Saving for a baby

moneypuddle

My partner and I are very keen to start saving for a baby. I know a lot of people have babies unplanned and if you have no savings, its just a case of saving in the buildup but I want us is to be as organised as we can be, so we've both started paying into an ISA.

Basically I want enough money for the basic set up - cot, pram, all equipments etc (am working on the assumption of no help from family although that wont be the case), and also enough to tide me over a little on top of my maternity pay, just so its not such a struggle.

So I was thinking of taking six months maternity. So if I could allow for say an extra £400 a month for those 6 months I need £2400, and effectively I'd be 'paying' myself that £400 out of another account each month, but what about the basics? I'm a little clueless so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Clearly it wont work quite as simply as this but I want to have a rough figure (£eg £5,000) then work it back in terms of when I want my due date to be, so I know my partner and I need to put away £x each month.

Please can anyone help? Thanks

x

LilacPixie

well babies can be as expensive or as cheap as you want them to be. Breast feeding is free but if you chose to formula feed you would need a steriliser and 6-8 bottles which would be roughly £100 plus formular is £8 a tin and lasts about 6 days with a 4-5 month old. Cotbed/matress ours was from mothercare and was another £200.
Carseat - infant carrier is £100+ depending on if you want a base and what brand, does baby until 9+kg but its wise to keep baby rearfacing for as long as possible as safer.
Pram/puschair - anything from £150 to £800+
other bits like mat, change bag, bath (if you use, I used a sink) another £100
Reusable nappies 200-300 for birth to potty but bargains can be had.

moneypuddle

Thanks Pixie thats realy helpful

ema_o

Depending what time of year you are on maternity you might have to also think about extra heating costs if you'd normally be out all day. I'd think you could roughly work it out based on what you spend now.

Thanks pixie from me too, useful as we have our first baby on the way! Luckily already had offers from friends of things we can borrow, I'm sure you'll find the same moneypuddle!

Princess_Coupon

+
baby monitor £20-60
sleepsuits, vests, hats outfits in newborn and 0-3 £70-£140
maternity clothes couple of bottoms few tops £120-£200
cot/pram bedding £40-£100
breast pump £15- £30 manual £40-£100 electric

property.advert

You are only looking at 6 months which is better than nothing but your costs will not disappear once you return to work. You know for instance that there will be no provision for university from the state so that is your responsibility etc. Unless you can afford private schooling then I'd look at moving to be well within the catchment area of a very good infant / junior school. Where you live now may be nice for a couple but in an area where your child would have to go to a really poor school.

As for start up stuff, a few hundred at John Lewis sorts you out and they are really not more expensive and your quality is top line. Best buy is a microwave steamer, forget bottle warmer, get around 6 small and 6 large bottles. I went for Avent and they never put a foot wrong over 3+ years.

Best buys are swatches, you'll use loads of them but they cost little. Sleep suits after the first weeks are best and don't bother with tops that tie up as they just come undone and are a fuss about. Enfant are really good, Mothercare as well but can be pricey. Rubbish is a false economy as you won't put your child in it.

Don't be tempted to buy too much as they grow so fast that you end up with things that are hardly used, simply because you have too much. When time for a new size, get a few and see how you get on, adding a couple of sets if you need.

Car seats can cost the earth and don't need to but I wouldn't buy a £25 Asda one. Buggies as well can be pricey and 9 months will come around in no time and you'll need to change if you go down the Maxi Cosi type route. If you are using public transport you'll need a smaller folding buggy. Get a Maclaren, around £75-125 and you cannot grow wrong really once they are able to hold their heads up. For the first year you need more support but you will have to change it and thus you should consider how much you can afford.

As for beds, a cot is fine but you don't need to spend masses. Safe is good, not expensive.

