How I pay a mortgage on maternity leave: personal experience

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

What to do if a pregnancy test shows two stripes, and you have a mortgage for 20 years.

Before marriage, I lived with my mother in a small dorm room. There was enough money for food, utilities and clothing for the season - there was no talk of buying an apartment. When I got my first job, I made a promise to myself to change our living conditions by all means.

When I moved in with my husband, my mother stayed in the hostel. A few years later, I became a successful sales manager with an average earnings of about 70 thousand rubles a month. Then I decided to buy my mother an apartment and took almost 3 million rubles in a mortgage for 20 years with a monthly payment of 26,800 rubles. My husband and I discussed in advance that I will take on credit obligations, since this is exclusively my idea.

A year later, I got pregnant. We have wanted a child for a long time, and here they are - the long-awaited two stripes. It remains to decide how I will pay the mortgage when I go on maternity leave and lose my usual income.

I set a goal for myself: to independently ensure uninterrupted mortgage payments during maternity leave, without affecting my spouse's finances.

I will share with you the important stages of financial and mortgage independence.

1. Opening a deposit

For me, the ideal option turned out to be an unlimited savings account with the possibility of replenishment and withdrawal. In banks, such deposits are often called a piggy bank.

I opened a deposit in rubles at 4% per annum in the bank in which I receive my salary and repay the mortgage. Other banks had more profitable options, but I wanted to have all the accounts in one place so as not to bother with fees for transfers between different FCOs and to see the whole financial picture.

I saved at least 10% of every salary. I left the quarterly awards entirely - I decided that new shoes and the latest iPhone model would wait. Thus, by the time I went on maternity leave, I had saved 150,000 rubles. From this amount, 500 rubles of interest are credited to the card every month. I admit honestly that I still spend a modest income from a piggy bank on coffee.

2. Calculation of benefits

In order not to miss anything and get the maximum from the state and the employer, I turned to my mothers for help. New parents know exactly where, when, how and what benefits can be obtained. I'll tell you about the main payments.

Maternity allowance

For uncomplicated singleton pregnancies, maternity leave begins 70 days before the expected due date (PDD) and lasts 140 days. In my case, the PDR was on August 30, 2019 - accordingly, I went on maternity leave on June 21. The maternity allowance is paid as a lump sum.

To calculate its amount, income for two full calendar years preceding the decree is divided by the number of days in this period. We get the average earnings per day. We multiply by the number of days of the decree.

The logic is simple: the higher the earnings, the larger the benefit, but not more than the maximum set amount.

To calculate my maternity leave, I took from the accounting department a certificate in the form of 2-NDFL for 2017 and 2018. My income for two years was 1,851,600 rubles. We divide this amount by 730 days, we get 2,536 rubles a day. We multiply by 140 days of the decree. It turns out 355,040 rubles - more than the maximum payment in 2019. In fact, I received 301,095 rubles. Even if you make billions, you will receive no more maternity pay than the maximum claimed payout at the time of the DA.

Restrictions How will the size of sick leave and maternity leave in 2020 change in terms of the amount of charges from January 1, 2020 as follows: the minimum payment amount is 55,831 rubles, the maximum is 322,192 rubles.

One-off childbirth allowance

Paid to one of the spouses for each child, drawn up by the employer.

The size of the allowance for the birth of a child in 2020, the allowance from February 1, 2020 - 18 004, 12 rubles.

The documents I needed:

• birth certificate;
• birth certificate (issued at the hospital upon discharge);
• a certificate from the spouse's work that he did not receive a lump sum (be careful: the certificate is valid for one month);
• application for receipt of payment.

The family is entitled to this allowance, even if no one is officially employed - in this case, apply for a payment from the social insurance fund.

Childcare allowance for a child up to one and a half years

The payment is received by the family member who is caring for the child and is on the appropriate leave. It could even be a grandmother or grandfather.

The amount of the allowance is 40% of the average earnings for the two previous calendar years in 2020. There are limits on the amount. From January 1, 2020, the minimum allowance is 4,852 rubles, the maximum is 27,984.66 rubles.

An example of calculations: the average earnings per day are equal to 2,536 rubles. Multiply by 30.4 (the average number of days in a month). We get 77 094 rubles. We take 40% of this amount. We get 30,837 rubles, which is more than the maximum payout. Accordingly, once you are on parental leave in 2020, you will receive RUB 27,984.66 per month.

The allowance is financially provided by the employer. The documents that I needed to process the payment:

• birth certificate;
• birth certificate;
• a certificate from the spouse's work that he does not use parental leave and does not receive a monthly allowance (the certificate is valid for one month);
• parental leave application.

It is important to understand that parental leave starts from the end of the maternity leave, and not from the date of birth, as many believe. In fact, it takes 3 months from the moment of giving birth to the moment of receiving the monthly payment.

Let me explain. We count not from the actual date of birth, but from the planned one (in the antenatal clinic it is calculated at the beginning of pregnancy). We add 70 days to the PDA and we get the beginning of parental leave. In my case, the PDD fell on August 30 - accordingly, the vacation began on November 8, 2019, and I received the first payment only on December 10, the day of salary.

