Finances...

christbscoot · November 2014

Many people will read this and think I'm the biggest idiot, and maybe I am. But I screwed up. I misunderstood our maternity leave here at work. I mistakenly thought it was paid. I now have the biggest pit in my stomach and am in tears over the +10k mistake. How do we do this ladies!? Anyone out there experience something like this? I'm just at a loss.

brody624 · November 2014

Mine is not paid either - but I do have STD insurance through Aflack that I plan on using even though that is not my full pay. DH and I just plan to stash away money during the pregnancy.

It's stressful, but it will all work out! Good luck!!!

notquiteblushing · November 2014

I don't think you are an idiot. A lot of people have misinformation or misperceptions of maternity policies. Hang in there. You still have time to adjust your budget and save.

dkleid · November 2014

I believe I get 1 week paid and the rest is unpaid, I am elligable for STD through work and my company payds up to 60% of my salary while im out. With that being said I will be taking 8 weeks off and then going back to work. I have a meeting with HR later today to figure out all of the details. Good luck!

TheAlmostMom · November 2014

Oh no, that is rough!!

Like PP's have said, start banking vaca time if you can and start getting creative with the budget to save as much as possible. There is still a lot of time before June- you can do this!

erbear84 · November 2014

As a long term substitute, I don't get any leave offered to me. I worked last summer, but not the three before that, so H and I are used to living on shoestrings in the summer. It takes a lot of adjusting but you've got time to think about this now!

christbscoot · November 2014

Wow ladies, thanks so so very much for the support and kind words, this actually lifted my spirits. There are options, just have to dive in and figure it out. Sucks to feel like I'm getting punished for having a baby.

veggiemo · November 2014

No matter what, you're going to make this work. It's so hard not to stress about it, we all do, but things have a way of figuring themselves out. I was so worried about how we would do financially after our first was born and you know what? It just works. Sure, there are struggles, but things even out.

We just got rid of cable and switched to cheaper internet, which saves us $100 a month. Think of things like that where you can cut expenses, even if it's just for 6 months.

I picked up babysitting jobs here and there which also helped with some extra cash. I'm not sure if that's something you do, but a lot of families in my area look for someone to pick up their kids after school and make sure they get fed, etc. In my opinion, it's easy money and people are willing to pay quite a bit.

Not sure if this is an option for you, but another thing we do is only have one nice car, therefore only one car payment. Our second car is a piece of crap, but paid off. I hate driving that thing and it's embarrassing with all the rust and trim falling off it, but it saves us money!

mlp5029 · November 2014

I also have unpaid maternity since I work for a very small company. Not eligible for any kind of disability, either. I have to use up all of my vacation time and sick time, which only will get me to 4 weeks. All of my friends get 12 weeks paid maternity!

My husband and I have taken to finding things around the house to sell. A TV, 2 laptop computers, football tickets, etc. I'm thinking I should start an Etsy shop and sew stuff to sell for crazy amounts while I'm pregnant to make some extra cash!

I feel your pain

Our government should at the very least provide a few weeks paid leave specifically for maternity if your company doesn't offer it!

dojo1 · November 2014

Ok, first take a big breath and know that you will be fine. You will make it work because you have no other choice. The good news is that you're figuring this out now, when you have quite a bit of time to work out what you need to do, as opposed to finding out much later on in your pregnancy.

Now the next thing to do is sit down and build a budget. You're going to look at at least three (but preferably six) months of your spending. Once you have an idea about how you spend your money you're going to separate your spending into "fixed" expenses and "variable."

Now figure out how much income you will have over the course of your leave. Will you have some employment insurance of some type? Does your government provide any funding (in Ontario we have a Universal Child Tax Benefit that pays $100.00 per kid, per month. It's not much, but at the end of the year I'd rather have $1200 than a kick in the pants!).

Now go through your spending and figure out what items you won't spend money on while you are on leave (commuting expenses etc.). Now figure out where you can trim the fat. Almost everyone can cut down their variables and some "fixed" expenses can be dispensed of completely or reduced (cable / internet / little perks). Figure out what your deficit is going to be during your leave.

Now figure out what you need to save pay cheque to pay cheque to get you where you need to be for mat leave. Don't forget you're going to have expenses with the baby that you'll need to figure out too. I typically add 10% slush fund for this.

