break down my maternity pay with me: LDN-based girl in her 20s
chapters.
my 9-to-5
what does it take?
how much paid leave?
maternity PAY
now, what?
planning for financial comfort
£500 grant
I'm a London-based girlie, who's 25, has no previous savings, went from childfree to unplanned (and unwanted) pregnancy, and here we are, about to do some girl math as a first-time mum to be.
This is based off my 9-to-5 salary (currently, whilst I'm still working to grow my online business here on in her Full Effect).
JUST TO NOTE: this blog post will not always be the most specific in terms of numbers, for my maternity pay, since I'm still not too sure about certain figures (mostly the ones given by the UK government, once my 9-to-5 stops paying me during maternity leave; such as statutory pay). However, it will list all the type of benefits you should expect to receive as of 2025 UK policies, and is what I expect to have during maternity leave!
my 9-to-5
For some context, my 9-to-5 is currently in the education industry in London, and gives just enough for bills, but my main focus has been to focus on growing my Blog business to set me financially free and become my own boss.
As this is STILL the dream and STILL the goal, I now need to consider how my finances will need to be organised; whilst still relying on 9-to-to 5 pay during maternity, since I haven't made money blogging online yet.
I decided to write this blog post because it could give some insight into how much you might earn in your first year, as a first-time mum in the UK, and SPECIALLY as a girlie who was always childfree up until this point, and therefore had no idea of ever needing to plan for this.
You, sis, are just like me. Have never even spent a second to think about what it could take (financially) because becoming a mother was just never going to happen, right?
Well, it's okay.
Life happens in unexpected ways sometimes, but we are here to take control of our narrative and make the most of our time, no matter what!
what does it take?
First of all, I want to start by saying I AM NO EXPERT and I HAVE DONE NOT NEARLY ENOUGH RESEARCH, but this is based-off my current knowledge on just my 9-to-5 maternity pay allowance, and what people have told me about baby expenses.
Knowing what things us girlies will need to spend money-on is wise, so that we know how to financially prepare; once we combine this knowledge with what money we are receiving during this time (maternity leave).
Maternity pay really varies depending on your job, role, industry, but what doesn't vary as much is the essential expenses necessary to look after a baby.
Now, from the many Tiktok and chats I've had up until now, if we talk about basics (which for me is ideal, to keep it simple), we're talking:
diapers
baby wipes
skin cream for any potential diaper rashes
clothes
formula (if you're not breastfeeding like me, blog post on this here!)
pram
bed
some toys
I mean, I know I said basics, so maybe toys shouldn't be part of the equation but yeah I guess this is an obvious one to add to the list.
I won't try to estimate how much it will, or could, cost me monthly for a newborn and first year of life, since I think this will be very unpredictable and dependent on the month, but I want to make sure I am as mentally prepared as can be, to know what I am financially accounting for, to start saving in bits by then; to have some type of back-up if maternity pay isn't enough.
how much paid leave?
So, the real juice now!!
The breakdown for my maternity pay counts for only 6 weeks full pay, which I was initially not the happiest with since other jobs can provide at least 3 months of full pay (or even 6 months of full pay!), but I will take what I can get!
6 weeks (1.5 months) full pay
12 weeks (3 months) half pay + statutory pay
21 weeks (5 months) statutory pay only
Remainder of 1-year maternity leave (2.5 months)
Any untaken annual leave: for me this is about 4 weeks from 2025 (1 month) full pay and 6 weeks from 2026 (1.5 months)
TOTAL MATERNITY LEAVE: 14.5 months (1-year and 2.5 months).
Out of a full year, I receive some form of maternity pay for 12 months out of the total maternity leave.
Now, how much, is the question?
maternity pay
Translating the above maternity leave into pay, in the same order, for my specific role and salary in London, I will get (VERY) roughly:
1.5 months: about £2700 (£1800 for first month; my usual salary at the moment)
3 months: a bit over £1500 per month (not sure the exact amount)
5 months: about £600 per month (not 100% but should be AROUND this figure)
2.5 months (combined annual leave 25/26): £1800 per month
Unpaid remainder of 2.5 months: £0 per month (where I would try appeal for Universal Credit benefit to try support financially for this period, if needed)
For statutory pay, I used the UK official government website where I used £150 as the figure for statutory pay as my estimate from my Google search, so this is a rough idea as to the figure, rather than a concrete one.
There were also calculators online to try calculate your statutory pay, based on a few factors, but I found it quite confusing to input the necessary data!
now, what?
Well, knowing what our income will be vs the types of products we need to spend money on, ON TOP of monthly bills helps us navigate our finances, as girlies going through maternity.
I definitely would prefer to have specific figures for the income, as well as for the expenses, but this is one of those situations where you cannot plan everything to the detail, since it is quite random.
For example, monthly expenses depend on baby, their needs, how fast or significantly their needs change, and when, and so on.
Talking numbers, my current monthly bills (pre-baby: rent, energy, water, council tax) round up to about £1500 MINIMUM each month (I'm grateful to have a partner so there's dual income which helps!), so baby costs will increase our household expenses, if I had to guess, to probably £1800 MINIMUM; probably more.
How much more? I'm not quite too sure but since I won't be travelling to my 9-to-5, or going out in as spendy ways, I like to think it might help even-out slightly.
planning for financial comfort
How I plan to be as financially comfortable as possible, considering the element of the unknown with a newborn:
buy as much as possible beforehand (so I can allow more time to financially prepare anything savings or extra money in advance for things we might not expect)
find cheap deals wherever I can
borrow products from friends and family who no longer need their baby items (grateful for this too!)
have some savings from now: saving little and consistently (aiming for £150 each month)
know what money I will be earning to know how to spend when baby is here (hence the breakdown above: CHECK)
As for real-world expenses, when newborn is actually here, girl I HAVE NO CLUE. But I look forward to making a whole blog post on this, when I'm going through it so I can share some insight to any first-time mum girlies who want to know what to expect and how to better plan finances for maternity leave.
Once I learn more about this, I will share it here; my personal spendings when the time comes, but for now I wanted to share my personal breakdown of maternity pay (according to leave) as a London-based girlie, working 9-to-5, and still relying on these paychecks to sustain life (whilst my Blog grows in the background of it all).
£500 grant
Just wanted to quickly touch on this one for any girlies, living in the UK, and might be wondering:
“Do you still get the 500 pound grant when pregnant?”
I was wondering the same, and apparently you might!
For those who don’t know, the UK government might be able to give you £500 as an extra help for your maternity leave, and life with a newborn.
From the UK gov website, you would need to apply to receive this £500 grant when pregnant, or up-to when baby is 6-months, but I would check and make sure if I was you, to not miss out!
If I do end up receiving this, I’ll edit this post to update you all!
♡
I hope that helps any girlies out there, who are considering to get pregnant, or might already be!
We can still try to stay on-top of our financial goals, and dreams, regardless of motherhood.
And never forget...
Own your Womanhood. Own your Time.
♡
I’ll be logging updates throughout this whole journey as a mother-to-be, working to be an entrepreneur, but to also still preserve the girlhood within, to try and be her best self, and live her happiest life, so keep-up with me through the blog!
I release a new blog post every Friday at 1pm! (UK-time)
Let me know if you’re in a similar headspace (pregnant or not), being in our 20s is confusing, and taking control of our story is the only way we can take ownership of our happiness and live out our dream life.
I document my unwanted pregnancy journey at 25, taking control of my narrative, figuring out being a girl in my 20s, chasing my dream life, and conquering my boss babe dream of becoming a self-employed, entrepreneur / Blogger!