Surviving on Statutory Maternity Pay

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My partner and I have pretty separate finances and after the baby is born I will no longer contribute to the household bills (mortgage, utilities) but I will still have to look after the weekly shopping bills (except alcohol which I have convinced him I wouldn't be able to afford!) my car expenses, phone, crappy gym membership etc

Will this be manageable on SMP? I won't be able to get child benefits due to my partners salary level. I am saving what I can now and am pretty frugal (biting any ones arm off for second hand stuff, going cloth nappy route etc) and I am not high maintenance. But what I am worried about is unforeseen expenses and socializing with other new mummies...It's a new world to me so not sure how costly it is and really don't want to miss out because I can't afford it

Any tips would be most welcome

I don't understand why SMP is taxed - a year's SMP is about 8k so under the allowance threshold.

Splendide, depends when in the tax year you go off and if you've gone through the threshold beforehand.

OP, why does your DP think this is fair when it so obviously is not? Why doesn't he want to treat you better than this?

He may not be selfish, it may be that he either hasn't though it through, or that the mortgage and bills are huge and actually he doesn't have much left over. I know we have a huge mortgage/bills compared to our earnings.
We put all our money into a joint account, and everything comes out of it - joint spending and personal. We earn similar amounts, but that won't be the case when I'm on mat leave, but nothing will change as everything will remain completely shared.
I think you need to sit down and have an open discussion about totals coming in and going out, and you need to express your worries to him. I'm sure he will want to support you and see that you are not stressed about money or missing out on cheap social things that keep your sanity with a newborn. You may not need as much spending money as you think, but it depends a little on who ends up in your social circle.

Yes I agree with everyone else, I'm on smp and I'd be shocked if I had to cope with all those expenses on 138/wk. I'd put the gym on hold, and consider if you need to use your car while you are off, but in general you need to actually figure out your required budget and agree it upfront.

Im on MA so don't qualify for the 6 weeks extra money. So far I'm managing to survive however mine and my partners finances are more shared than they were before. Definitely sit down and look at all the household finances with your OH.

I no longer do a weekly shop to cut down on food wastage, instead I take my little one out for a walk everyday to the supermarket to buy the following days essential. It helps me get exercise and we both get fresh air too.

I've also cancelled all non essential household bills (sky, magazine subscriptions etc) and I only drive when nessacerry to reduce fuel costs.

I've also swapped from using pampers to aldi nappies, which are loads better, and this saves me a fortune.

There are loads of ways to save money when you put your mind to it

My DP and I always ran separate accounts and finances, I own our flat and so he just paid me a lump sum each month (about 30% of our total household outgoings since I earn more) and I paid the mortgage and bills from my account. I didn't want to be in the position of asking him for pocket money when on mat leave but we also prefer to keep personal finances separate. We set up a new joint account, we both pay a fixed amount in per month in (I still contribute more while I'm working) to cover household costs including mortgage, food, bills PLUS a fixed amount of savings for when I'm on mat leave, a fixed amount for joint activities (such as meals out) and anything for the baby including the bigger items like car seat, cot etc.

Once I'm on leave I'll be getting SMP and child benefit. I'll still be putting some money into the joint account, the rest will be my pocket money and will still equal the pocket money I had before I was on leave and the pocket money my partner gets. The deficit in the joint account will be covered by the savings we both paid in. Like most people it seems I'm aiming for about £3-4k to cover the 9 months I plan to be on leave, 1 month of which will be covered with holiday pay.

To be clear, NONE of this process would have been in place if I hadn't worked it out, suggested to DP and in the end set it all up. He was totally happy with it all though, it's just not his personality to be thinking about these things. So definitely get something set up now!

Agreed, he may not be selfish, just not thought it through. We moved in together quite young and generally split everything in half to begin with (on similar wages). There were a few times later on when things were unfair between us, mainly because we hadn’t thought it through properly. We sat down about 7 years ago and agreed to share everything and it’s much better now.

My OH has just taken on a massive mortgage so I think he will be fairly skint too during my maternity leave but you are right, we need a conversation. I'll have saved about £4k to supplement the SMP so hopefully that will help get us through it!

Presumably you name is on the mortgage?

Even more reason to pool if you have a large mortgage. Please tell me you are on the mortgage? You should be.

Is it a joint mortgage? If not abd you're not married you're putting yourself in a very vulnerable position. Make sure you're on the mortgage!