Money and Maternity Leave

I’m planning on taking 12 full weeks for maternity leave. I’m very, very fortunate that I have short-term disability available through my company. Still, I’ll only be receiving 60% of my paycheck, and after paying all my bills, I’ll have a whopping $115 to get through the month. This at a time when we’ll have mega hospital bills (especially if I end up having a c-section) and taxes will be coming due.

It’s a scary thought. In preparation for the squeeze, Kellen is paying off an outstanding loan to his parents and his credit card in the next three months so that all of his extra income will be available to help pay for our regular expenses. I’m chunking money back into the savings account like it’s my job…because in a few short months, it kind of will be replacing the income from my job. That, and an extremely retro allowance from my husband to buy groceries and baby supplies while he’s off at work. Ugh. I feel icky just typing that.*

I hate the idea of being financially out of control. I grew up in a house where money was always tight, and where I think I internalized a lot of my parents’ (especially my mom’s) money anxiety. It’s something that’s never really gone away, and now, even when we make a comfortable income, I still worry a lot about money. Adding a baby to the mix, AND taking away a chunk of my income for 3 months? Needless to say, it’s not something I’m looking forward to. I know we’ll make all of our bills, but everything else? It’s going to be a lot harder.

How did you/are you planning to handle maternity leave and the money situation while you’re out of work for a few months?

* Note about me: I grew up the daughter of a mom who was the primary bread winner who was also the daughter of a mom who was the primary bread winner. My grandmother–who was married from 18 until 80, raised 4 children with that man in the 50s and 60s, and rolls her eyes at feminists–told me when I announced my engagement that the best advice she had to give was to keep my financial independence. The women in my family have always worked. Even when they didn’t have jobs outside the home, they still could drive a mule and plow a field and pick cotton the same as a man. Without meaning in any way to be negative toward SAHMs, I was raised in a family where a woman contributing financially was an important and powerful thing…both for her and her family. So I have a hard time with the idea of relying on someone else to pay the bills.

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