how much does having a baby cost?

[i.love]

me and my husband are currently re-evaluating our financial situation. We would like to try to save some money now and maybe move to a bigger flat later. But we're a bit scared to make such decisions, as it will obviously cost more money, and we have no idea how much extra money we will realistically need when the little one arrives...

Could anyone give us a hint? How much roughly do you spend on a baby in the first 1-2 years? £100, 200, 300 a month? I mean not counting prams/cots/car seats, as we're only gonna need to buy these once.

Just to give you an idea of our income level - I usually shop for clothes somewhere like Next, and we go for groceries to Sainsburys. So we won't be buying funky clothes/toys in Mamas and Papas, but would go to somewhere more affordable.

Thanks girls!

 

[emmaandamyleigh]

it really depends i rekon ive not really spent that much with amy at all not even close to 300 pound amonth depends if your going to breast feed youll be saving buying formula which cost around about 8 quid a tin, nappys if you buy cheaper version of pampers or huggies cheap ones are between 1.99 to 4.99 but pampers and huggies are nearly 6 quid depend where you go shopping for clothes i shop at asda and tescos for amy clothes and currently doing it for baby to.

so i think it depend on what you go for in clothing or nappies wipes and stuff like that when i get amys nappies i either get from tescos not the cheapies but next up from them or superdrugs they both cost 3.99 and can last near 3-4 days but you could also save and buy clothes nappies

 

[i.love]

it really depends i rekon ive not really spent that much with amy at all not even close to 300 pound amonth depends if your going to breast feed youll be saving buying formula which cost around about 8 quid a tin, nappys if you buy cheaper version of pampers or huggies cheap ones are between 1.99 to 4.99 but pampers and huggies are nearly 6 quid depend where you go shopping for clothes i shop at asda and tescos for amy clothes and currently doing it for baby to.

so i think it depend on what you go for in clothing or nappies wipes and stuff like that when i get amys nappies i either get from tescos not the cheapies but next up from them or superdrugs they both cost 3.99 and can last near 3-4 days but you could also save and buy clothes nappies

oh right, this is reassuring I'm hoping to breastfeed, and would happily go for cheaper nappies (probably not clothes ones though). 3.99 for 3-4 days? That's pretty good!

thanx!

 

[emmaandamyleigh]

yeah but touch wood yeah she hasnt had that many dirty one or rather really dirty were your having to change 3 or 4 times lol i think they start chappy the smaller the size too then they go up a little but not too much she in size 4 at the mo i think you get 36 in a pack in size 4s in newborn you get 24 there from tescos but i think some do more than others i ant get why people say babies are expensive when it all depends on what you buy and what clothes you get for them then when they get older its what toys they have lol i found amy really cheap to be honest and now she eats what i have so when im out shopping for food i always think well what can amy eat she likes everything lol plus i oven cook all our food too

 

[littlemiss83]

I agree with emmaandamyleigh

After you've bought the pram/cot ect and baby arrives, i'd say less than £10 extra a week. A packet of nappies at around £5 and a tin of formula £5 (if you dont breastfeed).

Theres no other expenses I can think of, apart from the odd packet of vests or jammies every so often. And only other thing to possibly save for is childcare which is quite pricey.

We're hoping to move to a bigger house too, but moved through my pregnancy last time and it was a nightmare, so we're gonna wait til baby is born and ready to go in its own room (about 6mth - 1yr) so theres plenty time to move.

 

[emmaandamyleigh]

oh child care is expensive especally were i live for 2 it would cost 500 quid a month just to put them in sure start its tat expensive due to te council here cutting there budget but could be different for different areas and stuff ence wy im bringing amy up and little one wen se arrives as getting a job ere wont be enough to cover rent or child care and travel public transport only run up till about 5 and cost about a 10 pound return and if i didnt finish b4 5 id have to get a taxi which would work out near enuff 25 quid as they charge more due to no taxi company being central

 

[Rayoflight]

£500 for two? Bloody hell that's cheap.

I'm looking at £860 a month for one child for nursery.

 

[emmaandamyleigh]

Well it would be 800 but taxcredits pay a certain amount I beleive has went down to fro 300 to 215 or something like that and that's just for 2 and half days a week

 

[emmaandamyleigh]

I asked about this b4 o found out I was pregnant so they might be meaning 1 child I will have to find out as with it being the new finical year so it may have gone up I still think it's expensive even if I went to work :s

 

[littlemiss83]

That is quite a good price.

I put my little girl into nursery from 6 months old until she started school (last year) and it cost me £700 a mont - £35 a day.

Very expensive, but we weren't entitled to a council place. We got tax credits for some of the time which was useful.

 

[i.love]

omg. I have a feeling I will be staying at home for quite some time yet! Don't really fancy to work and give most of my wage away. Mad!

 

[i.love]

I agree with emmaandamyleigh

After you've bought the pram/cot ect and baby arrives, i'd say less than £10 extra a week. A packet of nappies at around £5 and a tin of formula £5 (if you dont breastfeed).

Theres no other expenses I can think of, apart from the odd packet of vests or jammies every so often. And only other thing to possibly save for is childcare which is quite pricey.

We're hoping to move to a bigger house too, but moved through my pregnancy last time and it was a nightmare, so we're gonna wait til baby is born and ready to go in its own room (about 6mth - 1yr) so theres plenty time to move.

10 pounds a week? that's great news! maybe we will be able to afford a bigger place after all!

the problem is that we are renting and it states in our contract that they do not allow kids here. We haven't told our landlords yet, and are just a bit concerned that they might ask us to move out. Will see.

 

[Laura_C]

Most regular stuff for baby I just used to work into my weekly shopping budget. Nappies, wipes, nappy sacks, formula and medicines etc we needed. Teats and bits and bobs like that, and Sainsburys do lovely kids stuff much better quality than asda and tesco I find. Like you i mainly shop in Next for her clothes but I do get cheaper bits. For vests an babygros you can't beat the supermarkets! I used work this in with my shopping too. I tend to spend a little more on her stuff now she is 3 as it lasts a lot longer, you have to bare in mind they go though clothes very quickly up until about 2. X

 

[twilly]

I remember someone saying "if you wait until you can afford it, you will never have one"
I don't think they were trying to say they were so expensive, don't do it, rather that, you will always find the money and manage, when they are here.
It is daunting isn't it? I guess as well, they will always come first and sacrifices will need to be made.
Its amazing how people are happy to pass things on, when they don't need them any more too.
xxx

 

[i.love]

I remember someone saying "if you wait until you can afford it, you will never have one"
I don't think they were trying to say they were so expensive, don't do it, rather that, you will always find the money and manage, when they are here.
It is daunting isn't it? I guess as well, they will always come first and sacrifices will need to be made.
Its amazing how people are happy to pass things on, when they don't need them any more too.
xxx

oh yes I totally agree. That's why we decided to start trying for children while I was still at uni. Everyone was saying that I should wait until I finish, then until I get a job and stay there for 6 months so I could go on maternity leave, then better to wait even longer for a couple of promotions, until we have our own house, etc. Well if you think like this there will always be something else to wait for.

and yes, somehow people always find money for babies It's just I'm not sure if it's worth it to go into much extra expense for a bit bigger place and then finding out that we can't live as comfortably as before.

xx

 

[twilly]

we are saving for our own place, but have decided that we can manage a baby in the place we are in, so we are considering staying as we are and seeing how it goes.
We defo want a bigger place later on, but this takes the pressure off for now.
However, I do keep looking to see what comes up.

 

[emmaandamyleigh]

It's when people say you shud have a baby at the right time but I dint think there is right time to have one apart from when I was a teenager not being disrespectful to teenagers that have kids and think most do a brilliant job but there is a never the right time otherwise if there was people would keep putting off if you know what I mean

 

[teampc]

We had the same thoughts, there is never going to be a good time really, there is always a reason not to, so we thought let's just go for it, plenty of people with less money than us have kids and are fine so we will be fine

 

[littlemiss83]

I like the way you ladies think!!

I'm in total agreement. Its such an amazing, like changing event that nothing will prepare you, not even a stash of money in the bank or a decorated room sitting waiting. There's still the usual baby hassles to deal with like baby crying constantly and up all night ect.

No one wants to be poor with a baby, but theres not hundreds to buy, I think people are quite suprised at how little it costs for babies. When people talk about how much they cost I think they generalise over the babies whole life.

I cant stand it when people fall for all the adverts ect and think they have to get that certain product in order to be a good parent.

Like those stupid nappy wrapping bins (no offence to anyone who has one) just a useless expense if you ask me, who on earth cant wrap nappies themselves and chuck it in the outside bin!? Or those massive changing unit things, that mean u have to take baby to a certain room to change rather than pulling out a changing mat from behind the couch...people spend hundreds of pounds on these things only to have to get rid of them 6 months later when baby starts trying to climb off it.

 

[pinkymum]

I agree that there is no right time to have a baby. It would be great to be completely financially stable but how many people do you know who are?
You can buy lots of second hand stuff as well. And then if you have money to buy non essential items that's great too. I'm surprised that the majority of my stuff is brand new just by being sensible with my money (never used to be)
For me I needed to wait to have a baby because of my health. It wouldn't have been fair to bring a baby into the world while my mental health was a mess. And financially people just seem to manage because you have to.