Bills on unpaid maternity leave?

Question

How do people manage to pay for all their bills when maternity leave is unpaid? We have to save I know that. I am guessing I will have to apply for credit cards to be able to pay for this car payment when I am being unpaid. Any other suggestions that aren't so harsh as getting credit cards??

Answer

When we planned to have a baby we knew my income would be low for 3 months on leave and we took that into account so we save and I have money set aside. Not to sound rude but you have 9 months or longer to plan. Maybe it's just me but we budget out things pretty well.

Answer

If you absolutely have to make payments with credit, I suggest doing a line of credit instead of a credit card. If you do a credit card, you'll probably have to take out a cash advance to pay your car payments with and those interest rates can be insane (upward toward 30% and accrue daily). A line of credit will be a much lower interest rate, or even a personal loan. Speak with a personal banker at your institution to see what their lowest rates are to make a decision best for you. Also, a credit union will 100% always have better rates than a bank so that's something to consider as well.

Answer

Ive been working on getting all my bills ahead so I have no actually payments due while I'm on leave.  My husband will still be working,  he may take a week off but can't take more unpaid.

Answer

We can do nothing but save and save a lot. We don't want to be in any debt with our baby so no credit cards here. Cut down all unnecessary expenses to save up every scrap of penny. We are even refinancing our house because it will save us 100 bucks.

Answer

My Accountant handles it , by accountant I mean husband. We've been planning and saving since I found out I was pregnant so as to avoid having to use credit to pay bills . 
I did get a couple of weeks paid maternity though but didn't count on that .

Answer

How long are you taking off unpaid? Does your household have other income?? I personally think the credit card idea isn't a good one because when you go back to work you'll have to pay regular bills and the credit cards AND take care of a new baby. That's a lot finically.

Saving enough money so that you can cover your monthly bills  while on leave is the best idea. If your only taking the normal 6-8 weeks off that shouldn't be to challenging.

Answer

We set aside an extra 10k when we were TTC just so the stress of going to one income wouldn't be so dramatic. 
We have continued to save and lay down a budget on top on those savings.

We made sure my husbands income, plus what I will still make on leave covers our bills. 
We are going to fine we are lucky to have well paying jobs but having a financial plan and saving is extremely important. 
I would ask for cash gifts from close family rather than open up credit cards. That can get dangerous fast!

Further, I haven't had a car payment in year but I remember when I used to years ago I was able to pay them in advance so whenever I made a big chunk of money I would make 4 or 5 payments and not be penalized if I skipped a month. I got ahead of them. Perhaps now is the time to call the loaning bank and see if you can pay ahead now so you don't need to worry about it in the few months after birth.

We also are cloth diapering and breastfeeding. Mostly for ethical and personal reasons but it saves A LOT of money. What you save there would probably cover months of car payments.

Finally, don't be scared to ask for help. Now is the time to make sure your little family is financially fit and healthy! Don't take steps back, there are a lot of resources available to help new families keep finances under control. Remember you have to save for baby's future too!

Good luck.

Answer

As soon as we got our bfp we began saving because we knew that maternity leave is unpaid and short term disability only pays 60%. I am taking 12 weeks off and he is taking 6. You definitely can apply for credit cards to supplement but carefully weigh the pros and cons out thoroughly. I hope everything works out for the best for you and congrats!

Answer

Ever since I found out I was pregnant, we've just been saving as much money as possible. I'm not getting paid for my time off, so I wanted to make sure we have enough in savings to cover my part of the bills, if anything. My husband is going to try to pay everything, and my credit cards I'm going tk take from savings to pay those. Whatever else we need like groceries and whatnot,  if we need to, well just use the savings. We've managed to save a decent amount, and still have some time left to put more away. I'm not really worried about it.

Answer

I think about this often. Yes you have time to save but unexpected things happen. I have 2 credit cards that I try to keep low balances on and they will come in handy. Try to save as much as you can. Of course keep everything low by unplugging things before leaving the house (I do or at least try to remember) trying to wash large loads and only on one day. It's stressful to think about and it may be some days when it drives you into a panic because something won't be paid on time or in full. Reminder a lot of places do payment plans of you get into a bind.

Bills on unpaid maternity leave?

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