How to save money on maternity leave

Maternity leave isn’t exactly a relaxing break from work. But it’s such a special time when you and your baby bond and you adjust to the hectic life of being a parent. But, because you’re away from work for a prolonged period, it can have a big impact on your finances, even with maternity pay and the additional benefits. Not to mention all the new things you need to buy, from car seats to cots. This can lead to additional stress on top of you doing your best to keep this tiny new human happy and healthy.

But, there are ways to save so you can lessen some of that financial stress (sorry, there’s not much we can suggest about how to lessen the stress of having a little one). In this article, we’ll let you know how to save money on maternity leave so you can get on with looking after the new addition to your family and less time keeping a close eye on your bank account.

Plan for your maternity leave ahead of time

Thankfully, most of us get a decent heads-up when it comes to maternity leave. That means, you’ll have around eight months to start planning your finances for when you step away from work and your income takes a dip.

Try to start saving money and making a few cutbacks as soon as possible. Focus on monthly bills and see where you can trim those unnecessary things. For example, do you really need all those streaming platforms? And are there changes you can make to your food shopping to reduce your weekly spend?

The sooner you start to make changes, the easier you’ll find it once you bring your new baby home.

Getting your head around your benefits

Every employee is entitled to statutory maternity pay and leave if you make at least £123 per week and have been employed for more than 26 weeks.

Maternity pay

For the first six weeks, statutory maternity pay is 90% of your average weekly earnings. Then for the next 33 weeks, it’s £184.03 or 90% of your average earnings (whichever is less). Then if you choose to take the next 13 weeks, this is unpaid.

Child benefit

Child benefits can be claimed from birth until your child’s 16th birthday, and it doesn’t matter if you have savings or how much income you make. As of November 2024, you receive £25.60 per week for your eldest child, and £16.95 for any additional children you have.

Universal Credit

In some instances, you can claim Universal Credit to top up your income. To qualify, you must:

• Be over the age of 16
• Have savings of less than £16,000 in your bank account
• Not be subject to immigration control
• Have the right to live in the UK
• Consider your partner’s income

The amount you will receive depends on your personal circumstances, so make sure to be open and honest while applying, which you can do during your maternity leave.

Child tax credit

You only qualify for child tax credit if you already receive working tax credit. You will be paid every four weeks, which can be broken down as a family element of up to £545 per year (as of November 2024) and the child element, which is up to £3,455 per year.

Each of these can help increase your income during your maternity leave, which means your reduction in pay from your employer can sting just a little bit less.

Create a maternity leave budget

When you know how much you’ll bring home each month, through a combination of maternity pay and benefits, you can create your maternity leave budget.

Combine your household income and add it to a spreadsheet which deducts your monthly outgoings, including rent/mortgage, utilities, food and essentials.

You’ll also want to include other outgoings, like trips out, entertainment and travel, and whether or not you can continue to put money away. It’s always worth having some money tucked away in the event something unexpected happens (which, when you have a newborn, can be a regular occurrence).

When you have your budget laid out in front of you, you can see clear areas where you can make changes, which makes the whole thing seem a lot less scary.

We spoke to Alison Green, director at, WOMBA (Work, Me and the Baby) who shared her advice for saving money; “We often hear working parents thinking about their incomes individually and perhaps reaching the conclusion that it's not worth one of them (often the mum) working due to the high costs of childcare.

“Thinking about household income and taking a medium term as well as short term view can be a good basis for decision making for the family as whole and the careers of both parents. With this in mind, before maternity leave, try to review your finances jointly.

“Having a baby will change the way you deal with joint decisions around household budgeting. So as a couple set aside some quality, uninterrupted time to talk frankly about money and get into the habit of doing this regularly."*

Focus on baby-related expenses

When you have a little one on the way, try to focus on those baby-related expenses. Babies can be expensive, especially if it’s your first and you don’t have all of the important things you need, like a cot, pushchair, car seat, high chair, clothes, nappies… the list goes on.

If family and friends have had babies, don’t shy away from accepting hand-me-downs. Lots of these baby items are expensive, so while you might want everything to be shiny and new, you can save a lot of money with second-hand things.

When you need to make purchases, there are also ways to save money. If you’re expecting during sale season, why not get a head start and keep your eye out for a better deal? Or, use voucher codes at baby-related retailers to save money on purchases. Here at Savoo, we offer up-to-date voucher codes for retailers including Boots, Argos and Smyths Toys, and specific baby items like clothes, maternity items, car seats and prams and more.

And of course, there’s also a registry. Your loved ones may be generous around the time the newest member of the family arrives, so make a list and ask them to help out with some of those must-have expenses.

Try to avoid getting into additional debt

Do your best to avoid dipping into your emergency funds, especially for things that are non-essential. And especially don’t make those kinds of purchases by using your credit card or taking out a loan. The interest can very quickly get out of hand and can have a major impact on your outgoings, which can make things tricky when you’re bringing home less money each month.

If you have existing debt, consider consolidating it into a lower-interest loan or interest-free credit card. Make sure any debts you have are included in your maternity leave budget plan so you know how much you’ll need to pay each month.

Consider work from home opportunities

While looking after a baby is hard work and time-consuming, there will be times when they’re asleep or keeping themselves occupied. That means, when you’re not catching up on housework or sleep, there might be an opportunity to make some additional money.

See if there are ways that fit into your knowledge or skills where you can make some additional money. This could be through freelance work, tutoring or even online surveys. Just make sure you don’t make too many commitments and give yourself needless stress.

Think about what comes next

Once your maternity ends, you’ll need to make a decision about what comes next. Whether you decide to leave employment and become a full-time parent or go back to work. Whichever you choose, you’ll have money to think about. This could be learning to live with a further reduced income or finding ways to budget for childcare. If you’re in a position to, try to plan for this as far in advance as possible, and save money during your maternity leave.

What this looks like is down to you, your wants and needs, and your family’s financial situation. Just make sure you keep your spreadsheet up to date so you have an accurate picture of your money.

Save money on baby purchases with voucher codes from Savoo

With less money coming in, it can be difficult to know how to save money on maternity leave. After all, maternity pay will only get you so far. But, there are ways to cut costs and boost your income to make things a little easier, so you can focus on your new little bundle of joy.

Here at Savoo, we have a huge selection of up-to-date voucher codes which means you can spend less on those important things. Browse our voucher codes now and discover a new way to save and help your maternity pay go further.