You can do it. You need to be dedicated and realistic about what you can trim out. Don't freak. You'll be fine and your precious little baby will have everything it needs.

opheliacantswim · November 2014

Lots of good advice here. The Bump at its best!

I don't have a lot to add, OP, except that, as others have said, you can probably trim a lot from your budget, and the little things will add up to big savings. For instance, we're down to $65 per week on groceries (which is really cheap for us, anyway), just by working hard to make meal plans and avoid eating out. We also save a lot on gas by DH and I riding to work together whenever we can, and we have Netflix instead of cable. These are little things, but they do add up.

GL!

dojo1 · November 2014

@emilyzemily I love this idea! Make a little extra cash and get a job done!

@opheliacantswim - I recently caved into DH's pressure to cut the cable and get netflix instead. We save $50/month and I don't miss cable much (and if anyone had an intense love affair with cable it was me). The savings are totally worth it.

KonaCoffeeBean · November 2014

I'm self employed, and the bread winner for more household, so I'm also feeling pretty anxious about financing my maternity leave. One thing that is is helping me feel better is getting my post-leave plans in place. Getting on a daycare waiting list so that I know that I will be able to get back to work as soon as I am ready, and not clamor for child care. Also, finding child care that works in our budget, so that I know that if we fall behind financially a little bit while I'm not working, I know that will not be an indefinite situation.

andkue02 · November 2014

One thing we did that helped a ton is to start paying a daycare bill as soon as we found out we were expecting. That money went straight into our savings account and we had a nice safety net by the time baby arrived not to mention were already in a groove financially. Now that baby #2 is on the way we are doing it again and have quite a bit saved already!! Good luck!

AeneaGrace · November 2014

On a lighter note, even when we do go out to eat, we're saving money by not drinking! I love wine, but man that dinner bill looks good without the extra $10-20

gabriellamason93 · November 2014

Oh my this is terrible

gabriellamason93 · November 2014

Most of my comment has been removed, it continued as follows; we're really lucky over in England, makes you appreciate what you get. As for financing, all anyone can suggest is save save save and get really thrifty with nursery decorations and Christmas gifts. Also if you have spare time make something creative that people will want to buy. I've seen mod podge shoes sell on social networking sites for £50+ just because they are "decoupage" also try and look for a high interest savings account, I have no idea what it's like in America but over here loyal customers can get a 5% increase over a year and sometimes more. Obviously it depends on how much goes into the account to how much you get back but every little could help. I really wish you the best and hope you work out your situation

bee19831 · November 2014

Best of luck with everything , Iam blown away by the amount of leave new moms are getting in the states! That's really awful! Iam in British Columbia , I get 1 year paid maternity not my full wage but it's not bad, I'm not complaining ! I still get a year! And money!

leenziepops · November 2014

Wow im so sorry. We're very fortunate in Australia so im feeling really awful for mums in countries who dont get the support. All working mums should be supported. Its not right.

KonaCoffeeBean · November 2014

AeneaGrace said:

On a lighter note, even when we do go out to eat, we're saving money by not drinking! I love wine, but man that dinner bill looks good without the extra $10-20

This is my least favorite way to save money during pregnancy

arosebark · November 2014

I work for myself so no work = no pay. No sick days or maternity leave over here! We're just going to do our best to live off one income for at least a month and then I can try to start working again in small increments.

HChad · November 2014

I completely understand how you feel. I had a horrible job with excellent benefits that I stuck with because of the short term and long term disability, not to mention the health insurance, until we gave up having a baby. I put in my 3 week notice. 11 days after I left, I found out I am pregnant. Now I have a contract position, no paid time off, no disability. But, it's a 9 month contract, so if it's not extended I get unemplyment, LOL

CMDD · November 2014

I'm with you- I'm a private contractor and we are struggling to get by with me working. When the baby comes I won't be working and we are pretty concerned about how to get by. But, we, and You, will figure it out and everything will be okay. The advice from previous posters is great, hope some helped!

TeacherMama7 · November 2014

Rover might be a good way to make extra money! You just watch people's dogs, and get an extra 30 or so a day. We use this service when we travel for our dog and it's wonderful! It's a safe and fun place for our dog and a good way for others to make money. You can dogsit at your house or someone else's house too.

erbear84 · November 2014

All of you that cut cable for Netflix should consider Hulu plus. Most shows are available the next day! H and I cut our bill down this summer and will likely get some rabbit ears and cut it down more soon.

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