How much does a baby cost?

jonny2510

Can anyone give me a rough idea of how much it costs to bring up a baby for the the first three years of it's life? (i.e. and approcimate monthly or annual figure)

Obviously I realise this is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" type question, but I just want to get an idea so that I can plan how much "disposable" income we will need, or how much our outgoings will increase (to include food, clothes, prams etc).

The last thing I'd want is to bring a baby into this world, and get into financial difficulties?

I'd like to assume (while not very money saving) that things will be bought new, rather than second hand (which would probably if nothing else give me a worst case scenario figure).

Can anyone comment?

All advice would be gratefully appreciated

searching_me

best saying i ever heard was... the day you have a kid is the day you never have any money.... but worth every penny ... not much help i know but money comes and goes but as long as your kids are happy and your happy thats the main thing ... sitting and working out how much a kid cost it doesnt work like that yes you do have to sort work out childcare and everything like that but if your ready your ready no matter how much he or she costs x

DaisyFlower

If you'll need childcare, then thats the bulk of the expense.

Milk wise, aound £7 a week if not breastfed and nappies around £10 a week unless you bulk buy when on offer. Once weaning they can pretty much have whatever the adults are having or very cheap to make your own purees.

Items wise, bottles/dummies, pram, carseat, cot, bouncy chair/high chair are the main items plus clothing. Have a look on Mothercares website for an idea, various ranges on there to suit most budgets.

Really does depend on each couple though, I spent a fortune and bought many things that I actually didnt need but that the baby catalogues convinced me I did :rotfl: It did all get passed on though as have no plans for any more so at least it got more use.

Andyf33

Im a dad of 3 boys with another on the way. The only thing for certain is that I appeared to have more disposable income before having kids but life is so much more fun now.

With baby number 4 on the way we have budgeted 1500 for travel system, cot mattress, bottles, etc etc. You should be able to get everything you need for under 1000 (bought new) if you shop around. One word of advice though - dont buy all the stuff baby mags tell you to buy. We did first time around and didnt use half the stuff.

As far as ongoing expenditure is concerned I havent got a clue (and the truth would probably frighten me). I guess a lot comes down to personal taste in clothes etc and you can make it as expensive (or as cheap) as you want.

daveyjp

I reckon our almost 3 year old daughter costs about £1,000 a month.

Capital costs such as prams etc are minimal and as others have said the amount of kit you need can be very small - most of what you buy will not be used after 2-2.5 years.

Childcare is the highest cost either in the cost of paying someone to do it for you or the cost of a parent not working.

nickj_2

i'm sure if most people stopped and thought about whether they could afford to have kids , nobody would have them . if you find yourself short of cash then you have to make sacrifices , and adjust your lifestyle to fit your income .
also kids do not need all the toys and bits and peices that you may think are essential to their happiness . your love , time and attention are priceless
my daughters are now in their teens ( and that's another story ) and the toys that they used alot and got a lot of pleasure from were very few compared to what they were given or what we purchased

Marcheline

Hi OP, we're lucky in that we're both from big families so I honestly can say we didn't buy anything big except a car seat (cost about £120) We were inundated with clothes for the first year (and everyone still gives us masses of stuff on my daughter's birthdays/Christmas) so we very rarely buy any clothes for her.

Our daughter is now 2, but she was mainly breastfed so minimal costs on food for first 6 months. Food from then on costs hardly anything too as she eats what we have. I've been getting through 24 nappies a week for the last year at a cost of £4.97 (I go to Boots for convenience), but you can get disposables for £3.97 for 24 (Tesco) which is clearly cheaper.

I am a SAHM no so childcare costs but these can be extortionate, you may get help from working tax credits if your income is low. You may also get childcare vouchers from your employer. You will also get child benefit of £80 a month. Also, you may be eligible for child tax credit.

Main big (one off) costs will be big things like:

High chair - estimate £50
Car seat - estimate £100
Cot - estimate £120-£150
Pram - estimate £100

I'd also add that if I had to have paid for anything big or clothes, I would not have paid the estimated prices above, I'd have got them cheaper secondhand etc!! Primark, Asda and Tesco all do cheap and lovely kids clothes.

I've probably forgotten things but to be honest, I read all these articles about what I'd NEED and I hardly used any of them. In my mind it is a myth that kids cost a lot of money. It's the best thing you'll ever do too, so don't be put off by the perceived costs.

The_Plush_Doormat

Johnny - Think of a figure, double it, multiply it by 20, then add a few more zeros for luck! My "babies" are 15 and 19 and it never ever stops costing you.

maemaesmummy

Yes it never fails to amaze me just how much kids cost..:rotfl: mine are 4 and 2 and already costing a fortune!!!

Wouldnt have it any other way though.

Rachel83

Guess you budget for what you want to spend,
You can go as expensive or as cheap as you want, many items you may 'Need' you can get from freecycle for free, my sisters just got a cot and a few reusable nappies and a pram from there all hardly used
Things like nappy changing stations etc are hardly used but some people want them same with baby baths.. I didnt use one but some people find them a godsend.

Same with clothes you could buy all new from next etc or you can go carboot hunting when the time comes.
If going for formula and disposable nappies then i guess thats around £20 a week there, and as for childcare costs

Basically the little rascal will cost you as much or as little as you want it to.

VfM4meplse

nickj wrote: »

i'm sure if most people stopped and thought about whether they could afford to have kids , nobody would have them

Good advice. I think this is one area in life where strict financial planning can't work, you just have to bite the bullet and think about whether the time is right in your life. In this country, even people with no income have children and they survive somehow.

If you still want to build financial assumptions into your planning, consider that many areas the NHS will not fund IVF for over 35s because female fertility declines after that time. So just go ahead and multiply whilst it's free! :rotfl: