• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Women Deserve Better

Women Deserve Better: For us, that means better information, better support, and better choices. Life brings challenges. We bring empowerment, because we’ll never underestimate women.

  • Work
    • Find a Job
    • Build a Career
    • Take Maternity Leave
    • Thrive As a Working Parent
    • Know Your Rights at Work
  • Learn
    • Earn Your Degree As a Parent
    • Know Your Rights on Campus
    • Finance Your Education
    • Medical Care for Student Moms
    • Housing for Student Parents
    • Child Care While You’re In Class
  • Live
    • Child Care
    • Feeding Your Family
    • Elder Care
    • Housing
    • Clothes
    • Medical Care
    • Getting Around
    • Money Matters
    • Gardening
    • Special Needs
    • Fun
    • Self-Help
  • Love
    • Adoption
    • Bonding
    • Fathers
    • Your Parents
    • Support Networks
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Contributors
  • Shop
    • Shop
    • View Cart/Checkout
  • Support Us
  • Donate
  • Home

4 Financial Tips for Parents Taking Unpaid Leave

August 6, 2018 by Bethanie Ryan

Thanks to the Family and Medical Leave Act, institutions with more than 50 employees are required by federal law to allow eligible women and men up to 12 weeks of medical leave for specified family and medical reasons. Two of these specified reasons are birth of a daughter or son or adoption of a daughter or son. However, these possible 12 weeks are unpaid, so some parents might wonder, “How can I make this work financially?” Thankfully, there are many options to keep costs low when a baby arrives. Below are just a few tips for working parents who may be considering or taking unpaid leave.

Call on your network.

Child care can be expensive. Luckily, for working moms, calling on your network can be very beneficial whenever you need additional help. Being open with your family, friends, house of worship, or other communities when you need assistance with the necessities like bottles, formula, diapers, etc. can lead to many new connections and friendships. If you don’t have any current connections to your local community though, head over to Facebook. There are many mom/parenting groups available to join, and those parents most likely have hand-me-downs that they are willing to share. Babies grow quickly, so many parents are happy to give away clothes that their own child has outgrown. (You can even give back by giving away the clothes you have once your baby has outgrown them, too!)

Coupon, coupon, coupon.

As you may know, you can find coupons for just about anything. This includes the essentials for babies, like diapers! A simple Google search turns up several companies with coupons or special offers on their own websites (here are some coupons for Pampers). Some extreme couponing can get you double dollars off. Check your local grocery stores’ offers to see what will be on sale with local coupons. Compare prices against competing stores, and then stock up on your cheapest option. (You can get the most bang for your buck if you double up on local and company coupons!) Other companies, such as Target and Costco, also offer credit and debit cards that can give additional bonuses off certain items.

Consider fewer out-to-eats.

Working parents, especially with a new baby, tend to be extremely busy, and usually a good option for an on-the-go parent is a quick trip to a favorite fast food chain. However, frequent trips to get “a quick meal” can add up quickly. Instead, try eating in options to help lower costs. For example, pre-cooked rotisserie chickens at Costco are only $4.99 a piece, but one Chicken McNugget meal at McDonald’s costs $6.49 as of 2018. You can get more than double the chicken for less! If heading to the grocery store really does not fit your life though, try to find coupons for your fast food as well. There are many restaurants who include surveys on the bottoms their receipts which when completed result in free meals.

Check with your HR office.

While 12 weeks of unpaid leave is protected under federal law, you may have the ability within your own company to take a type of paid leave. Whether it is paid vacation time, supplemental short-term disability, or another type of out-of-work, there are options for paid parental leave, so check with your Human Resources Office for your best option for your budget. Also, keep in mind that your benefits can change whenever you have a child, so make sure you consider your new options and how they might affect your budget such as tax advantages and credits, like dependent care.

All in all, there are many ways to cut corners on cost when parents are trying to make it work on unpaid leave. It is always useful to plan a budget ahead of time though so that you can start to save before your baby arrives. If you are in an extreme situation though, please look into options such as crisis nurseries like Jeremiah’s Place that can offer free help with emergency child care.

Filed Under: Take Maternity Leave, Work Tagged With: FMLA, Maternity Leave, paternity leave, unpaid maternity leave

Primary Sidebar

Suggested Articles

Getting Help Paying for Your Food

How to Find Child Care in Your Community

How to Work with Your Employer for Family-Friendly Solutions

Please follow & like us :)

fb-share-icon

Footer

Women Deserve Better

23 hours ago

Women Deserve Better
At least they're curious?😂 ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Women Deserve Better

2 days ago

Women Deserve Better
Who is cutting the onion? 🥲I’m sharing this on the grid, because we all need a laugh.So this is not a poem.It’s about poo.And not even my child's poo.This is a story about the glamorous life of me right now.I'll keep it short, much shorter than my trip to the toilet.Both the kids were having screen time because quite frankly I had had enough and was at my limit, the move has been a lot and we were all a bit overwhelmed.Heidi had decided she wouldn't do her nap in the bassinet & so I strapped her in the carrier, seems to be the norm these days.Only, her nap lasted much longer than I had anticipated. An hour went by & the urge to pee was too great, yet so was the urge to not wake her.After careful consideration I thought I would attempt going to the toilet with her strapped in, surely I could manoeuvre all I needed to, and with a slight sway while weeing she may even stay asleep.Mother's can do anything right....But no, my body had other plans.Code brown alert.Not too far along post birth it was safe to say there would be no holding back. My mind was saying no... everything all postpartum down there was saying hell YES.So here I was, sitting on the toilet at my nanas house, kids out in the lounge while I was stuck on the toilet with my baby strapped to me taking a twosie.Other than the fact this was not my plan at all (and pretty unsanitary), she started to wake, of course she did.Now, unloading a baby from a carrier at the same time you're unloading timber is quite the awkward art. But here we were, my gorgeous little baby in my arms, carrier and pants at my feet with her apologetic mum just trying to finish what she unintentionally started.Luckily it was all smiles from her.I cooed & talked to her like it was totally normal for her to wake up in this little echoey room with her mum feeding the fish, and then it happened...her first official laugh.What a moment to behold.This is the way I live. This is what I do.Baby milestone book: place and date of first laugh 🚽✔️When Drew got home from work I needed a moment, just one moment alone to regain some dignity.I went to hand her over & he said,"yep just give me a moment to pee first" 🫠Art: @this_mama_doodles ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

womendeservebetter

Getting ready in the morning. #mommeme #mommemes Getting ready in the morning.

#mommeme #mommemes #parenting #parentingishard #parentingmeme #parentingmemes #dadmeme #dadmemes
Nothing quite as frustrating as your kid refusing Nothing quite as frustrating as your kid refusing to clean up. 

#mommeme #mommemes #parentingmeme #parentingmemes #dadmeme #dadmemes
True story. Me: Time for bed! Toddler: I'm going True story.

Me: Time for bed!

Toddler: I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.

#mommeme #mommemes #parentingmeme #parentmemes #dadmeme #dadmemes #bedtime #bedtimeishard #bedtimewithtoddlers #bedtimewithtoddler
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Thanks for signing up!

GET OUR LATEST NEWS

ABOUT

  • Our Mission
  • Contributors

SUPPORT US

  • Donate
  • Become a Partner
  • Share Your Story or Your Expertise
  • Promote Women Deserve Better

Women Deserve Better: For us, that means better information, better support, and better choices. Life brings challenges. We bring empowerment, because we’ll never underestimate women.

Copyright © 2023 — Feminists for Life of America • All rights reserved.