First kid

[Malfunction]

I am having my first kid and I'll be living off fo wages, any advice from guys who have done the same thing? My wife will be getting around $2000 a month on parental leave.

[skypirate88]

Well first, I would have hoped you've saved up a bit of a nest egg. Children can be very expensive.

Secondly, I'd suggest a good budgeting tool. I personally use the Mint App. It's done by the same folks who put together Intuit and Turbo Tax. The drawback being you surrender your banking info to them, which is a little uncomfortable. You can create budgets or let it create them. It'll monitor your cashflow, warn you of budget overages etc. I like it better than a self made excel product because it's automatic and doesn't rely on you constantly updating it.

And finally, don't buy all that silly shit advertised for kids. There are a lot of products out there that are totally useless and unnecessary. Don't be too proud to take hand-me-downs either. Kids grow so damned quickly that many of the clothes as a baby are barely used.

As an aside, be sure you're aware of the coverage the health plan at Jazz has. I believe you are covered for a private room, but if not, pay the difference if you can. It's well worth the money for mom's sanity after delivery.

Good luck, and enjoy your time with the baby. It all goes by very quickly.

[bearitus]

I'm in the same boat as you, FO at Jazz living in YYZ with a wife who quit her real estate job to raise the family and gets no mat leave pay. We don't have much in terms of savings either.

To be honest it hasn't been easy. I have been running a side business and working as much overtime as possible (not much available currently) and borrowing money from my dad and line of credit.

I am starting to think that unless I upgrade soon I may have to find a better paying job flying corporate or go back to being a 703 captain.

[ant_321]

I'm in the same boat as you, FO at Jazz living in YYZ with a wife who quit her real estate job to raise the family and gets no mat leave pay. We don't have much in terms of savings either.

To be honest it hasn't been easy. I have been running a side business and working as much overtime as possible (not much available currently) and borrowing money from my dad and line of credit.

I am starting to think that unless I upgrade soon I may have to find a better paying job flying corporate or go back to being a 703 captain.

I have no idea how a family would survive in YYZ off of a Jazz salary, even a captain one. We had quite a bit of savings and I make a lot more than a Jazz FO and I’m still shitting bricks about money with my wife off on maternity leave and counting down the days until she starts making a real pay check again. (8 more months!)

[Babar350]

I am having my first kid and I'll be living off fo wages, any advice from guys who have done the same thing? My wife will be getting around $2000 a month on parental leave.

Congratulations on the little one!
Depends where you live, $2000 a month on parental leave is quite a good help! considering that you would also make $2000 a month that would be not that bad, considering where you live of course ...
You also should apply for the Canada child benefit. If living in Quebec you have also the Quebecers child benefit.

Don't forget to talk about it to your doctor or someone who can help you, a social worker for example.

Speaking of the clothes, I'd suggest you buy them on Kijiji or Craiglist, babies grow really really fast,,,

[flybyyou]

congratulations on your first kid. this is the greatest thing ever. dont ever regret it. its just sad that a flag carrier can't provide the salary that can make you support your family. hang in there man.

[KenoraPilot]

Congrats! I just had my first kid as well and now am going on Paternity leave for 9mth. EI is awful. My suggestion for money is if you can swing it try and pick up as many WDO single days (or multi) if money is a big issue. The struggle there is being away from home more, but more money. Kids are expensive but not right out the gate. Eat, sleep, poop repeat. Lol
A budget app like mint is great, and having kids is amazing don’t regret it. This “difficult” time is short lived....it may seem like an eternity but it does get better kid and career/money wise. It doesn’t suck forever. Just try and live in the now with as positive an attitude as you can. They grow up so fast and you don’t want to remember it miserably. I know easier said than done but mind set is 60% of it. Good luck, it’s possible just difficult.....but in life what great things come easy.

[GhostRider6]

Congrats on the kid!

It’s going to be a tough slog for sure. I’ve been there..

With what I’m assuming is a lack of financial resources you are already in not the lowest stress position imaginable..

If I were to do things over I would:

Start having conversations surrounding boundaries, expectations that both of you have for one another. This includes her expectations of YOU and your expectations of HER I’d pre-emptively seek some couples counseling so you both can make some plans on how things will work pre and post delivery. Get prepared for hormonal pairing phone calls!!! ( maybe you won’t need to but this was the case for me) me) In my case I had phone calls from my wife in tears of frustration. You might be having to navigate that amidst long duty days, time zone changes, winter flying etc and perhaps being stressed about money. ( I’m assuming you won’t be taking leave here)

I don’t work for jazz but know people who do. If you can stomach some unpredictability maybe bid Reserve. From what I know,jazz has a few options in that regard and some lines see more action than others. Hopefully, someone else can chime in and speak to that.

Also, from what I know jazz has an excellent pilot support network. Bring as much of these resources you can on board.

I’d say you are going to want to fly minimally..

Hopefully, you both have family and friends who can back you and your wife up with childcare, some financial resources ( if needed) and or to both help get your sleep.

Also, organize the heck out of your life because babies will cause chaos! They are cute but very demanding creatures.

Again, I can’t emphasize enough, NOW is the time to make a flight plan so to speak and muster as many resources you both can around yourselves.

