View Full Version : The Maternity Payment, please read and reply!!
Hi everybody:wave: !! My name is Meggan and i am not an expectant mum but do hope to be in the future... now i know that a few of the ladies have been talking about the maternity payment and i was wondering if i could have your opinion on wether you think it should be paid as a lumpsum or in installments?? this is for a school project (i'm in year 12:eek: ) so your opinions would be absolutely great. P.S. this site rocks and it's great to hear from all the loving parents in Australia!!!
pixiesmums
07-08-2006, 15:01
I think that it really depends on your financial situation as to whether you want it in a lump sum or in installments. Personally I would prefer it in one lump sum. I found that the money came in handy as I don't get paid maternity leave where I work. It paid alot of our bills as we had our bubs a week before xmas.
lump sum for sure, as we im sure alot of ppl have bills here and there and anything can happen.
definatly as lump some, the money is there when u need it, you never whats gon happen.
LizzieLou
07-08-2006, 15:25
Lump sum for me too!
moomoosmummy
07-08-2006, 15:35
lump sum for me little bits get lost lump sum gets stuff done!!!:yes:
KarniF00l
07-08-2006, 15:38
depends on the finacial situation.. it didn't bother me too much as it was all put into the childrens back accounts.
*Sparkles*
07-08-2006, 15:39
I also want it as a lump sum. When you consider that by the time you get the money most of it has already been spent on setting up the nursery etc anyway. So I would want to be re-imbursed.
Also we have a homeloan so the money is more beneficial to have in the loan as a lump sum where it reduces the interest and can be re-drawn when needed.
jessgray
07-08-2006, 15:42
i prefer lump sum :) but i was asked when i had my son last yr in april if i wanted it paid over installments.
I didn't mind the lump sum but actually think that it should be paid as instalments during the pregnancy so that the expectant parents can put it towards purchases for the baby. Some say that it should be paid as vouchers to be used for necessities for the baby, maternity clothes, etc. I've heard of far too many young girls getting themselves pregnant and thinking that the maternity payment is the answer to all their financial dreams. The amount you are paid doesn't even come close to what is needed !
twinkles
07-08-2006, 15:56
I think a lump sum works best. It gives you emergency funds and helps to pay all the little expenses that really add up both before and after a baby is born, pity they can't give you half at 7 months gestation and the other half immediately after the birth. That would be tricky though, with having to prove pregnancy etc :)
I'd prefer installments, actually. That way I'd have extra money while on maternity leave that was constantly coming in. :)
Oscar's mum
07-08-2006, 16:28
I definately prefer a lump sum!
I personally like the Installments. The lump sum was good too. So I suppose it works both ways for me :D
Lump seum worked well for us, but we budgeted the money out over the coming months so it wouldn't have made a difference either way. Good luck with your year 12 stuff:p
I didn't mind the lump sum but actually think that it should be paid as instalments during the pregnancy so that the expectant parents can put it towards purchases for the baby. In the case of very young, single mothers to be, I'm going to get on my soap-box and say that it should be paid as vouchers to be used for necessities for the baby, maternity clothes, etc. I've heard of far too many young girls getting themselves pregnant and thinking that the maternity payment is the answer to all their financial dreams. The amount you are paid doesn't even come close to what is needed !
(I realise this is is your opinion so no offence:thumbsup:)
as for young mums not being able to work there money out properly....
We had already spent well over $3,000 on our daughter long before she was born. Vouchers would have been totally useless to us as we already had everything we needed. I have not yet met one mother who has gotten pregnant for the money young or old. The media blows the stories way out of proportion and only tells us about the 'bad ones'. They should come over to my place and do a story on how responsible and fantstic young parents can be... :p
LilShenanigans
07-08-2006, 17:10
I personally had a fair bit saved long before DD arrived, so didn't actually start using 'her' money until early this year (there were problems that needed to be sorted).
If I had known I could get installments I would've opted for that. Merely because 1st time single mother, don't know what to expect or what I REALLY needed until I needed it... Therefore installments would've been great for those unexpected baby expenses.
diamonds22
07-08-2006, 17:20
lump sum..why...well you HAVE to buy everything in the first place..and i imagine for some people, this may be difficult, it could leave them out of pocket...it costs a lot more then $3000/4000 to set up if your a first time mummy/daddy...so some people may stuggle.
