Mat pay struggles

Maternity pay is horrendous. For my first child i only managed to save £2k and had to go back to work when he was 5 months old. We were lucky that we have grandparents that could take him 3 days a week whilst we worked separate shifts and had different days off. Last September he got the 15hrs funded childcare hours which I use on a childminder so I actually pay £0 compared to the £200 the nursery wanted out of me every month because the hours are split over the year. I only use my childminder within term time. I am currently on mat leave again and I saved £5.5k before going off. I am hopeful to stay off until at least October this time round with the use of KIT days and savings. I pay half of our bills too plus a few extra bits I need to pay off. I've started selling everything on vinted/Facebook marketplace to get a little extra cash, even if it's just to afford nappies or new clothes for the kids etc. my little boy loves a walk or going to the park! So we have no spend days but it's hard! Xx

My advice for any expecting mum is to save as much as possible from the beginning, especially if they are trying to conceive. With my first, I was still living at home, hence I was able to save a lot more but with my second I ensured to save for the last 3months of no Mat pay and the difference when my pay drops. Maternity Pay is definitely not enough to live on.

I only managed because of savings, otherwise I would have been in a lot of debt!

How much is your partner left with at the end of the month? If it’s more than £70 then you should be splitting it evenly between you. This is his child you are raising too xx

Unfortunately I wasn’t in the position to have savings to fall back on, so yep I’m in a load of debt - but it is what it is.. when I go back to work I’ll recoup.. I’ve really learned that money comes and goes, so enjoy everything when you can because time doesn’t stop x

It's abysmal honestly. Just another way that women are penalised for raising the next generation of tax payers because they must take the time off to heal, bond and raise their littles. I cried so much during my pregnancy because of mat pay being so poor. My fiancé is the breadwinner, but I'm not the type of person who likes people covering my share of bills, even though he has no issues with it, he works hard and he deserves to have disposable income at the end of the month. We fortunately have savings (intended for a mortgage), so will be using those to keep us afloat, especially in those last three months. Hopefully one day they match it at min wage.

Have you looked into different benefits to see if you are eligible? Also selling old clothes on Vinted to try and get new ones is something worth considering, I did it with clothes I hadn’t worn for 1 year plus and managed to get £100 towards another wardrobe (also second hand because clothes are expensive!)

I had to save or else I wouldn’t be able to afford it. My mortgage is £2k a month and my partner can’t afford to pay that himself plus bills so I’ve basically had to save up enough to pay my half of the mortgage for 9 months and then will use maternity pay for bills and food… it’s crazy! Given how bad the economy is at the moment, it’s a joke how little maternity pay is.

I saved a lot of money, currently really struggling! I wanted to try take the extra 3 months off but at this point can’t possible afford it! I can’t claim any universal credit because my partner earns too much! And can’t get the maternity grant because I don’t “fit the criteria” like wtf! I’m completely on your side with this it’s a struggle! If it makes you feel any better I just had my MOT and it was my parents car never had a fail and it’s had its first fail on me🥲 and insurance this month now an extra £57 a month! Feel free to message I could rant all day about money x

@Jamie hi Just out of interest the funded hours can be used for a childminder rather than a nursery how does this work ?

@Sarah I just searched for a childminder accepting government funded hours and/or tax free childcare. I met my childminder and we agreed that my son would attend two days a week on the 15hrs. I applied for the code and I renew it every 3 months and my childminder has my code which she then uses to be paid. If I wanted my son to attend more, I would put money into the tax free childcare account for her to take out of that but so far we haven't needed to do that. When he turns 3 I know I have to pay a consumables charge to her but tbh I would happily pay her that now cause she's amazing. As stated above he only attends in term time so it's fully funded. We use relatives in half terms/summer etc.

Honestly maternity pay is horrendous and as a self employed freelance writer I’ve already made the decision that once we have our second child sometime next year I’ll have to carry on working because literally cannot afford to just live on the statutory pay.

I saved £5k for my first child and I was resentful my husband had money to save and I didn’t as all my maternity wiped mine out so with my second I said he had to save towards me being on maternity too as his children too and I’m staying home getting them into good routines etc (which he likes!) so he is 😃 I would say now I have a daughter I am super passionate about equality for women etc so I don’t feel guilty about him having to pay towards it. They are his kids too and he does know how hard it can be staying home raising children already, especially as we had 2 under 2!

@Jamie ahh ok thank you for sharing the information :)

@Sarah feel free to message if you need any more info!

@Jamie ok thanks :)