Enjoy the time together, don’t be afraid to book off, catch a nap and talk/ listen to eachother as much as possible!

Lastly, enjoy this time..infant bonding is important don’t miss out.

All the best!

[SmokinJoe]

Something to remember. You can always make more money, but you’ll never get the time back. Take a look at the contract. You can go on a RTB for up to two years from the birth. Seriously consider that.

I was an FO when we had our first. You WILL find a way to make it work. Spend the time with the family. They’re only a newborn for a couple weeks, then an infant for a few more, a baby for a year, a toddler for a couple years and so on.

[ant_321]

Something to remember. You can always make more money, but you’ll never get the time back. Take a look at the contract. You can go on a RTB for up to two years from the birth. Seriously consider that.

I was an FO when we had our first. You WILL find a way to make it work. Spend the time with the family. They’re only a newborn for a couple weeks, then an infant for a few more, a baby for a year, a toddler for a couple years and so on.

The guy makes like 38k and you think he should reduce that even more?

[Kaykay]

Something to remember. You can always make more money, but you’ll never get the time back. Take a look at the contract. You can go on a RTB for up to two years from the birth. Seriously consider that.

I was an FO when we had our first. You WILL find a way to make it work. Spend the time with the family. They’re only a newborn for a couple weeks, then an infant for a few more, a baby for a year, a toddler for a couple years and so on.

The guy makes like 38k and you think he should reduce that even more?

Maybe you should have read that post a bit more carefully before posting. The point was the time, not the money. Besides, we don't know this couple's situation financially...some people have tons of debt and expenses, some don't. Besides, people have done the RTB thing and picked up WDOs here and there to supplement. Personally, I will always support someone's decision to tighten their money situation to actually "be there" for their family. You have to be smart of course, but you'll never get the childhood time back. Financial burdens can be fixed though.

[ant_321]

Something to remember. You can always make more money, but you’ll never get the time back. Take a look at the contract. You can go on a RTB for up to two years from the birth. Seriously consider that.

I was an FO when we had our first. You WILL find a way to make it work. Spend the time with the family. They’re only a newborn for a couple weeks, then an infant for a few more, a baby for a year, a toddler for a couple years and so on.

The guy makes like 38k and you think he should reduce that even more?

Maybe you should have read that post a bit more carefully before posting. The point was the time, not the money. Besides, we don't know this couple's situation financially...some people have tons of debt and expenses, some don't. Besides, people have done the RTB thing and picked up WDOs here and there to supplement. Personally, I will always support someone's decision to tighten their money situation to actually "be there" for their family. You have to be smart of course, but you'll never get the childhood time back. Financial burdens can be fixed though.

The original posters concern was money, as is the case with most people when having their first kid. Trust me, I know. My house has takin a 6 figure pay cut while my wife is off and its terrifying no matter how you run the numbers. As for time off, how much more do you want? most pilots spend way more useful time at home than a 9-5 guy. If I were at jazz and wanted to spend more time with my baby I would bid CD's. The few hours sleep in the hotel would most likely be better than you get at home anyway. This probably makes me an asshole but to be honest if I had more time at home I'd go crazy. I love my little guy to death but after a few days of changing diapers and trying to sooth a HANGRY baby I'm happy to get a little break for a day and go to work.

[Kaykay]

You and I are very different then. I could always use more time at home with my family.

[ant_321]

Fair enough. To be fair I typically work 10-12 days a month and am home nearly every night. If I was working 15 days and doing 4 day pairings maybe I would feel different.

[Outlaw58]

Well, I'm assuming that if Jazz wages are too low, it's because before you came to Jazz, you were in a higher paying job that supported your family plans to have kids.

Another option would be to go on LOA. Regardless of the times, the CA stipulates that every request should be given consideration and should never be unnecessarily withheld. It happens that reasonable requests for LOAs get granted. Maybe going back to that old higher paying job as a temp is an option?

58

[SmokinJoe]

I am absolutely not suggesting that he not get paid less. When I had my first I was at jazz and making the same as him. We made it work. It sucks but you will find a way to keep food on the table and the lights on.

When we had our second I went on the RTB. Pick up some WDO’s here and there to supplement. You WILL make it work some how. But the most important thing is the time with the family. They grow so fast. You’ll be FaceTiming in the terminal watching their first steps. Avoid that if you can. Be home.

[SmokinJoe]

I think I worded my first sentence incorrectly. Shouldn’t get paid less then what he already does.

[av8ts]

My advice is to get divorced as soon as possible ( if this is your first marriage it’s going to happen eventually) Then you both remarry. It’s easier to raise a child on 4 saleries

[aeroncasuperchief]

No Worries Mate ! For the first five years, the child pays you. We never used formula, bought diapers in bulk and collected the fat child bonuses. We were laughing all the way to the bank. Maybe a little different story if your child gets really sick or you enrol him/her in violin lessons at age 2 !

[Kaykay]

My advice is to get divorced as soon as possible ( if this is your first marriage it’s going to happen eventually) Then you both remarry. It’s easier to raise a child on 4 saleries

This has to be one of the most idiotic posts I’ve seen on this forum. You don’t know this couple, so keep your doom and gloom to yourself. They asked for advice, not nonsense.