(not personally speaking, we have just recieved dds payment and it has gone straight into a set aside account for her.)
SamanthaJane
07-08-2006, 23:31
Lump sum definitley.
Ours is going straight to an account for her, which she wont be allowed to touch until she is 18. We'll be adding money to it on either a weekly/fortnightly/monthly basis.
Some people think its better for us young mother's to have it in installments, but i think if i got mine in installments, it would more than likely just go towards paying for the groccery shopping if we needed an extra bit of money to pay for it, or something like that, if you know what i mean?
Least in the lump sum i know exactly where its all gone, and i can't interfere with it, because i've put it in the one place :thumbsup:
garfield
08-08-2006, 01:24
i think lump sum payment is better. To be honest, the maternity payment doesn't even cover the cost of my baby's nursery. (eg furnitures & decorations) But i guess it is better than nothing. :(
Lump sum, and it's up to the individuals what they do with it.
bronny-jane
08-08-2006, 05:51
lump sum, its only $4000, doesnt go far:D
I would have to say most would go for the lump sum . .as I did . though I transferred mine to one fo those interest accounts and it hasnt been touched yet. . But I know its there if I need it and its also accumulating a little extra on top . .But I do know a lot of people bought a lot of baby stuff on credit or laybe and then they pay it all back with that money . .and for those who dont have any other financial backing ti can mean a few months of not having to stress totally over weather the rent is being paid of not
SilverStarfish
08-08-2006, 08:22
I liked the lump sum, but I can also understand the call for payments as well. As one of the many mums out there who are only entitled to unpaid (:banghead:) maternity leave, it might've helped to make the money stretch a little further.
*Sparkles*
08-08-2006, 08:28
(I realise this is is your opinion so no offence:thumbsup:)
as for young mums not being able to work there money out properly....
We had already spent well over $3,000 on our daughter long before she was born. Vouchers would have been totally useless to us as we already had everything we needed. I have not yet met one mother who has gotten pregnant for the money young or old. The media blows the stories way out of proportion and only tells us about the 'bad ones'. They should come over to my place and do a story on how responsible and fantstic young parents can be... :p
Good on ya :thumbsup:
Mum&bubs
08-08-2006, 18:06
Either way doesnt bother me. I had $1500 as a lump sum & the rest installments but will be having this payment as a lump sum. As for having it as installments for young mums I dont think that is very fair as not all young mums are having babies for that reason. I think if they did a few stories about young mums like myself & others here on bubhub im sure people would change their mind :o
coogeemum
08-08-2006, 18:26
A lump sum will suit me best. That way it can be used to pay most of the setup costs eg cot, pram, carseat, nappies, clothes etc
sugar n spice
08-08-2006, 18:27
defiently in lump sum as you can do more with it as one person said it just disappers if its in installments. I found it was good as i needed it for private hospital bills and ordinary bills
Definitely a lump sum. As others have already said, in instalments the money seems to go nowhere. As a lump sum I guess you can make a concious effort to do something useful with it. :thumbsup:
spiritedfamily
08-08-2006, 19:35
Lump Sum....installments is abit of a waste...whereas one amount can buy something useful for the baby or help with existing financial commitments...whatever is the most pressing at the time.
Natsmummy
08-08-2006, 22:06
I was glad to be able to receive a lump sum as we had quite a few bills come in just after the birth of our son - from the hospital and so on - and it was a great help.
A Party of Five
09-08-2006, 17:53
Lump sum :thumbsup:
The Lump sum really helped us out b'coz we had to miss car payments etc to pay for ds's cot, clothes, etc!! so having that money in one payment meant we could get back ontop of our car payments without getting hit with any more late fees!
I dont think it should be biased between ages, i am a young mum and i would never consider wasting it on something for me when i have more important things to pay for (which would explain why i havent had my hair cut in over 9mths!!) i do however think that perhaps the people that are well and truely ok without the money should perhaps not get as much as those that are seriously struggling.
just my little opinion.
but i think perhaps the vouchers for baby stores is a good idea (especially for 1st timers) as you really need money b4 they arrive otherwise some people may get into debt, and it increases stress levels for the expectant parents! which is not such a good thing!:ecomcity:
BOSS302WMOM
09-08-2006, 21:17
I would say lump sum payment as it would help out those who do need it, as a new baby as we all here know are expensive. For us(my family only, I am referring to) it would not of matterd at all we had brought all the items we needed before DD was born with cash from our weekly wages. I took on an extra job to ensure we didnt have to use our savings.
