Advice

*niptuckfan*

Hey money saving mums looking to call on your knowledge to help with my planning, I am off the pill and fingers crossed I will get pregnant in the near future. In good old mse style I want to be as organised as possible financially. My work gives the minimum statutory maternity pay so I have worked out how much money I need to save to be able to cover all the direct debits for 12 months, given that I will get maternity pay and child benefit only. I already stock up on household items but planning also to have a good supply of things like toilet paper, tea, coffee, cleaning products, dog food etc etc.

What is a rough expected weekly cost of nappies and formula ? I am really wanting to breast feed so hopefully wont have the formula cost.

Is there anything that was recommended to you or you know wish you had stock piled or organised pior to baby?

BJV

Sleep ! ha ha


I think for me it was baby wipes. I used them for everything. I would not worry so much about nappies and clothes as they grow so fast. Instead just save as much and you can and enjoy.

*niptuckfan*

hahah! yes i think you are right just save save save, i am really hoping the budget released next month doesnt say scrapped statutory maternity pay..dont think we could afford if got no benefits, and i have worked for 22 years and never claimed a penny

Rambosmum

I’m in a very similar boat and I’m also trying to save asmuch. The budget I’ve done means I need to save £3600 to cover mat leave. Mywork does pay more than stat but I’ve missed out that by 11 days! (I gotpregnant slightly before we planned for me to really, I expected it to takemonths). So I’m left with the measly £138 per week + £20 CB. The £3600 will cover my half of thebills (when added to the stat mat pay) but not any clothes for me or bean orany petrol, but we’re really short on money so I’ll have to make it work.

Nappies are £11 for 72 in Asda at the mo and I’ve worked outfrom research I’ve done that you need about 10 per day for the first 6 weeks,then going down by 2 per day every 6 or so weeks until you get to 4/5ish a dayuntil potty training.



Formula I haven’t worked on yet.



I have budgeted for nursery stuff/ clothes/ bottles/steriliser etc which comes in at £2600 buying a mix of a second hand and new,and cheaper stuff and in reality grandparents will buy us some of those things.

BJV

I really don't think you can ever really be prepared for little ones. Your world will be turned upside down and inside out. But for all the right reasons. My first came early and I was completely unprepared. I had 24 hours notice that "hey you are having a baby tomorrow"!. I remember going around the shops and just buying anything with the word baby on it. You name it it went in the trolley. The only thing I would do is save save and invest in a baby papoose.


Cheaper than any expensive pram, ( honest I know I sold my super duper pram 6 months after, having only used it twice ) better for the baby, better for you. God I used to go everywhere with it. Not expensive, completely washable and gives you a lot more freedom. ( something that you will learn to love and cherish ) ha ha .


Really hope that all goes well. I remember being petrified ridged about the birth and honestly not that bad. Ok not nice but certainly not the 4 day drama that all the baby books said I had to be prepared for. In fact baby number one was 35 mins and baby number 2 even quicker.


Be healthy and enjoy x

BJV

Rambosmum wrote: »

I’m in a very similar boat and I’m also trying to save asmuch. The budget I’ve done means I need to save £3600 to cover mat leave. Mywork does pay more than stat but I’ve missed out that by 11 days! (I gotpregnant slightly before we planned for me to really, I expected it to takemonths). So I’m left with the measly £138 per week + £20 CB. The £3600 will cover my half of thebills (when added to the stat mat pay) but not any clothes for me or bean orany petrol, but we’re really short on money so I’ll have to make it work.

Nappies are £11 for 72 in Asda at the mo and I’ve worked outfrom research I’ve done that you need about 10 per day for the first 6 weeks,then going down by 2 per day every 6 or so weeks until you get to 4/5ish a dayuntil potty training.



Formula I haven’t worked on yet.



I have budgeted for nursery stuff/ clothes/ bottles/steriliser etc which comes in at £2600 buying a mix of a second hand and new,and cheaper stuff and in reality grandparents will buy us some of those things.

Its strange but before my little 2 ones, clothes, nights out etc where important. After, well I had baby blue's ( nice way of putting it ) for a while but even then somehow you just make it work. Budgets are fab but things happen and you will be amazed how the birth of a new baby sends grandparents into a buying frenzy.


