It’s not a secret that you attain little to no money while you’re on maternity leave. Being on maternity can greatly affect your overall household income and day-to-day expenses.
Some women are the family’s breadwinners, which can affect the household greatly.
This blog post is about how you can survive financially on maternity leave and try to leave the financial stress behind you, so you can focus on taking care of your baby.
Can You Still Earn Money While On Maternity Leave?
In some countries, you can earn money while you are on maternity leave. You may have to be under self-employment or notify the government,
Remember to read the rules and regulations in your country before making any money!
How To Manage Money While On Maternity Leave
Here is a list of 9 ways on how you can manage your money while on maternity leave;
1. Budget
Come up with a budget using a one-person income, or if you get money for being on maternity leave add that income into your budget. See what you can work with while you’re away from work.
2. Eliminate Any Extra Cost
Take a look at your expenses and see if you can cut any extra costs you may have. For instance, it could be subscriptions to TV streams, and magazines, or skipping out on going out for coffee and making it at home.
3. Reduce Bills
This is something you can do with companies. Especially your phone, TV, and internet.
Other ways to reduce bills when it comes to the house is to use less energy and less water.
4. Revise Spending
Take a look at how both you and your partner are spending each month.
Is there a category you can look into a reduce or completely take out? What about cutting the cost of some things?
5. Save Some Money Before The Baby Comes
If it’s possible, try to save some money before the baby comes. This money can go towards diapers, formula, last minute items you need.
Having a stash of money to dip into when the baby comes will help so much,
6. Decide on Time Off For Non-Birth Parent
Getting all the help we need can be a blessing, however, we need to look at if it’s worth the cost of having both parents home.
Maybe having the mom-birth parent home for 2 weeks instead of 4? Or perhaps splitting the maternity leave?
7. See Different Ways You Can Save Money
After looking at your budget you can start looking at ways you can save money. Here is a list of ways you can save money on maternity leave;
- buying second-hand clothes
- Shopping the sales for groceries
- Cooking at home
- Going out less
8. Coming Up With a Side Hustle
A side hustle is something you can do while the baby is asleep or whenever your partner has the baby. This could be an online side hustle or an in-person side hustle.
Currently, right now my blog is money I bring in on the side on top of my husband’s salary. It helps so much when it comes to buying clothes for the baby or any extra hiccups that might happen.
9. Going Back To Work Early
If you find that you and your partner are struggling to make ends meet and you tried everything on this list and more. then it’s time to look into going back to work early.
I have a great blog post that is geared to moms who want to stay at home while also needing to bring in an income.
Overall…
Being on maternity leave is a wonderful thing to do to be with your baby but can come at a cost. Let me know down below how you want to save money while being on maternity leave.
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