Costs of having a child

peachyprice

supermassive wrote: »

What? How is it a £5 saving if you're doing more washing at once? It'll bring down the cost entirely.

It's an alternative to the £25 per week extra, that's all I'm saying. I didn't say you'd get some magical fairy transporting it to and from the laundrette.

It was £25 a MONTH, not week.

kathrynha wrote: »

my friends electric bill went up by more than £25 a month.

Still think it's worth schlepping the streets for?

Bangton

I'd say per month as a young baby, I was paying £150 for my little boy's s supplies. I formula fed and went through 1.5 tubs of formula a week. I use (and have always used ) pampers. In the very early days there's lots of poo and nappies ran out very quickly. By about 3 months I was doing about 4 nappy changes a day and that's about what I do now. It costs me about £20 as I usually find some sort of offer on the big packs.

Washing reusable nappies is not for me!

I'd guess I've spent £500 on clothes in the last year (I didn't buy second hand though).

My pram was from mamas and papas outlet and cost £100 (armadillo).

First stage car seat was £80

Second stage car seat £340 as he grew out of the first at nine months and I wanted him to continue rear facing

No idea what I spent on baby activities. Probably less than £100 as I went to playgym with friends and it was £1 when he was under 1.

Toys - not sure. In the early days I found them a waste. All we really needed and used was an activity mat which we were given and I was also given lots of early stage toys. Good job really as he wasn't bothered about anything other than his mat.

From about 10 months he started to play/pull himself up /empty his toy box and walk with a push along walker. Since then I've probably spent £500 on toys which seems a lot I admit.

Having said that I haven't been for meals /cinema /nights out since he was born and my OH and I were big on meals so I bet we have saved there.

The biggest thing for me was losing £2000 a month being on maternity leave and now I'm back my childcare bill is between £700 and £800 a month depending on how many days in a month. If you don't work presumably your used to not having a wage which I imagine helps.

I guess they cost a lot but having a child has changed my life for the better. Being a bit skint er is a small price to pay for me

browneyedbazzi

I'm a bit late to this thread, but thought I'd share this link to the Money advice service 'baby costs calculator' which I found helpful:

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/tools/baby-costs-calculator

meritaten

you aren't buying a new sound system or car! this type of thread drives me crazy. you either want children or you don't. if you want children then you have to be prepared that they will 'impact' your finances to some degree.
but they don't have to 'cost the earth'! you CAN buy their essentials cheaply. you don't have to send them to private schools. ways can be found to live '3 as cheaply as 2'.

MrsMuffin

I've got a 4 month old baby who I am breastfeeding. With regard to maternity clothes, I had to buy some maternity wear (mainly for work) but actually it was breastfeeding tops that I ended up spending more on. I have lots of friends in the same position. We all ended up buying more breastfeeding friendly clothing than actual maternity wear. After 9 months of wearing the same clothing you really need something new that you can feed in. Also if you need to feed in public and feel self consious, a feeding cover is a good idea.

At the moment my weekly costs are nappies (always on offer),Swimming lessons (not essential £11 each) and a coffee at a coffee morning with other mums(£3 for a drink and cake). I've found this essential for my sanity!

Also I ended up in Hospital for nearly 3 weeks, so another expense may be car parking/bus fare for your partner to visit. Also a taxi home with the baby of you have no car.

Remember to budget for a few toys/play mat, a stearliser, weaning spoons/dishes, high chair etc.

She has actually saved me money though as I rarely go out any more!

As others have said, there will never be a right time but I wouldn't change her for anything

HTH

Mrs Muffin

ViolaLass

dirty_magic wrote: »

It's probably good that I don't plan on having any babies; the thought of having to wash reuseable nappies makes me heave! :eek:

I'm not saying everyone should do it but it isn't as unpleasant as I had anticipated. It's not like the old days where you had to soak the nappies in a bucket and then wash them at really high temps.

We keep the used nappies in a big plastic tub with a tight lid (no smells to carry) lined with a mesh bag. Chuck the bag in the wash (no need to touch the used nappies) once a day or so, at 30 degrees then leave to dry overnight.

