aflight84

Hi Girls,

I was wondering if any of you out there are worried what happens after baby arrives.

My Husband and I have a lot of outgoings each month that we just couldn't afford to pay if I gave up work, thankfully my mum has offered to help look after the baby but her health isn't so great so I'm a little worried about that.

The two options I have are to either wait 4 years until all debt is paid off or think what the hell, do it now and struggle. Others people do it all the time?

I just want to know that I can give my child all that it needs and wants.
I could go to just 4 days a week and only be £150 a month worse off which is always an option but i couldn't afford to do any less hours than that.

What would you do?

Anna

krissi

Would you not be entitled to working family tax credits which helps towards child care?

aflight84

If i were to use childcare it would cost over £800 a month full time. I've been looking into tax credits and i've heard so many bad stories about them. In the paper on sunday a women's been made bankrupt because they messed up her payments so badly.
It's a real worry to me

krissi

A lot of employers now have creches and new employment laws say they have to be flexible for working mums. My boss is great and has adapted my role so that when I am finally prggers i can come in with baby a few days and work from home for the rest. Perhaps it may be worth looking around at what is available x

aflight84

i think i would be able to change my role to work 4 days a week for sure, not sure about working from home as I look after the sales force for the whole of UK.

Schmelly

I'm self employed so the good news is I can fix my hours to suit me. The bad news is that I wouldn't get maternity pay...just the basic government maternity allowance.

It does worry me, but somebody once told me that if you wait until you are 'ready', you'll never have kids at all! To me, having children is more important than the money, and if we have to struggle for a while then so be it. I'm in my 30's now, so don't want to wait any longer in case I miss my chance.

owo

I agree with Schmelly that if you wait until you can afford kids you will never have them.
I too am worried about how we will afford childcare as we will need to buy a bigger house(only have one bedroom) which means bigger mortgage and living in the London commuter belt means pricey, so we have to have two salaries. Realistically we have three times monthly income to my sister and although they struggle at times always find a way, so if she can do it then i know we can. I don't think it matters how much you earn you always live to your means and i'm sure that you will find a way when the time arrises.

aflight84

my dad said that exact saying to me a while ago - i know your all right.
do you think it "matters" that i wont be around 4 days a week during the baby's first couple of years?! they say you can miss so much?

krissi

You will shower the bay with love when you are there, as long as you make the time you do have together quality time then thats all that matters x

owo

i too have thought about the fact that i won't be around. But i think it means that you will just grab every moment when you are with them in the evenings and at weekends and that time will be quality time. i don't mean to offend those that are planning to stay at home, but i think that if you have something all the time you take it more for granted then if you only have the evenings and weekends. That's just my opinion and probably how i'm trying to make myself feel better for abandoning my child in daycare when the time comes. But i know there is no other option. DH has said that he would quit his job that he loves and get a job in London that pays a lot more, but i don't want him to give up a job he loves as it is so rare these days.