So firstly I want to say thank you to Marcie for hosting my blog post today! It means a lot when other bloggers do this, and I am absolutely excited to be here! My name is Dr Nikki Ramskill, and I am a GP in Milton Keynes with a specialist interest in how money affects our health and well-being. I run a blog called The Female Money Doctor which is full of handy ways you can boost your finances for the better without being stuffy and boring. For my post today, I want to get you prepared for maternity leave. Even if babies are not on the cards yet (or even if you have finished having your babies) this advice is crucial to your overall financial well being. Getting Prepared I used to work in the field of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and I know very well how expectant mums are planning for their baby’s arrival. They make sure they take their vitamins every day (particularly vitamin D and Folic Acid), and eat a healthy diet. They avoid alcohol and try to stop smoking. Women general attend every scan and every midwife appointment without fail. They prep a bag for the time of going into labour and this contains everything from nappies, to numerous baby grows, bibs and even snacks for the labour! But what about their finances? Preparing Your Money For What Is About To Come When women have children, they are often taking maternity leave to do so. Some choose to go back to work quickly, but on the whole, maternity leave is universally enjoyed to a certain extent. Have you looked at how your finances might fare during this time? Maternity leave payments vary hugely between employers. In my field of operation, the NHS, women receive different rates depending on how much service they have provided. http://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/pay-and-reward/agenda-for-change/nhs-terms-and-conditions-of-service-handbook/parents-and-carers/maternity-leave-and-pay-section-15 They are better off if they have worked for 12 months continuously prior to becoming pregnant, vs. 26 weeks prior to pregnancy, vs. not meeting any eligibility criteria at all! If you want to know what you might be entitled to, then try out this government calculator. https://www.gov.uk/pay-leave-for-parents Being fore-warned with how much pay you’re entitled to while on leave can be the difference of more precious weeks at full or half pay vs. £145 a week only! This will get your prepared for what will change for you in the months ahead and also will help you check your employer is paying you properly. So Now You Know How Much You’ll Receive, What Next? The next step depends on your plans. When would you ideally like to go back to work? If you think it will be within the time you receive full pay, and you have childcare covered, then there’s no issue. However if you want to have a whole year off, then you’ll need to sort your cash flow out ASAP. How are you going to fund the gap in pay when it drops? If you have a partner who is earning well, and can accommodate this, then that’s brilliant! But what if your partner can’t? Please don’t underestimate this, because I know of women who have had to resort to foodbanks to feed themselves while on maternity leave because they can’t afford to buy food. This is heartbreaking and shocking. Don’t let this be you. Remember also that medical conditions may require you to start your maternity leave earlier than planned, and your finances will then need to adapt accordingly. Having a plan gives you the flexibility you need to be able to cope financially. Things You Can do Now Firstly pay off as much debt as you possibly can. Ideally before you even plan to have kids, but I admit that life doesn’t always work like this. Use the snowball method to do this quickly. You can google the method or check out the freebie section of my site for a free ebook on the topic to help. The other thing you need to be doing at the same time as paying off debt is to build an emergency fund. This is generally a sum of money that will cover you financially for when things go wrong. If you have time and enough additional income, aim for an amount that plugs the gaps when your pay drops while on maternity leave. In order to build up this money, you need to have a decent budget to start with. Trim as much as you can out of it and update all your bills. When was the last time you checked your gas and electricity tariff for example? What other things can you ditch? Check all subscriptions and miscellaneous outgoings like sky TV. You can make substantial savings from temporarily cutting this off. Sometimes it takes some drastic measures like getting rid of extra cars and changing where you live. Obviously it has to be appropriate for your growing family, but could you try a cheaper area if your rent for example? What Else Can You Do? Many women start doing extra shifts to build up their savings, so if you’re well enough to do this, get these booked in, or find a second job. Look up ways to earn money online. Matched betting, decluttering and selling stuff, online surveys and becoming a virtual assistant are all ways you can bring in more income. Check out my site for access to a free emergency fund challenge that I’m running at the moment with lots of ideas to get started on. When buying things for the baby, recycle, reuse and buy second hand wherever safe and possible. Be wise though, a second hand car seat might not be a good idea if you don’t know whether it’s integrity has been compromised by an accident, but a whole pile of neutral baby clothes may be exactly what you need! Look for specialised market places like little pickles and check out eBay. You can easily look for this using google. You’ll be surprised at what you can find second hand! Final Thoughts The bottom line is, you need to plan for more than just physically getting through the pregnancy. Your money needs just as much attention because this means the difference between shaving precious time from your maternity leave or going into debt, and having more time to be with your baby without the stress and worry of your finances. Good Luck and I hope you have the best time as a new mum! Lots Of Love, Dr Nikki x If you like what you heard today from the money doctor stop by and visit https://thefemalemoneydoctor.com Pinterest.co.uk/thefemalemoneydoctor Twitter.com/femalemoneydoc I always love hearing from my visitors how helpful or unhelpful you have found my blog.
8 Comments
I feel like family planning and finances is something that gets discussed at pregnancy. I'm curious when do you have these conversations with your patients. Is it difficult? I know some women are sensitive about such topics.
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Hi Blu, thank you for your comment! As a GP the idea is to build a decent rapport prior to having this conversation, and very rarely does someone want pre-pregnancy advice and counselling! If a woman has a serious medical complication and pregnancy could affect this, then this is always discussed. Money less so, which is something I want to change!
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Laura
10/9/2018 01:00:10 pm
This is really good advice. When I had my son I took maternity leave but we leaned on my vacation time and then after that it was unpaid.
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Indrani Ghose
10/9/2018 08:37:11 pm
Very helpful tips for moms to be. Budget is equally important. Sometimes we tend to overlook it.
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AuthorHi, I'm Marcie Kenny, the women behind this blog. I am not a mother, but I am number seven in a family of nine. I worked in childcare for many years before retiring; now I enjoy blogging about all that I have learned along the way. Archives
October 2020
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