Enough money for a baby?

lostinrates

galvanizersbaby wrote: »

I took it to mean maybe an accidential/unplanned pregnancy but then again I could be wrong

I think you have a good point with the last part of your post - while it doesn't actually cost much to keep a baby in the first few years (unless you are losing a wage of course which most people to take in to account)
It's more the long term cost of the things you've mentioned in your post uni etc...

Also I guess what's high priority for one household may not be for another so it's also a guess of when planning ahead - do you want to survive (in which case most can do this on very little) or do you want to be able to afford the things you consider important (this varies from person to person obviously)

I can't decide what to answer on the poll!:D

Yes,its to do with priority, I agree and also ethics/beliefs and politics. That varies between people and places.

I want more than to survive, and I would want more than that for a child. (as it happens the point is moot -for now anyay- as I am childless)

flea72

debtfreein4years wrote: »

I dont want all second hand things though thats why i have budgetted carefully for the things i want new. if family and friends are offering things that their baby has grown out of and will not be using then i dont have a problem in accepting what is offered. all what i have considered my essentials plus others like stair gates and bottles etc will cost me £750 max leaving a couple of hundred to sort out clothes. I know having new things for a baby is nice (weve all been there), but its case of finding the best value for money. For instance Ikea do a cot for abut £28, mattress another £20 - go to mothercare, youre looking at £60+ just for the cot - alot of first time parents think ooh we'll get a cot bed as it will last them longer, what they forget is most likely child No2 will come along within 2yrs and they need the cot for them, and seeing as No1 child has to go in a bed at 2yrs, you will prob do the same with child No2, so they never use it in the bed state, but have paid the extra for the privilidge

i do need a bath thermometer though as i like my bath water hot and warm water to me feels cold so i dont want to take the risk of potentially scalding a baby. use your elbow to test the water, it is much more sensitive to heat, than you hands/feet

its each to their own, i think my budget is very reasonable considering i could go mad and spend 10 times that quiet easily, but i still dont want to waste our savings as we are currently in rented and are saving as much as we can to buy our own house once the contract is up on this placei know its each to their own, but you say you are saving to buy a house, when you put it in that perspective, what do you think you or your child will remember most, the new babygros?, or the 'home' you made for them?

gxx

Flea

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Kaz2904

I put less than £500. I think that DH and I were probably earning £1300 a month between us when DD arrived (7 years ago). Our mortgage was £350 a month and our childcare was the same. So we would have had £600 left over. I reckon we wasted at least £100 per month on total carp because we didn't know any better and used to pay out stupid amounts for bank charges etc in that time. Hence the £500. We did both work full time for that too, in fact I had 3 jobs. Lord knows how we got through that time!

Taye

I have less than £500 a month after tax, morgage etc and i have 2 kids, it's a struggle for mum but the kids don't seem to notice they are happy and healthy.

Ms_Piggy_2

onlyroz wrote: »

Much less than £500 a month :eek:

Nappies £20 a month?
Formula (unless you breastfeed) £20-£30 a month?
Clothes, maybe a few hundred a year?

What else? Because the initial outlay of cot, buggy etc only comes to a few hundred as well...

Childcare - that's the big one. All well and good if you can survive on one salary, but if you need two to pay the mortgage *and* eat then that's the big spend.