HOW I PLANNED A FINANCIALLY SUCCESSFUL MATERNITY LEAVE
The last month has been a huge time of change for me in my life. I had my first child on June 21st and she has been keeping me very busy since she arrived. Having a child has changed so many things including our financial situation which did not come as a huge surprise to me. For the nine months before the baby arrived I began preparing in advance for the many costs that would arise after her arrival. This includes the costs of my maternity leave and all the expenses that go along with it. Planning for the baby's arrival and the costs of maternity leave began for me soon after I discovered I was pregnant. I knew that the costs involved would be difficult to handle with my current financial situation and so I began searching for ways to cut my expenses, stretch my budget and increase my savings. Since I discovered that I am pregnant with my first child I have started looking for the best frugal deals and freebies.
How I planned a financially successful maternity leave
As you already know freebies and deals are one of my favorite things to pursue. In a situation where we are about to take on many added expenses due to this little one I am in full on frugality mode as I look for the best deals. Before I get started let me share with you just few other ways that I am saving extra money before the baby comes. Starting with a savings challenge that I do every year called the 52 week money challenge. This is one of the best ways that I have tricked myself into saving money because it almost makes saving money more like a game.
Saving all of our change in a jar
Purchasing one item every paycheck to prepare for necessary things we will need once the baby is born.
Cooking more at home and eating out less
Mypoints surveys, coupons, etc to earn extra money redeemable for cash and gift cards
Online survey websites such as swagbucks.com, opinion outpost, survey spot & inspired opinions. To earn more money now and save up some extra money while I am on maternity leave
Cancelling unnecessary subscriptions of any kind that are costing us extra
These are just a few ways that I prepared in advance for the baby on the way. These things that I did to prepare for the new baby on the way helped me save more money overall and ensure a financially successful maternity leave.
Best baby freebies for mom's to be and new moms?
When we decided to have a child I began researching the best freebies offered to new parents. I found some great resources that I link to in this post with photos of the actual items that I received. Some cost a little but most are completely free. Here is the link to the article where I share about these baby freebies. I also share posts on how to get a free breast pump through your insurance. The steps to obtain this breast pump are easy and the pump is a quality pump available through most insurances. Also keep in mind that you do not need everything for your new child. In this post titled must have baby items for new parents I share all the items that I believe are worthwhile and helpful for new parents. These items listed in this post are all items that I myself own and recommend. The items are also reasonably priced and provide my husband and I great value. The links included are all for Amazon where I find they have some great prices on these products. You can however purchase these items elsewhere if you find better deals. These items might also be a great resource for what you want to add to your baby registry for upcoming baby showers in 2020.
How I prepared to cover income and expenses on maternity leave
PTO & sick time
My current job offers Paid time off and sick time. I have been an employee of my company for over 16 years and so both my sick time and paid time off accrue pretty quickly now. I began saving more of my time during this period of time and made sure that I had enough saved up to cover the time I would be taking off.
Short term disability & hospital indemnity
My job also offers the option of some supplemental insurance coverages. When selecting our insurance coverage. This past year in November 2018 I selected both coverage for short term disability and the hospital indemnity coverage. My short term disability kicks in to cover 60% of my income during the period of time that I am unable to work. This begins paying 14 days after my last day at work and is a huge help to supplement my income and stretch my remaining paid time off. The hospital indemnity coverage costs approximately $20 per pay totaling $480 out of my paycheck for the year. Upon my hospitalization I receive a one time payout of $1500 for the actual hospitalization and a payout per day I am hospitalized of $150. This is a great way for me to cover additional costs related to my hospitalization such as the bills related to my yearly deductible. I just received my check from Voya for $2100 for the entire hospitalization and it took about two weeks to receive the check once the claim was filed. If your employer offers something similar I encourage you to do the math and find out if paying for the coverage could benefit you as well. Be sure to ask questions though and make sure pregnancy is covered and if you are currently pregnant that there is not a preexisting clause in the policy.
What I found that could help stretch my budget once the baby arrived
Freebies that you can sign up for and obtain prior to the arrival of your baby
Diaper rewards programs that I joined that can help me earn rewards to get free diapers. Huggies Rewards & Pampers Rewards
I discovered that my insurance would cover a free breast pump for me to use once the baby was born. This was a savings of at least $200 off the pump and was a huge help financially as well.
Things that I began doing to help me upon my return to work
I have been scheduling and going to Dr's appointments and getting the car in for maintenance while I am off work. These are things that I or my spouse would typically need to take extra time away from work for upon my return. I have found this to be extremely helpful at reducing additional time away from work and less stress upon my return when attempting to make such appointments.
I have also found all the documentation and phone calls that would need to be handled for the baby and have begun taking care of this all. Contacting the insurance company, my Human Resources department to add the child and update information needed. Most of this will be much more difficult to handle with my full time job and with the new baby. So I have been prioritizing this during my time away from work to make my life easier upon my return.
I have found my maternity leave to be a very beneficial time off to spend with my new daughter but due to good financial planning it has not been a huge financial strain. I urge you to make good financial choices and be cautious of your spending and savings before your baby arrives. This will help you greatly upon the arrival of your child and will make it easier to not only enjoy a worry free leave but also to stay on top of your finances.I hope you can benefit from the things that I learned and what worked for me. Everyone has a different situation with different employee benefits but I know that there may be options available to you that you did not previously consider. Take some time and discuss your options with a benefit counselor or your HR department if you have questions regarding your company's benefits. They can often give you guidance in selecting the best plans for your situation that would benefit you the most. Keep in mind too that the cheapest plans are not always the best financial decision when you are expecting to be hospitalized or off work. Sometimes you will benefit more from a more expensive plan that will cover more in the long run or pay out when you need it most.
