How much do babies cost?

geordie_joe

jo_b wrote: »

The biggest financial issue is the loss of one salary

If you discount the money you waste buying the things other people tell you you must have.

LilMissEmmylou

how much u need saved is pretty much £0, nice to have some though I fell pg by accident while in uni and so had nothing saved up! Its amazing how you get all that you need (and tones more!) though

relax, people worry too much about money when it comes to babies, babies don't want for much... its once they get older they do lol

july73

relax, people worry too much about money when it comes to babies, babies don't want for much... its once they get older they do lol

Here here .................When they get to teenagers, that's when they really cost you money:eek: :rotfl:

skintchick

Well, I honestly think you can do it cheaply. As people have said you can get second-hand items and if you ask on Freecycle you can even get them for nothing - i have been given off there a Mothercare chest of drawers/changing table and it's fantastic quality.

I had a job with great mat benefits when I got PG but have been made redundant so now we only have the £110 a week to look forward to for Maternity Allowance.

I think it can be done cheaply - babies just need love, milk and a few toys.

Think about it, when you remember your childhood is it money you remember or spending time with your mum and dad?

Debt_Free_Chick

skintchick wrote: »

Think about it, when you remember your childhood is it money you remember or spending time with your mum and dad?

This is such an important point. I'm 48 and I remember making pictures with potato prints/paint and making cakes - especially, scraping the leftover raw mix out of the bowl with my fingers!

Some mummies would be outraged today, I guess :eek:

robin_banks

Can be done cheaply, use charity jobs as little people get bored of toys and books very quickly, visit your local library , toy libraries, freecycle, breastfeeding.

Plenty of ways and means.

tiamai_d

I was going to be really cheeky and say 'about the cost of a bottle of wine'..... :rolleyes:

From experience of having two lovely little 'accidents' (AKA- the polka dot pill), I would say clear your debts becuase it will be so hard to do afterwards, save maybe 3-6months salary to 'top-up' your maternity allowance if needed. We got by on my MA as I had been on SSP all 2nd pregnancy so were used to living tight. We bought all DS2's stuff for about £500. Cot, cheap pram (I don't believe in paying over £150 for a pram), steriliser, bottles, bedding, clothes, car seat (came with pram). The rest were gifts. Kept £150 for when he was born (came in handy as he was 7 weeks early and we had to go and buy prem clothes).

I'd also warn that plan and save as much as you'd like, the unexpected will still happen. For example I was ill with my second, so was off sick, then had my maternity leave, went back full time for 3 weeks, DS2 was diagnosed with 'some degree of brain damage' at 8months, so I went part time for about a year and it became apparent that he needed so much extra care that I eventually left work all together.

You can't really plan what will happen, but if you try and make your life as 'secure' as possible (affordable morgage, little debt, sensible car that will fit the car seat and pram and bags, wean yourself off extravagances) you will manage. After all all they do need is to be kept warm, dry, fed and loved.

tiamai_d

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

This is such an important point. I'm 48 and I remember making pictures with potato prints/paint and making cakes - especially, scraping the leftover raw mix out of the bowl with my fingers!

Some mummies would be outraged today, I guess :eek:

What??? You were allowed to get..... dirty?!?!?! I'm shocked!!!! :rotfl:

Actually I hate seeing kids in pristeine clothes with gel in their hair and not a hint of a runny nose. I want to roll them in some mud to make them look like my two do! :rotfl: Now, is that jelousy that my boys are little urchins or me being a bad mother by letting them play... in dirt... and not caring about 'germs' when they make crispy cakes and start licking at the bowl before the crispy's are all in the cups?

augustsmummy

Babies aren't cheap, but you'll have a few months to save up. My baby was a nice surprise two years ago. We didn't have much in the way of savings (about 3 thousand) due to hubby being off work due to injury the year before for three months. We coped. There are always ways to do things cheaper, buy clothes at primark, asda and tesco rather than the bootique baby shops. Breastfeed if possible. Don't buy every baby gadget going (we never used our bottle warmer, we had two steralisers, but only used the microwave one as so much easier to use and clean! and our moses basket was used twice).
The things which you will need to budget for are a good quality cot and matress (we went for a cot bed to give us a few years to save for a decent bed), a good pushchair /pram and a good car seat (don't forget to put some aside for second size car seat, as that will come sooner than you think, and are expensive).
As you have time to plan the above I would also save for time off work, and see whether you or partner can reduce hours / give up work or can afford childcare for once the baby comes. hth and good luck!

amandada

Like others have said, it's no, but the actual baby eqpt etc that's expensive, it's the loss of income that hits you hard.
I stopped working full time 12 years ago, when I had my dd, and other than maternity leave, have worked PT ever since.
However, when we bought our 1st house, we did it on a budget that didn't take my salary into account as I didn't want to work full time once I had children.
I'd suggest starting to save now if you can, and continuing this through a pregnancy to give yourself some breathing space.
Because we'd never taken my salary into account, with both my children I was able to take the full amount of unpaid maternity leave
(and please don't think my husband is some super high earner, because he's SO not!)