Community: Real Life

Baby on a budget

When Daniela realised she was pregnant, she had no idea how she would cope on such a low income, even with the help of her boyfriend. She talks to TheSite.org about how they survived financially.

Mother and baby

Daniela's pregnancy came out of the blue

My boyfriend and I had only been living together for nine months when I found out I was pregnant. I was 22 and wasn't planning on having children for a long time. It scared me to think I was going to be responsible for another life, but I knew we had to find a way to cope.

We were both working, but we weren't earning much. My job in a kitchen showroom brought in under £1,000 a month. My partner, Paul, was earning much less as a part-time delivery driver, while trying to start his career as an animator.

Disaster struck when my employer made me leave my job once he found out I was pregnant. As he was also my landlord and gave us really cheap rent, we felt we couldn't take him to court, so I was forced to find a part-time job. This made our joint salaries about £8,000 a year, which was incredibly difficult to live on.

Money worries

Times were hard and we had to make a lot of sacrifices to survive. Our kitchen was really old, but we couldn't afford to do it up. There were holes in the stairs and floorboards and cracks in the windows, making it more expensive to heat the house. We couldn't afford proper repairs to our property and our landlord didn't think he was responsible for them because of the cheap rent.

We were desperate for money, but I didn't think I'd be entitled to any benefits as I was working part-time and living with my partner. I thought only single mothers could get help. The only benefit I claimed for was Maternity Allowance, which helped us buy the things we needed to prepare for the baby.

"We were desperate for money, but I didn't think I'd be entitled to any benefits as I was working part-time and living with my partner. I thought only single mothers could get help."

Soon after our daughter was born, we heard Paul might lose his job. With the new baby, costs really started to mount. I was spending about £80 a month on nappies and formula milk and around £50 a month on clothes. In total, including bills and food, our budget was about £350 a month.

Without the money from Paul's job, there was no way we could survive. A few weeks before my maternity allowance ran out, a friend suggested I find out if I was entitled to other benefits, so I looked at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website and phoned its helpline number. I found out we were eligible for a lot of help from the Government.

Financial help

When I contacted HMRC, I discovered I was entitled to child benefit of about £60 a month, which they backdated for us. We also claimed child tax credit, giving us an extra £100 a week, with the baby element being especially useful.  Later on, we also found out we were entitled to working tax credit, which also helped cover costs.

Even with all the benefits, we found it really difficult to get by and were short each month. Paul owed about £1,000 on his overdraft which, when you're on a shoestring budget, can be very hard to recover from. Luckily a few windfalls stopped us falling further into debt. The bank owed us money which, along with an insurance payout from a car accident, both helped.

Going back to work

I decided to go back to work after calling the HMRC helpline to find out if we'd be better off. They told me about the childcare element of working tax credit, which helps with the cost of childcare for working parents and entitles three and four year-olds to free early education. As we chose a private nursery, we have to pay a little towards it, but if you're working over 16 hours, the Government pays about 80% of the fee, which is fantastic as it means I'm not just working to pay for her nursery fees.

Bringing up a child on a budget is hard but there are resources out there that can really help. I'm so glad I contacted the HMRC hotline and checked its online resources to find out what I was entitled to. The Citizen's Advice Bureau can also provide information. My advice to young mums is to not be afraid to ask family members for help if you're finding it difficult to cope. You don't have to struggle alone.

Interviewed by Marcella Carnevale

Updated: 26/05/2010


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