:33

I am currently on my 5th month of maternity and am really struggling financially with the amount of money I am earning. I get the statutory maternity pay monthly which is just about enough to pay all of my outgoings let alone swimming lessons for baby, sensory class, yoga class etc this is even without travel, yogurts, porridge, baby juice, clothes, nappies and all other essentials. The agreement with OH was that he would go shopping every week or every other and buy baby what he needs. I have tried to explain to him that one day he is ok the next he may need this or that. My mum said he should really be giving me an allowance every week/month so I can pay for me and baby to do things, I have the money when I’m out to buy the things he needs or any extras etc. I have told him that I will be needing some money especially as it is half term and all of his classes bar swimming aren’t on for the next 6 weeks and we are going to be doing different things and of course nothing is free! So last night after days of me mentioning it he gave me £50 to last me to the end of the month. Is this reasonable? Should I be asking him for money, Can I just say we are still very much together so it’s not as if I am expecting any sort of child maintenance. He is also on a good wage and is left around £600 to himself! Do any of your partners give you any money to help out while your staying home with baby?

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 06/08/2018 12:01

You need to have joint finances if one of you has sacrificed income to stay at home with the baby - and then from those joint finances have a household budget which includes all joint costs.

So I'd sit down together, gather all forms of income you have into a spreadsheet/notepad (whatever's easiest) and work out how it all gets allocated in this order:

Anything to do with the household/survival which existed before you had DC comes out of this joint pot first - so rent/mortgage, council tax, utility bills, food shopping, car/transport costs and any bills which are needed for employment - e.g. if he needs to have a mobile phone or internet connection. Nb if it's not needed for work or survival, don't include in this category. (Internet, TV, phone, etc)

Then any debts or other costs that you have to pay e.g. child maintenance if he has other DC or contracts you can't get out of for now - allocate here. Plus anything like a course which is going to benefit all of you later.

Then you want to look at DC-related costs which is anything like childcare (it's a good idea to calculate the cost you're SAVING due to not needing childcare if you're at home, BTW!), any medical expenses, nappies/milk/food if not included with weekly shop, clothing, things like that. I know clothing can be a bit tricky to work out on a monthly basis so try calculating over 6 month period (ie, season) and dividing. Don't forget to later add shoes.

Next you want to decide together on a basic budget for family luxuries - so this is anything like internet, TV, music subscriptions used by all which give a high value-cost ratio or anything which is for DC benefit and you consider the minimum - e.g. swimming lessons, 1x sensory class per week, book/toy fund, whatever. And I'd include in this pot a fund to add up for Christmas/DC birthday - food and celebration costs, rather than gifts as such, but you might want to allocate an amount for the "big present" from mum + dad.

That's the extent of your absolutely needed categories. If there's not much left in the pot, then divide it up and that's your personal spending each for the week/month. If there's still a decent amount left it can be useful to allocate the following:

An amount to transfer into savings to cover emergencies and unexpected costs.

An amount to transfer into savings towards a specific thing e.g. holiday, house move, training course, next stage car seat.

An amount for more frivolous family luxuries e.g. eating out, more baby groups/activities, more expensive subscriptions e.g. TV package.

Then again whatever is left is divided for personal spending. Personal spending includes any subscriptions which are only for one person's benefit e.g. online game subscription, sports TV package, mobile phone contract (unless you have these included in the essentials), clothing for adults, socialising alone, cigarettes, etc, birthday/Christmas gifts for each other and then any extra activities or nice things that you want for yourself, depending on how much there is.

It should be equal - and it shouldn't be "asking him for an allowance" - but simply your own fair allocation of family money.

At the moment it sounds as though you're living as two separate people with two separate incomes and he's for some reason seeing the baby as your little personal project which he doesn't have much to do with - that doesn't really make sense, if you're living as a family. It's not a case of him doing some shopping every so often to take the burden off you, it's a case of combining your finances and working out what you need to cover jointly and what is left over for each of you at the end.

Cherubfish · 06/08/2018 12:09

He's given you £50 until the end of the month and kept £600 for himself?! That's crazy - he must be a very selfish man if he's happy to keep you and the baby short while he has plenty of spare cash.

Couples manage money differently. DH and I share finances completely (just one pot of money) but some couples do manage it differently. However, broadly speaking, I believe that you and DH should each have a similar amount of personal spending money (after rent/mortgage, bills, child expenses etc).

When are you going back to work? Don't consider becoming a SAHM or going part time until you and your partner have sorted this out.

mildshock · 06/08/2018 12:14

That's so selfish imo. My DP is the sole earner while I'm on maternity leave, and every month he transfers £350. He knows it covers all the food/household shopping, clothes for our children, the occasional day out etc.

He also gives me extra throughout the month so I can use it however I want. Sometimes I'll spend it or I'll put it in savings. If I'm ever short during the month, he doesn't ask questions, he just transfers some more funds.

It worked the same way when he lost his job and I was the sole earner. Since we had children it's been family money, none of this "it's my money" business. It doesn't work well when one partner is scraping the barrel and the other is living the life of Riley.

