How did you manage?

[Booties]

Hi Girls,
My pregnancy is ticking away now and have only about 10 weeks to go, the past few weeks I have started worrying about how my husband and I plus our new bub are going to be financially whilst I am not working. I will not get any paid maternity leave.
Does anyone else worry about this and what did you do to overcome it? Any suggestions for people who have already gone through the loss of income?
Thanks - would be nice to know I am not the only one thinking about this.
Booties

[BrightSparkles]

I don't get paid maternity leave either.
I have had all the same concerns... and still having these concerns after some news from wk this morning..
It's all about how well you budget. Get rid of things you don't NEED - Foxtel, contract phones, etc I found I wasn't going out allot so didn't spend money on that kinda thing so was saving on petrol. Also have coffee with friends at home rather than going out - you could have a morning tea where everyone brings a plate. Eat at home rather than going out, hang washing out rather than using the dryer. Try shopping at cheaper places and make meals in bulk where you can so you aren't buying/wasting unnesecary food.
You can do a calculation on the centrelink website to see how much FTB you'd be entitled too and I'm guessing the BB.

HTH xx

[turtleschell]

I didn't get any maternity leave.. and now just living off centrelink and DH income.. We do perfectly fine. obviously we don't dine at restaurants, or go to cinema anymore, and certainly don't do any indulgent shopping, but of course, with a baby, you don't have time for those things, so we don't feel like we are going without at all. We still have enough money to buy DD new toys all the time and we go out for lunch once a week. We just always buy toys/clothes when they are on sale etc, we buy bulk nappies when they are cheap, and to be honest, I feel like we are saving more than ever.

[Peg]

we are very fortunate that we have the baby bonus for 6 mths

i've already taken materinity leave so have stopped getting an income. I've just been looking at ways of budgeting better & shopping at Aldi rather then coles/safeway because groceries are the biggest expense we have.

I've also looked at all our insurances (house, cars, health) to see if we can get a better deal by combining with one provider. I've got a quote thru HBA for all of them and we will be saving just over $1,000 per year by combining them. And much easier to manage with only one mthly fee coming out of the account too. Currently we are with 3 different insurers. I got rid of foxtel last month and my extra mobile phone which is rarely used.

But once you've had the bub, you'll get an extra $380 (?) dollars a fortnight for 6 mths so im sure you'll find that will come in handy.

[sasha]

The baby bonus was a big help; we struggled right at the beginning as M was on a low wage at that time, and for the first few weeks it really was hand-to-mouth. Luckily I was breastfeeding, and I'd stocked up on nappies before S was born, so that helped. Plus we hadn't been that flush before he arrived, so it wasn't too great a change! Don't forget you will probably get something from the FTB. The other suggestions are good ones, too. Also, perhaps you could start trying to live just on your husband's wage now, and try and save most of yours, or put it into things which will help once you finish work (eg buying stuff on special, or paying down the credit card so you'll have less interest on it when you finish work).

If people offer to give you things for free, take them even if you don't know if you'll use them (assuming you've got the room, of course!) I would say 95% of my children's clothing is second hand, but you would never know it - babies/toddlers aren't too hard on their clothes for the first 18 months or so, and they usually grow out of them before they wear them out, so consider second hand as an option. We also swap and get toys from friends with older children, and mine love them, even though they're not "new". Toy libraries are great, and your local (regular) library probably has a story time or something you can take your baby to from when s/he's tiny. Our local libraries have dvds and heaps of other stuff you can borrow, which means we don't generally bother with hiring movies anymore.

It's a bit of an adjustment, but you'll do it! Don't forget mostly what your baby needs is love, food, and clean nappies S/he doesn't have to have the latest cot manchester or matching furniture

[Bloom]

Firstly, I'd suggest doing what you can now to reduce your expenses (as you aren't going to have the time for a while). As mentioned by others, check insurances, reduce any unneccessary spending (eg foxtel, extra mobiles) and get down to the bare minimum.

Go for a big shop at ALDI (or get your DH to do it!) a few weeks before your due date.

Use cloth nappies - terry flats with covers is cheap and simple. Or use the cheapest disposables (many people told me I was crazy for not buying huggies, but honestly I think the cheapies work fine!).

Make your own cards and gifts - this is a big area of spending for us as we have many family and friends, so I spend a bit of time crafting or being creative with cheap things.

Oh and our favourite little indulgence is going out for breakfast - cheaper than dinner and good value. Check out shopper dockets for deals - we have 2 cold drinks and 2 huge full gourment breakfasts for $21 recently

HTHs!

[~Hestia~]

We are on one income & I have to say that it's amazing what you can do without when you have to! We have had some very tight months but always manage to make it to the end of the month. It did play on my mind when I started maternity leave though so I understand your concerns.
As others have said, you will probably be entitled to some payments from Centrelink when bubs is born.
There are some great threads on here on budgeting & meal planning that you'll probably find very useful.
If finances allow, stock up on nappies & pantry items now. Also cook up some meals & freeze them.
Or use cloth nappies. Although there is an initial outlay you'll appreciate not running out of disposables at inconvinient times!
These are things that have helped us. We also don't go out for dinner or movies anymore, although this is more to do with having had a baby it does save some money!
If there is a toy library near you join when bubs is old enough. For a small fee you'll be able to get different toys on loan instead of buying them
I always take advantage of the sales to layby DS' clothes for the next season. As in during summer I'll layby his winter wardrobe, can be tricky to estimate sizes but well worth it!