Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Maternity leave benefits

Happy days!

I once wrote that I was worried about how small my EI payments would be, as I had only worked 8 months between Saoirse and this baby. I was hoping for between $200-250 every 2 weeks.

Last Thursday I checked my bank account and there was a deposit of $238. So that was OK, pretty much right in the middle of what I was hoping to get. Enough to pay 4 bills a month and with the other incomes coming in, we should have an extra $1000 per month. (Reality of course, is totally different and somehow that extra money seems to disappear, mostly spent on foolish purhases, most often by myself.)

Yesterday I received an EI statement benefit, and that payment of $238 was only a weekly one! So really I am due $476 or so every 2 weeks. This is a great thing, as if I can stop spending money we could actually bank $1500 a month. It will never happen but the thought is nice.

Again, I have lucked out with my EI payments as even $400 every 2 weeks is more than I would have made at work in months like October and November when sometimes I could go with a shift only once a pay period. So although to most people this is a very small amount for me it works out very well. Who can complain about getting paid to stay home with two lovely little girls? Not I.

There are days I am very grateful to live in Canada.

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