I am totally against food vouchers/ baby stuff vouchers and anything alike.....each persons situation is unique and I have found for many the lump sum has worked best, as you can put it into an account if you do not need it up front. As someone already stated installments are a waste as you cannot buy anything worthwhile. I know some will misuse it but it should really be upto the idividual.
our little treasures
09-08-2006, 23:11
Lump sum for us!! With my first I only got $700 and we got a 7.5kg washing machine as we had everything we needed for our daughter but as we were using cloth we thought that we needed a machine that wouldn't break down... With darling son we put some equally in bank accounts (both kids) and purchased a new fridge freezer as we needed a bigger one with space for baby meals and frozen breast milk!!!
As for the young mums not spending it wisely I have a sil who is in her mid 30's who calls it a pay back for all the things she has got for the kids.... Her and hubby earn a lot more than us and just like living the high life. Paying for tax etc with the kids money :shame: !!! Oh well I think it is up to the individual and the government should butt out!!
Kaileysmum
10-08-2006, 11:53
Hi
Id have to say a lump sum, only because when you have a baby you buy so much before hand, so when you get the maternity payment it just covers what you've already spent, plus what you still need. Plus it can cover expences (bills etc) that you put off in the last month or so of your pregnancy, because of the income change (maternity leave).
BOSS302WMOM
11-08-2006, 09:16
What is the income change? I worked and was never entitled to any maternity leave paid/unpaid(although my boss was happy to take me back). We just rearranged our lifestyle to suit.
I dont understand why the money would be needed to compensate a loss of wage:confused:
My DH was not raking it in and while I did go back work at 2months it wasnt because the BB had run out, just that an opportunity arose so I took it.
Does any job pay maternity leave? We paid all our bills in advance to ensure there were no suprises for us when DD was born.
I am not having a go at anyone I just dont understand why its needed for a wage loss or to pay bills.
pixiesmums
11-08-2006, 09:28
For us when I went on maternity leave it was an income change. I earn fairly good money and it was a loss of nearly $3000 a month. I get paid weekly and DH gets paid monthly. So his wages pay our 2 mortgages and 2 cars and my weekly pay goes to living expenses and the groceries and anything else that comes up. The BB for us helped cover my lost wages but we did have to tighten the budget. We could only afford for me to have 3 months off. It is difficult especially when you have a mortgage or in our case we have 2. I don't get paid maternity either. Nex time I will be using my long service leave so we be will much better off financially and I will have much more time off
SilverStarfish
11-08-2006, 09:45
I just dont understand why its needed for a wage loss or to pay bills.
In our case our morgage repayments for our little house ($250k) are 76% of my DH's income - and he gets paid monthly. So because we chose for me to stay home to raise our family, I have to make sure our family is fed and clothed on the $300 a month that is left over after all the bills have been paid - and that is a fortune compared to what some people manage on.
For us it was not so simple as "paying all our bills in advance"
On a slightly separate track, did you know that Australia and the US are the only countries in the developed world that do not provide paid maternity/parenting leave for all families? You can read more about that here (http://www.aph.gov.au/LIBRARY/intguide/ECON/maternity_leave.htm) and here (http://www.hreoc.gov.au/sex_discrimination/pml/executive_summary.html).
LUMP SUM. gets things done and centrelink can't find an excuse t take it away! :p
Yep. I perfer lump sum too. As someone else said, installments can get 'lost', a lump sum, you can get stuff done!
FourAngelKisses
14-08-2006, 17:37
Lump sum.....but I wish it was paid before birth so that you can buy cots, clothes, car seats, bottles etc before the baby is born.
Indigosmum
14-08-2006, 23:38
I think it depends on the persons overall financial situation and if it is their 1st, 2nd, 3rd baby etc.. the lump sum does come in handy for buying all of the essential items such as the carseat, rocker for when the baby comes along, but if it is the 2nd baby and all of those items are already purchased, then perhaps it wouldnt hurt to come in installments to help ease the finances over the few weeks/months.
I dont think it depends on the age of the person because older people as well as younger people can still be irresponsible with their money.
Danielle - 25 :D
Indigo - 18 Months :rolleyes: (our maternity payment is loooooong gone!)
FourAngelKisses
15-08-2006, 08:13
I think it depends on the persons overall financial situation and if it is their 1st, 2nd, 3rd baby etc.. the lump sum does come in handy for buying all of the essential items such as the carseat, rocker for when the baby comes along, but if it is the 2nd baby and all of those items are already purchased, then perhaps it wouldnt hurt to come in installments to help ease the finances over the few weeks/months.
I dont think it depends on the age of the person because older people as well as younger people can still be irresponsible with their money.
Danielle - 25 :D
Indigo - 18 Months :rolleyes: (our maternity payment is loooooong gone!)
This is my 4th baby and I have absolutely NOTHING. No pram, car seat, cot, clothes, it's all gone. I only gave the car seat away 2mths ago, everything else went well before Matthews first birthday.
Don't really mind how it is paid.
It is a baby bonus so we would have paid for all of the things for our baby and our obs and private hospital bills out of our own pocket anyway, just like others did before the Maternity Payment came along.
The money we did get has gone in to our savings account, which was set up for us to put money away for our children's education.
Well i'm another one to vote for a lump sum payment.
It's always handy to have the money there for when you might need it.
I am happy with the lump sum.
As for it being paid before the birth, unfortunately the Government cannot guarantee that each child will be born... it would be horrible to miscarry your baby late in pregnancy (but too early to class it as a still birth and still keep the money), and have to pay the Government back...
At least the money reaches your account a few days after you put the paperwork in, so it's not a long wait if you have baby bills to pay.
Belindaa
15-08-2006, 12:49
I think that a lump sum is definatley important for some people. My best friend ended up having to use hers for her babies funeral costs as he died from SIDS when he was 3 weeks old, if she didn't have that money she wouldn't have been able to cover costs. When she became pregnant with her second child they decided that they would spend the payment to buy a nice headstone for their first baby but she ended up having her little girl really prem and she died so they had to use that money to cover more funeral costs. Some parents really need that lump sum and wouldn't be able to cope without it.
I think that a lump sum is definatley important for some people. My best friend ended up having to use hers for her babies funeral costs as he died from SIDS when he was 3 weeks old, if she didn't have that money she wouldn't have been able to cover costs. When she became pregnant with her second child they decided that they would spend the payment to buy a nice headstone for their first baby but she ended up having her little girl really prem and she died so they had to use that money to cover more funeral costs. Some parents really need that lump sum and wouldn't be able to cope without it.
:crying: That is such a tragic story
~ElectricPink~
15-08-2006, 13:12
For me a lump sum payment is definately more beneficial, as I am using part of the payment to register my car. As I live quite a bit out of town, transport with bub would be pretty much impossible otherwise particularly on rainy days (which where I live is quite frequent!) As I have already purchased pretty much everything else for bub (apart from a few bits and pieces) the rest of the money I recieve will be put away for moving out of home (I currently live with my parents). So I guess it really depends on ur own personal situation! Personally I think that if you recieved installments it is more likely to be spent in a less practical way!
FourAngelKisses
15-08-2006, 13:21
Mine be be going on paying the loan off that we need to get to have an extra seat put in the car and all the baby clothes, pram, car seat etc. So I don't think I'll be seeing any of it really.
sonlou73
15-08-2006, 14:02
lump sum worked good for me :thumbsup:
definately a lump sum - needed to pay my midwife ;) was worth every last cent!
maybe1more
15-08-2006, 16:55
To be honest i dont mind either way, im just grateful the the goverment has this.:thumbsup:
MordecaiAliVanAllenO'Shea
11-09-2006, 17:10
Lump sum - I personally find it really offensive in the media when they go on about installments so we don't waste it - we are not children or idiots for them to tell us what to do with our money. Also, even if people spend it on something not baby related they are still going to get things for the baby so it evens out. Eg you spend it on bills, and buy the cot/car seat etc out of your or your partners wages. It's just great as a general help at a time when money is stretched.
Mel
I like the lump sum too! It was great cuz i could pay of the credit card that i ran up buying things for bub and get a few other things that could wait till bub was born!!
mum2bubba
14-09-2006, 21:30
I think its better as a lump some but it can depend on your financial situation too. :)
Fairyfloss
14-09-2006, 23:19
lumpsum for us too:thumbsup:
It was great as a lump sum as it took the burden away of having to worry about bills just after giving birth, but if centrelink would only pay it as installments then that would have been great aswell - for me the money was just a "labour bonus"...lol
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