How to afford a baby?!

SG27

I've asked this question to various family members and the answer is always "you just do" well that's no good for me I need to plan!

Well my wife is now pregnant! So issue is a little more pressing now.

We currently both work full time and own a home with a mortgage. We have a fair amount spare currently with two full time incomes but with just me working we would have probably about £50 per month spare currently. This doesn't include discretionary spending on meals out or buying any nice things! So with a child increasing our outgoings and going down to one income things are going to be tight!

Add into this that ou r is quite small so we will need to move within the next few years. On one income I can't see how this will be possible?!

We have saved about £30,000 over the last few years since we moved to our own house so have some backup. However the house needs a bit of work. Which is starting to get quite urgent. So this will likely drop by £5000 ish.

So how does everyone else manage it? Any tips or advice would be much welcome!

moneypenny21

"you just do" is right in some ways. After the initial outlay (which can be as much or as little as you like depending on if you are willing to buy 2nd hand baby items which are significantly cheaper), babies aren't that expensive in my experience. They don't need half of the stuff they have so if you are on a tight budget then there are many things you can cut out. Nappies, milk (if bottle feeding) and wipes are the biggest expense in the first year or two but again, reusable nappies and wipes can save you a fortune.

The first time I've really thought "that was expensive" with my child is entrance fees and lunches if we treat ourselves a meal (feeding 3 rather than 2, though children never cost as much) so its the "extras" where I tend to notice it (which is why we usually take a packed lunch). Subsequent children are expensive in this sense but not initially as you don't need to buy prams, cots etc again.

Working part time, our joint wages are considerably less than when we both worked full time, we have to save extra hard through the year for things like holidays which we would previously have had spare money for. It is doable

Best of luck.

burlington6

You sound sensible enough so should be fine.

There are vast amounts of people out there who just breed and expect everyone else to fund them.

You obviously aren't one of them

BucksLady

Congratulations to you both .

Managing on one income would be a struggle for most people - has your wife considered returning to work at some time?

SG27

Thank you moneypenny. Hopefully it won't cost as much as I think then!

I think it's the one income and house move which is the biggest thing. I certainly can't afford to get a new mortgage on just my income!

Yes my wife would go back to work as soon as is possible although child care would be a problem!

BigAunty

Download the MSE budget planner, populate it with your future income and current household expenses.

Go through the site to identify where to slash outgoings (cheapest tariffs for insurance, energy, telecoms/tv etc), cheapest groceries/frugal recipes. Go through it on a line by line basis and find out how to reduce it.

You may find that you can rummage up more than £50 estimated disposable income and be able to afford treats like meals out.

gonzo127

you will also find that things you enjoy now will become different so wont do them exactly the same, and you will end up doing other things which will give you immense joy but cost very little,

trip to the cinema -
2 people, go watch film, maybe have a meal out, and other bits £50+

with baby, need baby sitter (parents?) so you might decide that you want to get home sooner, so not have the meal and so spend more time with your child saving £30 ish

new things will be going to the park, totally free, taking some old bread to a duck pond once again free etc etc, you can easily spend a lot of time doing free things, in which before you child you might have gone out and spent some money

DigForVictory

If you really want to be *startled*, post your SOA. I have every confidence that that £50 can be levered upwards sharply. It may not be worded gently, but ye gods the information will be solid.

If you can resist Brand New baby stuff you'll save a *stack*. That said if you just cannot get your heads around cloth nappies, it isn't a Hanging Offence, just an ongoing expense.

Do you really have to move? If so, do you really have to blue 5K before selling? You might want to check that whatever needs doing is either child friendly or done when child is elsewhere. Finally, the younger the small person the less wear & tear they add to the process of moving as they're less noisily opinionated...

All the very best of luck to you both!

onlyroz

You don't have to go down to one income. Perhaps you could both go part-time, ensuring that both of you get to spend time with the baby while still progressing your careers.

euronorris

Surely your wife will get SMP at the very least? Or am I missing something?

moneyistooshorttomention

Is feeling cynical and any time I've seen posts like this in the past the answer does seem rather to boil down to "Everyone else will pay for it" = the State will pay = everyone else will pay.

Sincere congratulations though to your stance of "How do I personally pay for it?":T