Single Mummys??

Hi Ladies,

I am posting a question because I want to be able to offer a close friend some advice/info. She has just found out she is UTD, and although her DP is being some what supportive at this point I don't know how long this will last (he seems to be putting on the pressure for her not to keep the bub).

So just wanted to know how single mums out there get by, as finances seems to be her main concern if he doesn't stick around?? She will need to find some where to live so rent, bill and things like that.

I had my 1st at 21 but was lucky to have a very supportive DP now DH. I want to be able to help her make a desicion for HERSELF not based on him IYKWIM.

Any info would be great.

Thanks Ladies:)

Tell her to check out the Centrelink site, there she will find out what she will be entitled to when the bub comes.

Jaffaz- im a single mummy :) My XP left me i think nearly 3 months ago, due to "partying" commitments, whilst it is extremly hard as far as finances go she wil be able to do it im not by any means saying it will be easy because its simply not but you just make do. I work 6 days a week unfortunatly but that is simply because the bills need to be paid.
I would suggest she call up C/L and see what they can offer her as far as money goes.
During the breakup i thought exactly the same thing your friend is thinking but i bit the bullet and left him and havent looked back since.
I pay a morgage and all my bills myself the only thing i get help with is babysitting whilst at work.
but staying with my XP was alot more stressful then stressing about paying bills :)

if you have any other questions feel free to ask!
Hope this helped a little.

Unless she shares a house with someone she will need to at least work part time to survive. PPS is not enough to pay for rent, bills & food with the average rent these days. So if she is working now, tell her to hang on to the job & negotiate part time hours for after her maternity leave. She should be able to survive quite well at first on just the baby bonus, PPS & FTB. I work 3 days a week & live comfortably & am paying off a mortgage. She may be able to survive without working if her CS is for a good amount, but many of us receive small sums so that just is not an option for us.

Has she got family support for the early days. i could have done it without my family. im looking at moving out soon, but its going to be very very tight and i am most likely going to have to go back to work to get by. x but i wouldnt change it for the world x

Thank you for your replies.

I had a look at the Centrelink site and it would be around $1000 a fortnight plus baby bonus at the start so with the baby bonus she would be ok for the 1st 6 months then would have to work to get by just like Satya said. As for CS not sure how that would work out he is on a decent wage but things can always change.

Family support, not sure would depend how they react could really go either way. And as for a job not good, she recently left her job she had been at for 2 years to start at a new company, and today they advised her that the trial period was up and they weren't going to extend her employment and sent her home. Really sucks because she has always been employed and is a hard worker and getting the sack couldn't have come at a worse time. She is going to start looking for a new job so fingers crossed she finds something with a good employer.

I hope everything works out, it's a tough time for her.

Thanks again

Back in the dark ages - almost 10 years ago now - when I was a single parent, I had no idea Centrelink even paid you if you earnt money. I had my daughter assuming I'd get paid maternity leave and when I came back parttime, whatever I got from work was all I'd have to live on. I actually got approached by a Centrelink person in the hospital who gave me all the forms. I got almost a full single parent pension while I took 7 months maternity leave!

Turned out that the ideal situation to be in when you're single is to earn just under the cutoff for the single parent pension - you still get a pension card, seriously discount childcare (this may have changed, its been a long time), and the maximum rates of FTA/FTB. For me it was 3 days a week, which worked out really well. Cushy times. I was getting more in the pocket each fortnight than fulltime colleagues on higher pay bands.

Then I got a non-working partner ... *sigh* that was the end of that ....

The things we do for love :)

im a single mum (not working) and i get about $1000 a fortnight.... i manage to pay rent (i share with a friend though) buy food, fuel, bills etc and have a little bit (as in $50) left over each week. its not much but its enough to live off.
centrelink online services have a calculator where u can estimate how much youll get.
also if your not working you get cheap daycare upto 25 hrs a week (about that anyway) i have DD in daycare 2 full days a week (to give me a break) and it costs about $20 a day. HTH