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BertieBotts · 06/08/2018 12:21

Once you've worked out the joint/individual costs BTW it doesn't really matter how you divide it up! DH and I have never got around to making a joint account - plus many bank accounts where we live cost monthly fees so it seems silly - so we just allocate the joint costs separately. He earns about 4x what I do so he has about 4x the joint costs or more, I'm not sure exactly - but it works out fairly and we each have disposable income to spend.

Important thing is to see DC costs as joint/family costs since DC do not have an income. And your individual ones as separate from that.

BertieBotts · 06/08/2018 12:24

AND (sorry) to factor in when one adult is not working due to family-benefiting reasons such as studying so they can earn more in the future, protecting their own mental/physical health, starting up a business which will hopefully benefit the whole family, caring for DC. Those kinds of reasons mean that the lower or non-earning partner has to be subsidised by the higher or earning partner. That's how a partnership/family works.

Bumpitybumper · 06/08/2018 12:28

This is madness.

I think you firstly need to change your mindset, the baby is not just your baby but your partner's also and he has a very real responsibility to contribute properly and not just provide a token gesture here and there. I just don't understand how you have allowed him to be in the position where he basically thinks he can play god and bestow on you £50 to last the rest of the month (!) and you should be grateful. You need to sit him down and TELL him that this just isn't acceptable and he needs to start sharing his money and properly supporting his family. If he refuses and wants to keep selfishly retaining the majority of his money for himself then I would seriously suggest you look at leaving him. I rarely suggest this on MN however if he is unwilling to change then he is essentially purposefully financially abusing you and worse still depriving his baby of the support he owes them. Actions speak louder than words and even if a man like this professes to love their partner/family, the way they work their finances prove that their love for themselves cannot be trumped.

MrsChollySawcutt · 06/08/2018 12:49

If you are partners then it needs to be an equal partnership. At present he is treating you like a child and allocating you pocket money. This would not be something I would be willing to accept.

Work out your finances, ensuring that your joint income covers all your bills and household essentials such as food and travel and then award yourself and your child a fair share of the pot allocated for entertainment and extras.

OrangeMarshmellows · 06/08/2018 12:56

You are a family! There should be no asking him for money for things for your child.
I couldn't live like this. My husband earns more than twice as much as me - we have a joint account pay all bills out of and we work it out so that we are both left with the same disposable income at the end of the month to spend as we wish. Anything for the children or home comes out of the joint account.

SoyDora · 06/08/2018 13:02

No, DH has never given me money to ‘help out’ when I was on leave because as soon as we had children all our finances were shared 50:50.
Why the hell are you footing the entire bill for your child? It’s his child too.

Hoppinggreen · 06/08/2018 13:03

Get married, if he won’t then you should be worried

ReservoirDogs · 06/08/2018 13:04

Yep another one here with joint finances.

Berniethecrabisthebest · 06/08/2018 13:05

Crazy. Joint accounts all the way. We have no my money it’s our money. Think it’s crazy people who are married and have children cant trust each other with money. Me a dhhave had joint account since we were 18

Quartz2208 · 06/08/2018 13:08

you are a family money should be treated the same

Shampooeeee · 06/08/2018 13:12

I wouldn’t go on mat leave without having joint finances.
Begging for money when you need it is degrading and allowances are for kids.

SparkyBlue · 06/08/2018 13:29

Joint finances here as well. It's all our money not his money or my money.

mindutopia · 06/08/2018 13:40

I assume you live together and this is your baby together. You need to decide on how to manage your finances better together. What expenses do you pay for and what does he pay for? I'm on maternity allowance. I pay for all the food shopping, petrol, days out, things like clothes, school uniform, shoes, etc. and any of my own personal expenses out of my account (which just gets MA and child benefit at the moment) and my dh pays for everything else (rent, internet, etc.). We tend to split big bill like council tax and utilities (which we only pay annually) according to who has more money when they come through.

But there's no 'allowance'. It's our money, even though we earn it separately and have separate accounts. If I need something, I say I need X amount and my dh transfers it over. I mean, I expect if my spending was outrageous and I was going out and buying designer handbags every week, he would probably say, here's x amount and you need to make sure that lasts til the end of the month. You should share money freely for the necessities (food, clothes, formula if you use it, baby things, basic things you need for days out), but I think things like yoga and classes aren't 'necessary' so you can just cut back on them if your joint finances are tight. But yes, if you're at home, your finances should be shared so that you can both do your respective roles. I'm not so much a fan of this 'allowance' idea, but that's fine if that works for you.

