As I’m writing this, I have exactly two weeks left of my own maternity leave left with Frugal Baby. On Sunday 1st, I officially return to work. I can’t believe how fast it has gone the second time around. I am so not ready to be leaving both of my babies behind and going back into the world of work. I am going back slightly earlier than last time, though it will work out better for our family overall.
In the UK, maternity leave is actually much better than in a lot of other countries. In fact, when I read about some people returning back to work days after having their baby, I feel so lucky to live in a country where maternity leave is accessible to the majority. In the UK, if you are eligible for statutory maternity pay, you can be paid up to 39 weeks for it. The first 6 weeks is normally 90% of your earnings, then the following 33 weeks is at £145.18 a week after that.
But, if you’re using to dual income household, particularly in both of you work full time, then the hit in pay can seem like a lot, just at a time when you’re probably paying out for more things!
Of course, sleep deprivation and having your world turned upside down can help in terms of your spending habits; you may well be too tired to leave the house or think about shopping or anything. Especially in the first few weeks, which tend to pass by in a bit of a blur.
But, there are some things you do to prepare yourself for being on maternity leave, plus things to do whilst you’re in the middle of the baby phase.
Firstly, do a new budget. Write a budget that has your partner’s income plus your basic maternity pay (£580.72 in a four week month) so you can work to your new income level. You might need to scale back on some categories within your budget, such as entertainment or going out, but chances are you won’t miss these anyway! If you can, manage on this budget before you go on maternity leave as well, so you’re getting used to it beforehand. Remember, the tax you pay whilst on maternity pay will be very little, if anything at all.
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Try and save some money for when you’re on maternity pay. If you’re trailing living on a reduced income beforehand, then save the surplus into a savings account. If you need some extra during maternity leave, then you might have a bit to dip into. This means being particularly strict with yourself though! But, if you could save £900 before you go onto maternity pay, then you could give yourself ant extra £100 a month, if necessary. And, if you don’t need to use it, then it could go into your emergency fund pot or another savings pot.
Buy things in bulk to save money. You can save quite a bit of money buying things in bulk. Once you know what brand of nappies you might use then you can buy them in big packs to save on money. Same with wipes and nappy bags. All of the essential items for a newborn 😉 this can especially be good if you have lots of space to store things. And it doesn’t have to just be baby items either – it could be household items, like toilet roll too! The more you have beforehand, the less you need to spend plus it’s something else you don’t need to think about.
Remember, you don’t need a lot of things for the baby. Firstly, a lot of people will buy you gifts once the baby arrives, so you’ll have plenty of baby grows and other cute baby clothes – people just can’t help it. Plus, they don’t need a lot of things in the early days. If you keep your little one just dressed in a vest and a baby grow then they’ll be happy and warm. Plus a nappy, obviously!
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Use cashback sites for shopping. Chances are you might be making some big purchases online (such as a cot, pram and car seat) so don’t forget to go through a cashback site first. Topcashback and Quidco are the two I use and they are great; you could be getting quite a sum back from the purchases you were going to make anyway. This can be used whilst on maternity leave, though some of the cashback does take a while to clear.
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Make sure your household bills are the best ones for you. Check your gas and electricity usage, insurance, everything! Use a comparison website to see if you’re on the best deal and if you’re not, try and switch. It won’t take that long and you can make some serious savings over a year this way.
Check to see if you’re entitled to child benefit or child tax credits. Depending on what your household income is, you might be entitled to various payments from the government, up to two children. It is back paid as well, so if you don’t get round to it in the first few weeks, if you do register and are entitled, they’ll pay it from when your baby arrived 🙂
Get rid of your old stuff! You are probably having to sort out one of the rooms in your house to be the new nursery, which is an exciting time. But, it also means having a general sort out and tidy away. If there are multiple things in your household you no longer use or need, then sell them. Either pop them on ebay or Facebook marketplace and get some pennies for the things you no longer need! I regularly have things we no longer need listed on ebay and it ticks along nicely. You’d be surprised at what people buy too 🙂
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Use your Keep In Touch (KIT) days. When you’re on maternity leave, you are entitled to 10 KIT days. These are days at work which you are paid at your daily rate for! I’m actually only using one of mine, but you can use the full 10 which would be a welcome boost to maternity pay, especially towards to the end.
Use online surveys to get income/vouchers. In the middle of the night when you’re feeing for the umpteenth time and desperately trying to stay awake, why not do a survey and earn some points that way? You’re awake anyway and they don’t take that long to do and it soon adds up. My favourites one is Swagbucks, which you can exchange points for vouchers or cash.
So there you have! Some hints and tips on how to survive on maternity pay. It is possible, during one of the best times ever. Having a baby is a wonderful thing, so you don’t need to be worrying about your finances at the same time 🙂
Would you add anything else to this list? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
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I’d also suggest checking whether your reduction in pay means over the year you’ve earned less than the tax free allowance. Depending on when your maternity leave starts & ends and your salary you might be able to transfer some of your tax free pay to your husband, it’s worth £230 in your pocket if you are eligible.
Great post. I do and did most of the things you mentioned. The only mistake I made was to not consciously save when I was working towards my maternity. We took a 20k-25k hit after having children and it will cost us £2500 to return back to work due to childcare cost and travel ( living in London) so I am going back to work one day a week and hopefully grow my online blogging business and side hustles to boost our income. I will check out the KIT to see if I can get anything
Thank you! I did most of these either on or after when baby had arrived and wrote about it on my blog too. Saving is a must, I saved £1000 and it helped, living on low income now has driven me to learn personal finance for myself and family.