Looking back I just wished I had enjoyed the early months more. P.s hope mum and baby are healthy and doing well.

*niptuckfan*

thanks for replying! i think you are right abuot never being totally prepared, but i am a control freak (working on that lol)
i def am thinking of not getting an expensive pram we live in the country/beach so it would only be ruined, a sling/papoose makes more sense for walking the dog

BJV wrote: »

I really don't think you can ever really be prepared for little ones. Your world will be turned upside down and inside out. But for all the right reasons. My first came early and I was completely unprepared. I had 24 hours notice that "hey you are having a baby tomorrow"!. I remember going around the shops and just buying anything with the word baby on it. You name it it went in the trolley. The only thing I would do is save save and invest in a baby papoose


Cheaper than any expensive pram, ( honest I know I sold my super duper pram 6 months after, having only used it twice ) better for the baby, better for you. God I used to go everywhere with it. Not expensive, completely washable and gives you a lot more freedom. ( something that you will learn to love and cherish ) ha ha .


Really hope that all goes well. I remember being petrified ridged about the birth and honestly not that bad. Ok not nice but certainly not the 4 day drama that all the baby books said I had to be prepared for. In fact baby number one was 35 mins and baby number 2 even quicker.


Be healthy and enjoy x

*niptuckfan*

thanks for replying rambosmum

what a shame you miss out on paid maternity!

i have done exactly the same worked out what i need for my half of the billls while on smp and hopefully i can save enough to cover the last 3 months when i get nothing. i will be going back to work after that so would really like to have the whole year off on maternity.

so 10-15 quid a week for nappies i will budget that in too. see what figures i can come up with









QUOTE=Rambosmum;68648825]
I’m in a very similar boat and I’m also trying to save asmuch. The budget I’ve done means I need to save £3600 to cover mat leave. Mywork does pay more than stat but I’ve missed out that by 11 days! (I gotpregnant slightly before we planned for me to really, I expected it to takemonths). So I’m left with the measly £138 per week + £20 CB. The £3600 will cover my half of thebills (when added to the stat mat pay) but not any clothes for me or bean orany petrol, but we’re really short on money so I’ll have to make it work.

Nappies are £11 for 72 in Asda at the mo and I’ve worked outfrom research I’ve done that you need about 10 per day for the first 6 weeks,then going down by 2 per day every 6 or so weeks until you get to 4/5ish a dayuntil potty training.



Formula I haven’t worked on yet.



I have budgeted for nursery stuff/ clothes/ bottles/steriliser etc which comes in at £2600 buying a mix of a second hand and new,and cheaper stuff and in reality grandparents will buy us some of those things.
[/QUOTE]

jwil

Congratulations!

Have you considered cloth nappies? I use a mix of cloth and disposables.

It's brilliant not worrying about whether you've got enough money for nappies as you've already got some at home. Washing them is not that big a deal.

It's worth seeing if there is a nappy library near you and you can try before you buy.

I'm currently expecting my 2nd and so all the cloth will be reused again here, saving even more money!

I second the sling - we didn't use a pram at all, and just have a stroller now he's bigger.

Car boot sales are brilliant for baby equipment/clothes, it's really cheap and often hardly been used.


Finally, sign up to as many baby clubs as you can find, I got loads of nappy money off coupons last time.

Gigglepig

Rambosmum wrote: »

The £3600 will cover my half of thebills (when added to the stat mat pay) but not any clothes for me or bean orany petrol, but we’re really short on money so I’ll have to make it work. .

This part stood out as a bit of a red flag to me. I hope your partner is supportive and prepared to step it up ... and that they do not expect you to contribute half the household costs when on maternity leave, that would be really harsh.

Also the stress of having a baby can be quite a lot on top of strained finances. Can your OH get a better paid job or can you cut costs so you won't be under such financial pressure?

In order to enjoy your maternity leave I think it is important to have a (modest) budget for some activities such as baby toddler groups (around here they start on £1), classes or cafe trips to socialise with other local mums so you are not isolated or lonely for lack of choice.

*niptuckfan*

i see what your saying gigglepig but i am planning the exact same as rambosmum to save to cover my "half" of the bills, its not that my oh isnt supportive i just want to do as much as i can while i am still in full time employment - when i reuturn to work part time and with childcare cost my oh will have to contribute a lot more as i just wont be able to.