Mummyofone18 · 06/08/2018 13:40

Thank you all. I guess I knew the answer to it it’s just where I feel like I have to keep explaining my reasons to him I have sort of felt as if I am going mad. When we found out we were expecting we started a joint sort of savings but by that it was drawing money out every month and putting in one joint pot so we could buy all the essentials before little one arrived. As a woman of course I was more on hand on what we were buying and took control and that has always seemed to be the way so I don’t think he has ever been in the position to fully realise how much it all does add up too. I still pay my share towards all household costs with a top up of £50 from him towards these, I have my own car which I am in the process of selling and he owns our what we call family car as mine is no use with the car seat and pram, he fills that up with diesel when needed, I of course pay towards my car tax, insurance, phone bill etc and he pays for his along with Netflix and that is about it. I have always been very sensible when it comes too money and have learnt to save at least 200 a month when I was working which of course I am now unable to do and I just constantly feel like I am stuck and have nothing of my own. His money he had always said is our money but it doesn’t feel that way. We went to get baby a bumbo and other toys from mamas and papas a few weeks ago which he paid for and oh my god do I know about it, when he buys something he will make it known that he bought that for his dear child but when I buy it I don’t need to make a big deal out of it cos that’s just me providing for my child and what he needs and sometimes a little luxury for him which he deserves! Now it’s the summer holidays a lot of our classes are on hold I have been saying to partner for weeks that I am struggling and it would be nice if he could draw out a bit of money every month that I can get my hands on to take baby swimming, soft play, parks and buy lunch, then of course daily essentials which we don’t buy in bulk only as and when needed. Yesterday evening with a big smile on my face handed me £50 in cash and I said thank you and as a joke said is that my pocket money for the week he laughed and said for the month. I understand where you are all coming from with the joint account but right now maybe the best thing for me is if he were to give me access to this left over £600 a month to use if I need to for our child and what we have left we can put into a savings to treat ourselves on a holiday next year or date nights which is of course something we don’t get to do very often. When we first got together 6 years ago he didn’t have a solid job I paid for him quite a lot and I guess I just expected the same back especially as this money isn’t for me to go and get smashed or pamper myself it’s for our child to be happy and be clothed and clean etc. I took him to Tesco with me the other day as he wanted me to go alone but I physically couldn’t afford to but I was to scared to say until we got there so I picked up nappies, teething powder, baby wash, rompers, vests and a summer hat a few other bits and bobs and it came to around £45 I think only then he realised how much a baby costs and got his bank card out. I don’t want to keep having the same conversation with him and I don’t want to fall out but at the same tim time he is pushing me away and some days I can’t even speak to him. It’s very hard as I could threaten him with the whole if noThing changes I am leaving you but take away finances he is an amazing father I just wish he would let us be a part of his well earned money so that I don’t feel this way. Thanks all for your advice. My mum is going to have the baby one night this week so we can sit without distractions and go through finances and try and come to a conclusion. I just wanted reassurance off other Mums that I am not asking for too much x

Ps you are all very lucky to have such supportive partners!

OP posts:
Mummyofone18 · 06/08/2018 13:43

Sorry meant with a big smile on his face when he handed me money yesterday I was far from smiling!

OP posts:
Alittleshaderequired · 06/08/2018 13:44

I’m with SoyDora.

Dh has never given me any sort of allowance to care for our children. As soon as we decided that I’d SAH for a few years all finances became joint. All money which was basically just his earnings, went into our joint account and I used it whenever I needed anything.

Did you not discuss how you would manage whenvany cane along? How did you divvy up costs before you were on mat leave? Please tell me he’s not expecting you to still pay the same amount now you’re on a reduced income? Shock And pay for your joint child?

Are you planning to go back to work? If so, he’s going to get a massive shock at the cost of childcare. That’ll be a few hundred quid out his wages for a start even before he contributes to anything else. He sounds like a selfish tossed.

Alittleshaderequired · 06/08/2018 13:44

tosser

SoyDora · 06/08/2018 13:45

That’s an interesting point actually, will he expect you to pay for childcare when you go back to work?

Alittleshaderequired · 06/08/2018 13:47

Sorry, no, he’s not an amazing father if he’s treating you and his son this way. He really is not.

Mummyofone18 · 06/08/2018 13:51

Well we have looked at a few nursery’s and of course he did have a massive shock at the thought of paying out all that money which is when I reminded him that he is actually saving all that while I am at home so he does have money to spare! I will be going back two days a week to start off with but his mum will have baby one day and my mum will the other. To be honest at the start of my mat leave I didn’t feel like this as baby wasn’t as active as he is now so we did a few days out but nothing costly just a few free classes that a group near me offered, I am breastfeeding so we didn’t have to buy milk and we literally had everything else clothes up to 6 months it’s only recently that he’s started early weaning and growing out of his clothes and teething etc that we have or I say we I have had to fork out more than previously so it’s sort of hit me that we need to be sharing money as I share mine with our house and our baby so he should also

OP posts:
Quartz2208 · 06/08/2018 13:58

OP he needs to step up full stop

Cherubfish · 06/08/2018 14:14

OP, please think seriously about the future. If you're only working 2 days a week that will have a big impact on your earning, and you're not married so you will be in a financially vulnerable position if you ever split up. Meanwhile he gets to work full time with no impact on his salary. His actions so far have NOT shown him to be the kind of man who would be financially fair to you if you split up and you would not have the legal protection of marriage.

Please consider working full time or getting married.

Until then, good luck with your conversation about making the finances fairer in the short term. The thought of him handing you £50 with a big grin on his face makes me mad on your behalf Angry

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