Maternity Leave

mrs-kay929

I shouldn't be shocked, but I just found out my maternity leave is considered "voluntary leave" and is unpaid. While my husband has a good job, it's not enough to be the sole income for all of our bills. I'm looking for some insight as to how other moms have managed leave without pay, how long you took (the standard six weeks, more time, or less time), and if you have any tips to get through it financially! Asking now since we have plenty of time to start saving up and preparing for that time I'll be out of work. I'm super stressed! 

talldecafcappuccino

That's very frustrating. I'm sorry. I don't have personal experience in this but I read that some folks use short term disability after child birth. I'm not sure if that's an option that would work for you but it might be worth looking at. 

bunniecee

I’m a tattoo artist, which means independent contractor so no PTO of any kind. With my first, which was almost 10 years ago now, we struggled through and I had to go back to work as soon as I was cleared from having my C-section. My husband was working all the overtime he possibly could before and after delivery to keep us going so it was lonely and exhausting most of the time. It felt like we were playing catch-up for awhile after I went back to work, too. I also had a series of health complications which left me on partial bed rest towards the end of the pregnancy so that didn’t help either leading into it. I wish I had some actual advise for how to make it easier, but if you start budgeting now and stocking up on diapers/wipes and anything non perishable or freezable, it helps make covering the other expenses when the time comes a little easier. 

This time around, we’re in a different situation, and I’m so grateful not to be nearly as overwhelmed feeling. I still have no PTO, but at his new job he makes enough to cover things for a little while as long as we are careful budgeting and I’ll definitely be buying things ahead while I’m still earning. I got into once a month cooking awhile back and I think stocking our freezer with meals will be a big help later too. 

Short term disability can be an option but is difficult to have your doctor sign off on if you’re totally healthy and pays so little it’s almost not worth the fight to get it. I got $87 a week when my dr put me on bed rest, and I didn’t receive any of it for months as I fought to get it sorted out. I wouldn’t count on it for really helping, but every little bit helps. 

lulam13

Hey there! I’m not sure what state you are in, but California provides 6-8 weeks of disability pay plus and additional 8 weeks of paid family leave after that. Running concurrently is the Family Medical Leave Act (which is federal) that provides 12 week of unpaid job protection and then CFRA (California Family Rights Act) is an additional 12 weeks unpaid job protection. So we saved a ton before I went out on leave with my first. We budgeted how much we’d need monthly on top of my boyfriend working and receiving benefits or not. I ended up starting maternity leave a month before I was due then totally off work for 6 months. Then I worked my way up from half time for an additional six months. So after a year I was back to full time. I got a lot of push back when I first requested half time work but it eventually worked out. If that’s an option for you it makes the transition back to full time a lot easier. The other thing I did was defer my student loan payments while I was on leave as well as my car payment for 90 days. We also cut back other things like monthly tv, apps, etc. tried to eat cheap and scrimp as best as we could while I was pregnant. The whole goal was to have as much money available while I was on leave in case an emergency came up or I wasn’t ready to go back to work (since I could take up to a year). It’s definitely up to you and what you can do. This is what worked for us. Good luck!