Yes, a little more work than disposables but MUCH cheaper plus I find the reusables keep the smell in better when on the baby. No pins needed either - ours came with an array of poppers so they can be adjusted until she stops needing them.

turtlemoose

Supermarkets all do their own brand of nappies. I have used Aldi nappies which at around 8p each for smaller sizes and up to around the 11/12p mark each for larger sizes, would no way be £10 a week. DS is still in nappies and I budget £25 a month for nappies and wipes. I'd like to use cloth but I don't think I'd keep up with the washing/drying cycle. Next time I will use reusable wipes though, so my nappy budget will be £20 a month. Although saying that at the start they go through more nappies but this should only be for the first 1-2 months ish and then things settle down.

The first year, probably two actually, he cost very little apart from the above, we did swimming at £4.10 a session, and clothes were either gifted or bought very cheaply as huge bundles off fb/ebay.

When they start weaning they eat so little it doesn't really make much difference.

Now he is 2, and I budget £25 for nappies and wipes as mentioned, and £30 goes in a separate pot - so £55 a month. Some months I won't spend any of the £30, others he will have a new pair of shoes and it wipes out a good chunk. Any child related expense - mattress, bedding, shoes, clothes etc comes out of that. Over the course of the last 12 months, the £30 a month has averaged out.

We got a cot and mattress from ikea for £100, could be done even cheaper if second hand.

The only large costs we've had is that I wanted an ERF car seat after he outgrew the infant carrier. (extended rear facing for those not in the know). His car seat cost me £250 (paid for outside of the normal budget), however this seat will last until he is 25kg in weight (approximately 6 or 7 years old) so pretty good value for money I think. Plus if you can afford it I don't think you can put a price on safety.

Child benefit at £20 a week should cover most day to day costs for the first few years. It's when they start school I think they start costing you real money!

Apart from childcare of course, I pay more in childcare than I do for my mortgage - but that isn't an issue for the OP.

ViolaLass

meritaten wrote: »

you aren't buying a new sound system or car! this type of thread drives me crazy. you either want children or you don't. if you want children then you have to be prepared that they will 'impact' your finances to some degree.

Indeed, but what kind of fool wouldn't look at some details before jumping in? Not very MSE!

Happier_Me

You've already had lots of good advice on here about the running costs of children. For me the biggest input was loss of income (I went from full to part time). Combined with childcare costs this was a big change financially. But this won't affect you.

To add to this, I would manage your 'set up' costs carefully. Beg and borrow baby stuff where you can. We had a cot and moses basket from SIL that has now been passed on to another SIL. My DD is now 9 and much of her wardrobe is hand me downs from her cousin. When my DD has outgrown her clothes these are passed on to her best friend, then her sister and then back to my niece (assuming they are still in decent condition obivously:D)

You don't need a really expensive or brand new pram, fancy toys, changing units or the most high tech baby monitors for a baby. Make a list of the essentials and think about who will be desperate to buy for your baby. Who may be in a position to gift and lend you some of these essentials? My SIL had her first baby a year ago - we bought her a new cot and moses basket mattress plus a basket of essentials (nappies and wipes etc). A bit boring but essential because they were working to a budget.

It is all too easy to spend on non essentials in the excitement.
The only big items I consider 'essential' to have new are mattresses and a car seat if you have a car.

Gigglepig

We had much higher water, electricity and gas bills - winter baby. bought a new reliable and energy efficient washer and a drier too - having the drier saved so much time and hassle.

Tried lots of cheaper brand nappies but ended up with expensive ones due to leakages - some brands may fit the baby better than others

After seeing one of my friends not being able to return to work, and being at the mercy of the local school and free therapy options, I felt that savings were important to have options in case the child needed additional support.

Spent lots on work clothes due to having to look smart and constantly changing size both before and after, and due to breastfeeding.

Apparently one in seven women are made redundant after maternity leave - many women I know ended up earning less than expected for a while, and it can take longer than usual and be very stressful to hunt with small baby. No job makes it hard to pay for childcare, no childcare makes it hard to interview for work.

Now that I am back at work I wish I had a large freezer for batch cooking. I would like a slow cooker for Christmas.

One of the biggest random costs has been driving lessons - never was a problem before, but wanted to be able to drive due to having a child. our tiny family car was completely full, even with just one child - never felt the need for a larger one before.

It is very tempting to buy pretty things for the baby, fortunately their clothes are less expensive than adult sizes. On the other hand, I spent next to nothing on hobbies or going out the first year.