Maternal capital

Good news for those who are expecting their first child: maternity capital relies on what you need to know about maternity (family) capital and for the first child born after January 1, 2020.

• At the birth of the first child - 466 617 rubles.
• At the birth of the second child, if there was no payment for the first, - 616 617 rubles.
• At the birth of the second child, if there was a payment for the first - 150,000 rubles.

An application for a certificate can be submitted online on the "Gosuslugi" portal or during a personal visit to the "My Documents" center.

Maternity capital funds can be used to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage.

3. Talking to family

I explained to my spouse that the benefits and my savings are being set aside to pay off the mortgage, and the rest of the spending will fall on his shoulders. Before that, I took care of myself and bought clothes only at my own expense - in matters of personal needs, each of us provided for himself. The total budget in our family was only for vacations and renovations.

However, after going on maternity leave, I had to forget about "strong and independent" for a while and live on her husband's money. It turned out to be difficult: I was not used to asking a man for money. But over time, it became normal. Once again I am convinced that all restrictions and prohibitions are in our head.

With the birth of a child, we asked parents to give up rash purchases. Instead of another toy and a beautiful blouse, it is better to purchase a package of diapers and baby food.

By the way, the birth of a baby is exactly the case when money becomes the best gift. It is difficult to guess what the child and new parents really need.

4. Monetizing a hobby

As a rule, it takes 2-3 months from the moment of going on maternity leave to the birth of the child. During this time, I mastered an online knitting course and learned how to create scarves, hats and mittens. Initially, I did this for myself, in order to acquire a new hobby and take time while waiting for the baby. And when it began to work out, I decided to make money on my skills.

I put on several kits and created an Instagram account to sell my products there. I told about my endeavor at every corner - all my acquaintances knew what I was doing. Word of mouth paid off, and I started getting my first orders.

But not everything went smoothly. I spent 7,000 rubles on knitting, including the cost of the yarn. And she earned the same amount in a couple of months - the winter turned out to be warm, there were few orders. After a while, I burned out and stopped knitting.

Evaluating my experience from the outside, I see that I have made several major mistakes. My main mistake in the early stages of hobby monetization is to invest in packaging. I spent money on pretty boxes, name tags, and all kinds of peels. And having gone this way, I understand that a hobby can only bring money if you love your business very much and are ready to invest in full. And I knitted and thought only about money. This, too, was a mistake from the very beginning.

Love with hats did not work out, but it was worth a try. I personally know girls on maternity leave whose hobby brings a stable monthly income. One of them bakes cakes, the other makes hats for girls.

5. Mortgage Holidays

On July 31, 2019, the Law on "Mortgage Holidays" came into force, the Law on Mortgage Holidays came into force. Under the new rules, the borrower can demand from the bank to reduce the amount of the monthly payment or to suspend payments on the loan for up to six months. Earlier loans are also subject to the law. I have not yet gone on credit holidays and am not planning on yet, but this path is my alternate airfield.

Here are the conditions that must be met in order for you to apply for a loan vacation:

• Your average monthly income has decreased by more than 30% compared to your income in the previous 12 months. This can be proved with the help of certificates on the 2-NDFL form for the current and previous years.
• Mortgage holidays on the current loan should not have been applied previously.
• It is also important that the mortgaged apartment is your only permanent property. This can be proved using an extract from the USRN.

6. Tax deduction

After purchasing real estate on the territory of the Russian Federation, you can receive a tax deduction.

For the purchase of real estate

The maximum amount from which the deduction is calculated is 2,000,000 rubles. For example, my apartment costs 3,150,000 rubles. I can only get a 13% deduction on two million. This is 260,000 rubles.

A certificate in the form 2-NDFL, which can be obtained from the employer, will indicate how much tax you paid to the budget. In one year, you can receive a deduction of no more than this amount. If you are not provided with the entire deduction at once, the balance will be carried over to subsequent years.

If you have purchased an apartment in a building under construction, documents for tax deduction can be submitted only the next year after you have an act of acceptance and transfer of housing from the developer. So it happened with me: I took out a mortgage in 2018, received an apartment in 2019, and I applied for deduction for 2018-2019 only in 2020. Until the housing is rented out, there is no need to wait for the deduction.

To pay off mortgage interest

At your request, the bank will issue a certificate of interest paid on the mortgage. You will need it to issue a deduction.

The maximum amount from which the deduction is calculated is 3,000,000 rubles. That is, from the interest paid, you can claim a maximum of 390,000 rubles.

Interest deduction is available every year.

conclusions

• Stability is the key to success. Top up your savings account monthly.
• There are more government benefits than you might think. Try to get everything you can.
• Plan your finances several years in advance.
• Don't be afraid to ask loved ones for help.
• Making money for a hobby is not easy at all, there is no perfect recipe for earning money. Assess your investment and risks before starting a new business.
• Take advantage of your credit holidays and tax deductions.

My child is now seven months old. I understand that I will go to work in at least a year, or even more. I am not afraid of the economic crisis, because I took care of the formation of a financial cushion in advance. If you approach the matter responsibly, having a child will not prevent you from fulfilling your dreams and achieving your goals.