Maternity advice
 

hi all

now settled into new life in perth thinking of starting a family :)

employer mat pay here lot less than uk (7 wks) and also been told medicare covers outpt i.e scans/midwives care so will be some out of pocket expenses and private will only cover in pt delivery/labour :scared:

we do not earn loads of money so are concerned about costs!

any advice on how much costs to expect and how people coped would be really appreciated

as have no family/support here and would need to return to work but wasn't expecting too 7 wks after birth!

thanks

Re: Maternity advice
 

It's funny how some people only look at the short term costs of raising kids.

In Australia, a child from the age of 0 - 18 will cost on average $250K (and that only includes crappy public schooling).

That's of course if it leaves home at 18. These days, parents seem to baby their kids up to atleast the age of 25. So add another $100k for those years.

So, you're looking at $250 - $350K PER kid. Better you than me.

All the best. :thumbup:

Re: Maternity advice
 

:huh:

Re: Maternity advice
 

I like these new smileys too. :thumbsup:

Re: Maternity advice
 

:huh: ditto :huh:

To OP - I know a couple of people who have kids over here, the scans and other costs weren't too astronomical. And remember, there is the baby bonus of $4k to help out too.

More of a worry for you may be child care costs, and availability if you live somewhere that's had a baby boom (like Sydney's inner west :eek: )

Oh, and you're fortunate to be entitled to paid maternity leave, the majority of Australian employers pay no maternity leave at all. All employees are entitled to unpaid leave though, if they meet the qualifying period.

Re: Maternity advice
 

The $4K baby bonus? What a joke - it's like a fart in a thunderstorm when you look at the bigger picture.

Oh btw, the $250K figure doesn't even take into account missed earnings when mother or father is away from work initially or loss of money due to missing a promotion or the like.

But hey, there's always the baby bonus to get you through...

:thumbup:

Re: Maternity advice
 

But she wasn't asking about the 'bigger picture'. She was asking about maternity costs (that's why the post was entitled 'Maternity advice' not 'Childrearing advice') :thumbsup:

Re: Maternity advice
 

Well soooorrrrreee!

:thumbup:

Re: Maternity advice
 

I'm nominating you for the 'most helpful post of 2007' awards ;)

Re: Maternity advice
 

poo poo

Re: Maternity advice
 

:unsure: :wub:

Re: Maternity advice
 

:rofl: It's all part of the service.

Re: Maternity advice
 

Do you have private cover? If not, I think you need to start it 12 months b4 getting pregnant to get cover.

We went private with cover and I think out of pocket expenses for everything were less than $500.

Re: Maternity advice
 

I heard you the first time :p

Re: Maternity advice
 

Damn that. That's a good bottle of chardy there.

:thumbup: