Want to try for a baby - costs involved

tinkerbellsmum_2

personally i don't think children r that expensive we have no childcare cause we both work part time to make a few more hours than one of us could do full time we both get to spend time with the kids. i am reg to be a childminder but thats more because traveling to work is becoming difficult than the money.

how ever much a child costs u a reward they give u in happiness is triple that and more.

hun there never a right time to have a baby we can all find excuses why we shouldn't but in our heart if its what we want we should go for it.


afew tips for u i'm a mum of 2 8 and 1

• don't buy loads clothes they grow out of them so quick (unless u have a son like mine who doesn't seem to grow)
• research all your buys, check review i have made that mistake with my pram and now having to buy another would of been cheaper if i researched. (think all the way to 3 what will last them longest eg pushchairs have one that faces both ways and sits up facing u, u may get a toddler like mine that still likes to see u)
• buy second hand most of it will be like new but don't settle for it unless u love it.
• don't be to worried if it doesn't happen straight away sometimes these things take time.

good luck hunit really is the best thing u will ever do

justcat

Thanks for all of your replies.

I'm quite happy to buy just the basics especially with clothes as I know that their grandparents will buy them lots. I think I would probably stck to asda!
I'd probably spend a bit more on the bigger items like cots etc because I would want to use them again for the next child.

Thanks again... you have definately made me see clearer. Before, it was my head battling my heart but now I think they are on the same team!

kindofagilr

justcat wrote: »

I ask because my dad and stepmum earn about 50-60k between them and she wasn't sure she could afford it. On the flipside and couple of friends earn about 25-30k between them and afford it fine. And both are with a mortgage.

We earn about 40k between us with a mortgage £350 pm.

I think if people truly waited till they could afford kids (no mortgage etc) then there would never be any.

We earn 35k between us, mortgage od £618, car loan £180, Loan £368 and we are having a baby (and can afford a baby)

We have the nursery all done (and its gorgeous if I say so myself) for under £400, got wooden furniture from Ikea, cot/bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, shelves, curtains, treasure chest.

We have just bought the pram/car seat/push chair (travel system) from Toys r us for £229 (and you can get them cheaper)

We have a travel cot for beany to sleep in for first 6 months (£30 toys r us Hauck brand, extra mattress £30)

We buy nappies every week with a shop.

We were lucky to get a lot of clothes off friends, but the rest we mainly got from ebay.

I am hoping to breastfeed, but we have bought bottles in asda's baby event as I want to express to let OH feed baby.

We are lucky in that I think we can afford me to go parttime to either 3 or 4 days a week, and a mam and mil who will have bean a day each a week, so only need nursery for 1 or 2 days a week.

Go for it.

karenx

Join all the parent & toddler groups with tesco, sainsburys, boots etc!
Every few months they send you vouchers for £1 of pampers, 50p of this and that! It doesnt seem much but every little helps!
Also buy your wipes when they are on offer etc! Its amazing how meny you can go through without noticing! You could use 3 or 4 just with a nappy change, and 1 for wiping face and hands etc etc!
Also I would make a list of everything you could possibly need and ask people if they would mind getting them instead of clothes etc. I had my second son 5 months ago and we bought everything we needed then once he was born we got given loads and ended up with more clothes than we needed and things we already had like changing mat etc. So to save you money in the beginning if you maybe ask your mum for example to get the bottles, and your friend wipes etc! Or ask for vouchers for boots, mothercare etc and then once you run out of something or need bigger size clothes then use your vouchers and it saves you money!
For xmas just passed when people asked what to get the boys I just said vouchers as its easier for them, u dont end up with things you already have and it saves you money!
Also buy your clothes in the sales, plan ahead so if you know what size they will be in summer theres no point buying that size but in big jumpers/jackets etc! For xmas my baby got given a big duffle coat in a size 9-12 months. When he is 9 months old it will be may/june so the coat will be of no use!

elektra-2007

A baby will cost as little or as much as you want to spend. Your inital big costs will be bamboo nappies as they are expensive but will save you loads in the future especially if you have more kids, you will have to experiment with different liners and outers so it maybe best to put money to one side and buy some trial ones until you try them out.
If you want everything brand new and latest gear it will be expensive (600-800) buggy, (300) cot and mattress ect.
If your not that bothered you can get a cot from ikea for £40! Or look around for second hand as most babies dont use things for very long.
If your both on a low income then take a look at www.entitledto.co.uk to see what help you will get. Just buy what you need and nomore, the first year you will be buying lots of clothes as babies grow every few months. If you stick to basic stuff it will be cheaper and you can keep it for the next one.
If you breastfeed and use reusable nappies, apart from clothes (which you could ask for as presents!) The cost should be very low, you will need more soap powder for the nappies and wipes unless you use reusable ones. Your initial outlay will be the most, look around for bargains.

kindofagilr

karenx wrote: »

Also buy your clothes in the sales, plan ahead so if you know what size they will be in summer theres no point buying that size but in big jumpers/jackets etc! For xmas my baby got given a big duffle coat in a size 9-12 months. When he is 9 months old it will be may/june so the coat will be of no use!

Yeah we just did this in the next sale.

He will be 6-9 months in Sept - Dec of this year, so we got coats and winter things in the sale for 6-9 month olds

tanmu

We have two children and when we had the first we were both at uni. I left uni to work full time until mat leave, whilst DH finished uni. We were so broke it wasn't funny! We also got married just after he was born and got a rented place that needed furnishing from carpets up! We then found out I was pregnant with DD when DS was just 6 months old!!! We were both only working part time at that point so DH could continue to commute to uni in London....times were hard, money was practically non-existent and we ran up a lot of debt. But we have two beautiful, happy, healthy children and are almost debt free. DH has a well paid job (or at least it will be when debts are cleared!) and I'm back at work full time (tho very flexibly). Now they are both at school the dreaded childcare bill is gone. My point in saying all this is that you can bring up children on almost any budget. I have learned to be thrifty in so many ways...all whilst sticking to my motto of 'being cheap doesn't mean it has to look cheap'!!!

The best advice from above is not to buy too much in advance. I hardly ever used my plastic baby bath and a lot of clothes went unworn because family and friends were very generous! Also, consider a cot bed instead of a cot. It'll last until they are 5/6 years and would be a great investment buy.

Good luck!

got-it-spend-it

For us the most expensive aspect of having a baby has been the loss of my wage. OH and I earn £25k each, so now I have dropped down to SMP (£123 a week) we have lost a big chunk of our income. I think the problem is that often people's outgoings tend to match their incomes, so they simply cannot afford this huge drop (we only just about can).

In terms of outlay, it doesn't have to cost a lot. We were really lucky that my mum bought us a cotbed and mattress, and the in-laws bought our pram. These are probably the two most expensive items. We have furnished the nursery beautifully by buying things in the sale (bargain corner at IKEA has been our friend). We stocked up on nappies, wipes, basic clothes like sleepsuits while we still had two full wages coming in, so we don't have that added expense now. I BF which costs a minimal amount (breast pads, plus I bought a pump and bottles so I can express sometimes).

Clothes, as others have said needn't cost a fortune. We have received lots of gifts, lots of hand me downs and what we have bought has mostly been Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys or eBay,

chloe99_2

Sorry, havent read the other answers but frankly this misconception that we are all deluded with really gets my goat!!!!! The child benefit of approx £65 a month that EVERYONE gets is enough to keep a baby in nappies and toiletries and even probably formula if you wanted to formula feed.

On top of that, if you work 16+ hrs a week you get a MINIMUM of about another £40 per month in "child tax credits", no doubt if you work less hours or dont work you get more than £40 and it is called something else!! This is easily enough for clothes and shoes if you are not extravagant.

Lastly, EVERY pregnant woman REGARDLESS of income, gets £190 cash payment in pregnancy which you can use to buy all your baby essentials up front, or put towards the more expensive items (which of course you do not need to buy new). Lower (NOT low) income familes get a bigger cash payment.

I would be very very surprised if there were any ordinary people in this country who can't afford to have a baby!

lolababy

My advice would be to buy everything second hand. Lots of people give away or sell baby goods that are in near new condition. Look on ebay or freecycle for baby clothing and stay away from the hyped up expensive baby goods.
Ask people for clothing in the next size up as baby will grow quickly.
Buy a chest freezer and stock up on food to cut the cost of shopping. Try to pay off as much debt as possible and pay some bills in advance. At least that way you wont have bills eating away at your mat leave.
Make sure the pram you buy suits your needs. Its no use buying a fancy expensive pram if it wont fit in the back of your car or stop you getting on a bus. Ask other mums what baby goods they found usefull and what they found useless.
Find out how much childcare in your area is and the help you may get in tax credits. Maybe save towards this expense.