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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Savings 3 years in advance for a baby. Some advice would help :)

51 replies

hannah254 · 08/05/2017 19:15

Hi,

Sorry I am a first time poster so I don't know a lot of abbreviations.

Me and my partner are both 23 and we hoping to start trying to conceive around 26. We have a joint income of £57,000 (I earn £28k and other half earns £29k). By the time we have a baby I am hoping we will both be earning a bit more.

We own a house and live in the South East. Paying £800 a month for mortgage but once bills, fuel etc are paid we still have quite a bit left over.

When we have a baby I would like to take one years maternity leave. My company aren't clear on their maternity policy (not in my contract or company handbook) so we are preparing to take a big hit as I contribute almost 50%. So we are trying to prepare far in advance so we aren't stuck when it comes to it. And after that I would work part time as I believe childcare is really expensive.

So my question is, how much do people recommend we have in the pot in savings before trying to conceive? Any advice or insight would be great as we don't have any friends who are parents at the moment so have nobody to ask. Those of you on similar household incomes, how much did you have in savings beforehand and was this enough? How is the best way to prepare for losing 50% of household income? And for those of you on different incomes I'd still really appreciate any help you can give me.

We don't want to put every spare penny in a baby pot as we still want to enjoy ourselves. But any advice so we know where to start and what we should aim for would be great. I worry about money and having a baby is something I want more than anything so I really don't want to be unprepared and then be even more stressed.

Thank you xxx

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Trytowin · 08/05/2017 19:21

Good idea but try not to get too bogged down with it. I'm 31 and expecting my first. I have about 3k saved (we always called it the future pot lol) my mat pay is only stat so I have concerns over that but I think a baby is as much as you want it to cost. I'm ok with second hand ( nice) stuff so looking for cot and such there. New mattress/ seat etc. of course. I'm a crafty kinda person so am putting bits and pieces together slowly but it's nice to have a pot just in case

Original poster

hannah254 · 08/05/2017 19:26

Thank you x I just have no idea how people afford to pay mortgage, bills etc will less money and am extra person to feed xx

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OddBoots · 08/05/2017 19:31

Realistically you can only save what you've got - when you say you have quite a lot left at the end of the month how much exactly is that?

Sunshinegirl82 · 08/05/2017 19:33

We saved enough to pay the mortgage for a year plus a bit extra. We have managed ok through my mat leave with that. I'm returning to work 3 days a week in August. I have done the maths and we can just about make it work. It will be tight but doable and it's not forever.

I think you're sensible to save, I don't know how we would have managed without savings!

Original poster

hannah254 · 08/05/2017 19:34

OddBoots Probably about £1,500. I worry that whatever we save just won't be enough.

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Mysterycat23 · 08/05/2017 19:35

Currently on statuatory mat leave. No savings here

From my (currently painful) experience, save the equivalent of at least 6 months of your salary, to cover your mat leave of 6 months to 1 year.

Stuff for the baby people will give you loads and if you're prepared to go second hand it doesn't cost much to get all the bits and bobs, we spent probably £500 all in.

Look at childcare costs, it will put you right off the whole idea of having kids

Original poster

hannah254 · 08/05/2017 19:37

Sunshinegirl82 Thank you. Saving to pay the mortgage for a year is a good idea because that is what I am most worried about! :( xx

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emmaluggs · 08/05/2017 19:38

Well you need to understand your outgoings, how much does that tot up to a month then you need to make sure you have saved to cover the shortfall between your mat pay and your outgoings. Obviously you'll need extras for buying baby stuff and a potential amount for emergency expenses

Original poster

hannah254 · 08/05/2017 19:39

Mysterycat23 I have actually avoided looking at exact childcare costs in case it scares me too much! Haha :P 6 month salary is a good idea.

I feel embarrassed for posting this so far in advance but it's been stressing me out.

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naturalbaby · 08/05/2017 19:39

We didn't save for baby at all. We always had a few thousand in savings and tried to maintain that. We managed to get stuff through presents from relatives and nearly new sales on our salaries and just reduced our expenses as and when needed. We didn't spend anything on our usual annual holiday, I cancelled my gym contract... stuff like that.

Baby actually didn't really cost much - we used reusable nappies, I breastfed (so our food bill went up a bit as I was eating so much!), went to free children's centre groups or very cheap church baby groups.

Original poster

hannah254 · 08/05/2017 19:40

emmaluggs My company hasn't said what their maternity policy is so I am presuming it is the minimum. I would like to ask my boss but at the same time I feel awkward asking.

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Original poster

hannah254 · 08/05/2017 19:41

naturalbaby Thank you that is reassuring :) x

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Instasista · 08/05/2017 19:42

I wouldn't really bother tbh. Save enough to cover your lost earnings but loads will happen in 3 years. Almost everyone I know has moved before during or after the baby is born so you'll probably decide that's a good idea too. What you really need to consider is childcare- £1,500 is enough to cover FT nursery but your mortgage is quite high compared to earnings. Will you be earning more in 3 years? Or maybe move jobs, target a company with better maternity pay?

Instasista · 08/05/2017 19:43

(What I mean is even if you do save you might decide to spend it on something else. We spend tens of thousands on house renovations when I was pregnant- these things suddenly seem urgent )

gooseygander88 · 08/05/2017 19:45

Currently on maternity leave and partner pays a few more of the bills just whilst I bring home the stat pay. It's do able and saved and put a bit aside if I want to dip into it (however don't like to)! You kind of budget around what you need to. Shop around for furniture/push chairs etc! Mothercare and toys r us always have offers on to! It's just knowing when to stop buying "do I really need that?" Etc 😊

Original poster

hannah254 · 08/05/2017 19:47

Instasista So far my company have been generous in pay rises so I hope to earn more in a few years time, the same goes for my partner.
Our fixed rate ends next June so I am hoping the interest won't go up a ridiculous amount otherwise I'll be even more worried, but I suppose we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it. I have looked at moving jobs but almost everywhere I'll have to take a pay cut compared to where I am now x

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LittleWingSoul · 08/05/2017 19:47

Feeding, clothing and equipping a baby doesn't really cost a lot for the first few years, by which time they will be in FT ed so childcare not as much of an expense.

It's being out of work that costs a lot of money, not the tiny portions of food they eat/clothes etc.

Spindelina · 08/05/2017 19:48

Just in case you haven't thought and talked this through: why are you planning to take the whole year off, and not split it? And why are you planning to go back part time and not your partner / both of you?

On topic: babies can be very cheap in terms of buying stuff. It's the hit to your earnings / cost of childcare that you need to have a plan for.

Instasista · 08/05/2017 19:49

Yes it's the childcare that costs. You can easily buy the equipment and clothes out of the £1,500 a month you have spare now, throughout your pregnancy.

Sunshinegirl82 · 08/05/2017 19:49

Just a thought but if you live in SE (I do too) and your house has gone up or is going up in value you might be able to release a bit of equity if you remortgage. We will probably do this to pay for baby 2 as there just won't be the cash to save the same amount again with me working part time and paying for childcare.

Childcare is pricy, no getting round that. It's worth sitting down and doing some budgets based on ft and pt hours, I found that really helpful.

CatRash · 08/05/2017 19:51

Is there someone in HR you could ask?

My firm just do SMP and it's going to be tough for us as I'm the higher earner but I'm still planning on taking the year off as I see it as precious time I'll never get back.

I'm just saving what I can without trying too hard. I've got a DD set up which takes out £500/month and then I save whatever is left in my current account at the end of the month. I'm not particularly trying too hard and probably should give my self a kick up the arse with only 2 months left at work but I'm far too laid back for all that!!

Either way we'll cope! I've made some small changes already like remortgaged and changed internet provider. If it comes to it then we'll just eat a bit crappier to make ends meet!!

Good luck!

Original poster

hannah254 · 08/05/2017 19:52

Yes I am more worried about the loss of earning more than buying stuff.

Spindelina To be honest we haven't sat down and properly spoken about it which is something we need to do. I'm not entirely sure how to joint parental leave works but I presume it will still be the same issue of a big loss of income. My partner is more likely to earn more than me in the long run so it makes sense financially for him to be full-time.

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NapQueen · 08/05/2017 19:52

If you each saved 10% of your after ta wage would it leave sufficient to enjoy life? If so put that away for rainy day and baby days.

Original poster

hannah254 · 08/05/2017 19:55

Sunshinegirl82 Ooo releasing equity is a really good idea I hadn't thought of at all!

CatRash I work for a small company so HR is just one man. I know I shouldn't feel uncomfortable asking but I do. He has a PA though so perhaps I'll email her and she can find out for me.

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Piffpaffpoff · 08/05/2017 19:55

Do you get an annual bonus at your work? I can't remember the exact timings but my maternity pay was calculated based on the average of two monthly pays within a certain period during my pregnancy. One of them contained my annual bonus so my maternity pay was double what it would have been if I'd got pregnant a couple of months either way. There was a noticeable baby boom across the (v large corporate) business for the two particular months each year where this fell. Made a huge difference to me.

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