When I first found out I was pregnant, one of my first concerns was how I was going to be able to enjoy new motherhood with my new little family on an UNPAID (eek!) maternity leave. I'm a working mama to be with a consistent part time job I go to three to four times a week and I'm not going to lie, my income helps out a lot financially. My husband works extremely hard to provide majority of the finances, but an extra few hundred dollars ain't never hurt nobody especially with the things we're trying to save up for. So what's a girl to do? If you're in the same boat mama don't fear! I'm excited to share how I was able to create a plan of action for my maternity leave and how to maximize the time I get to spend with my little one.
How Much Time Is Too Much Time?
Originally I wanted to soak up an entire twelve weeks of newborn bliss when I was first presented with the task of figuring out how much leave I wanted to take from my job. Upon further thinking I came to the conclusion of taking an eight week leave, six of those weeks are the minimum requirement for the state of Texas + an extra two weeks to spend with my little man. If your income permits or you are a rockstar and started early with your leave savings- you could take as much of a break that you feel is necessary. For me, I didn't start as soon as I would have hoped with savings, but eight weeks fits the timeline of how much I can save between now and when I deliver with it still being a good chunk of time to spend with my baby.
How I Calculated How Much Time I Needed+ When To Stop Working:
Take a second to think about how much time it will take you to save how many missing checks you will have when you take a break from work; for me it was four. For example, I make between $315- $350 each check, on average let's call it $332.50. For an eight week maternity leave that would make four checks that I will be missing for the two months I will be gone. Between now and the time I'm planning to take my leave I have seventeen weeks to save about $1,330 to cover a portion of the finances while I'm out. This formula will be different for each person depending on two factors: income & how much leave you desire. Write down your master plan with this breakdown:
How many missing checks will you have?
How much do you make each check?
Multiply both numbers, and that should equal how much you need to save for your maternity leave!
If you want to get fancy and put yourself on a "savings plan" divide how many weeks you have to save with the amount of money you need and BOOM! You'll have a number of how much to save every week. For me, it's $78.23 equaling 156.46 every two weeks, rounding up to $157 taken from each check.
Are the numbers too high with the amount of time you have left to save before baby comes?
This will be the time to alter your leave date to match how much you can save before then.
Ways To Save:
- Cut The Fast Food: I first cut out going out to eat and all leisure expenses that was zapping all of the extra finances from me. Now I make food strictly from home, pack lunches and snacks for when I go out- shoot, I even make my own decaf iced coffees at home too! If i'm craving a certain food/ snack (this week it's been popsicles!) I budget that item in on my bi-weekly grocery trip to not take up extra money.
- Stockpile: I've been stockpiling diapers, wipes, baby shampoo and laundry detergent on sale since I was eight weeks pregnant to help aid the cost of those pricey pampers down the road; not to mention avoiding unnecessary grocery store trips in the middle of the night. Determine how much you need for your basic living expenses and save the rest to go towards your leave and common household items you'll need.
- Get Creative With Gifts: If friends/family are wanting to get you gifts- ask for grocery, restaurant and gas cards to use during your maternity leave. In the future you'll have yourself some free gas and food to use up when you may be too tired to cook from driving to those early newborn doctor appointments.
- Bulk Up! If you can, try to buy common household items in bulk to maximize savings. Toilet paper, batteries, dish soap and paper products are just a few ideas on what to get. A little pricey but you won't be running out of things any time soon!
- Buy Second Hand/ On Sale Items For Baby: I bought my son's clothes via thrift stores and online discount shops, I hunt for deals online on big baby gear items and saved a tons on items such as his crib and stroller. I made a vow to never pay full price for baby items and to only get the necessities for him. Not only is that allowing myself to keep to a minimalistic way of living, but there are so many great things for babies out there people are practically begging to get rid of for a fraction of the original cost. Don't get it twisted, this is not about being cheap, quality is my highest priority when looking for items to purchase; remember the end goal is being able to get what you need and using the finances you've been given wisely.
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