**kym**

I had my DD 8 weeks ago, and can tell you our exact outlay to date as I kept a spending diary. We have not gone especially cheap, have bought a mix of new and second-hand (SH). It could easily be done cheaper and likewise you could easily spend a fortune if you choose to!, but we have spent a total of £1,250 as follows:

Pregnancy - £250

including early viability 3D scan, vitamins, yoga DVD, maternity underwear inc 6 nursing bras, tummy cream, pregnancy books (SH), hypnobirthing classes, tens machine hire, birthing ball and various aromatherapy oils

Travel stuff - £340

including phil and teds stroller and accessories, maxicosi car seat, and sling (SH)

Sleeping stuff - £185

including cot and coco fibre mattress, crib (SH) and coco fibre mattress, baby monitors (SH), grobags (SH), sheets and blankets, cot/crib bumpers (SH), and cot mobile (SH)

Feeding - £40

including electric steriliser, bottles, breast pump and storage bags, feeding cushion (SH)

Toys - £25

including playmat (SH) and vibrating rocker (SH)

Changing - £200

including cloth nappies and wraps, changing table, nappy bucket, changing bag, changing mat, creams and hand sanitisers

Bathing / cleaning - £25

including muslins, baby bath (SH), towels, sponges and toiletires

Clothing - £45

but this was really unnecessary as we have been given more than enough clothes new as gifts and SH - it just made pregnancy more real for me to buy some cute outfits!

Decorating the nursery - £140

Paint, shelving, nursing chair, etc - again fairly unnecessary - was just a nice step in my pregnancy!

All added up, it seems to me that we spent a lot, but to be honest we really didn't notice it - we just bought slowly over the course of the pregnancy and it came out of our normal budget - my other expenditure went down in pregnancy as obviously I wasn't drinking or going out as much, and we took a short-haul holiday instead of our normal long-haul exotic trip as travelling had become tiring by 32 weeks!

On top of this our actual outlay was reduced to £1,060 as we received the health in pregancy grant of £190. We should also get some of that outlay back as we go along as we plan to sell stuff as she grows out of it.

Now that she is here, our ongoing expenditure is nil at the moment as I am breastfeeding and she is in cloth nappies. The nappies we have will last until she is potty trained, and we have plenty of clothes until she is over a year old. The main expense for us will be childcare when I go back to work at the end of my maternity leave.

Hope that helps!!!

Isksta

Really is as much as you want to spend and how you want to parent.

We chose to co sleep so that cot i though would be great..........was storage........same as the moses basket.

The £250 buggy had a nice thick layer of dust over it by 2 months as i used a sling that was about £30.

Clothes , i bought loads of second hand bits. I personally dont like babies all dressed up in outfits , i prefer them in sleep suits as i think its more comfortable for them (just my opinion) and they are babies. so i might of spent about £50 if that.

i waisted a LOT of money of things i though id need , i fell for the first time mum list of things you need from mothercare....that was painful i tell you :rotfl:

Make-it-3

Kym - how did you do all your 'pregnancy' bits for £250? In my area hyno birthing classes alone are more than £250? My budget for similar things comes out to nearly £3K and that's even allowing for some freebies I've already got from freecycle.

OP yes, I agree its a good idea to start saving, but also remember that babies don't just turn up when you want them to and also your circumstances may change for either the better or worse in the meantime. And as others have said its not just the first year of their lives but the next 20 too - they don't get any cheaper as they get older. But at the end of the day, people manage with what they've got.

savingmummy

We saved when we first planned on a baby and it all went fine and dandy but we found we were just overspending on non essential things.
Little did i know that you dont need everything the shops sell nor do you need the best and most expensive branded things - cheaper things do the same job!!

Main thing about saving is to compensate from any wages you would lose during time off which is sensible to save for now.

I spent a fortune on newborn 3-6 month clothing and half my DD never wore (people bought loads), she grew out of most within a fortnight. So don`t go overboard on clothing.

Our parents helped out as grandparents often do so my parents bought the cot bed (great investment) my too are still in the beds aged 4 1/2 and 2 1/2! In laws bought a expensive pram i used all of twice was too big and bulky and not practical so i bought a cheap petite star zia perfect for travelling and is lightweight.

savingmummy

pegasus78 wrote: »

All baby needs is somewhere to sleep, feeds and clothes,and the best thing you can give them is your time, it really is priceless

couldnt agree more