How to Survive on Maternity Pay
In our previous blog, "Understanding Maternity Leave in the UK", we discussed in-depth the different entitlements employed pregnant women can receive during their maternity leave, depending on their eligibility.
We're fortunate that Anna can maximise her statutory maternity leave and take 52 weeks off work.
This means she can spend more time with our newborn kid and enjoy a well-deserved break after another pregnancy.
However, this one-year maternity leave comes with significant financial challenges.
During this time, Anna is entitled to maternity pay, structured as follows:
Basic full pay for the first 26 weeks, as per her company's maternity policy; and
Statutory maternity pay of £184.03 per week for the next 13 weeks.
Anna will have no income for the last 13 weeks of her maternity leave.
What strategies can we implement to address the financial gap during the latter half of Anna’s maternity leave and ensure we have enough money to support our family?
Review Our Budget
We'll look closer at our budget to identify unnecessary costs we can cut back.
Then, we'll create a monthly budget designed to ensure financial stability.
Gabes wants to ensure Anna fully enjoys her maternity leave without fretting about finances. The last thing he wants are money worries overshadowing this special time in her life.
The goal is to minimise as much financial stress as possible to promote the well-being of Anna and our entire family.
Kill All Debt
We use our credit cards for many purchases. Typically, we pay off the outstanding balance the following month.
We're scrutinising all our credit card usage to ensure we don't kick off Anna's maternity leave with outstanding debts.
Our objective is to save money, especially in the months leading to and the first half of her maternity leave.
So, we're setting aside a portion of our monthly earnings to build a financial buffer in our bank account.
We want to be able to provide ample financial support to our family during the period of reduced income after the first 26 weeks of Anna's maternity leave.
Allocate Some "Play Money" for Anna
Anna has made it clear she doesn't want to feel bored during her maternity leave.
Knowing her, just focusing on the baby won't cut it.
Anna thrives on activity. She always needs something to keep her energised and excited.
We plan to set aside some cash specifically for outings and socialising.
This will allow Anna to have lunches with friends, catch-up sessions over coffee, and whatever else comes up to keep her on her toes, loving every moment of her maternity leave.
Avoid Overspending on the New Baby
When we were expecting Jere, our first child, we overestimated our needs. So, we overspent.
We've learned from that experience, so we're careful not to let it happen again.
Our first agenda is to carefully sift through Jere's items to know what we can let go of and what we can keep to pass down once the new baby is born.
Moving forward, we're adopting a more practical approach, only purchasing the essentials.
This will allow us to avoid unnecessary expenses and ensure we're well-prepared without excess clutter.
The Bottomline
Although we're covered for the first 39 weeks of Anna's maternity leave because of her company's contractual maternity pay, it's still difficult to navigate the remaining 13 weeks without any of her income at all.
Our proactive approach of saving money, killing our debts, and budgeting accordingly will let us enter Anna's maternity leave without money worries.
By exercising financial discipline and planning carefully, we're confident we can remain financially resilient while ensuring Anna can enjoy her maternity leave to the fullest.
If you're expecting a new baby like us, how do you prepare for your parental leave and baby's birth? How do you budget your maternity pay or limited household income while you're off work and caring for a newborn?
We'd love to know more about your personal experiences, so please leave a comment below.
To learn more about maternity leave in the UK, read our latest blog post here.
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