How to afford a baby?!

thriftylass

I agree with the "you just do". We were skint at the end of each month before we had kids, now we are able to find £800 a month for childcare and still save. I definitely recommend to post your statement of affairs (SOA) here and we can give you more concrete advice.

We got many things as hand me downs or gifts. Our only expense was milk (£8 a week I think when the baby drank most before weaning) and nappies. Son only fit Pampers at £20 every two weeks and daughter is in Aldi's (now a fiver every week maybe). They only got expensive when I went back to work --> nursery costs of up to a grand at the start. Didn't buy wipes at the start just cotton wool and water. They don't need toiletries or anything. Furniture was second hand or hand me down too. We got loads of clothes the same way. Once they start eating the amount is hardly noticed. Even as a toddler it's maybe 1/3 of the adult cost to feed them. Christmas and birthday gift can be kept low in price or even second hand for some time too till they can voice their wishes.

Rambosmum

Yeah, we've thought how would we afford it, I'm now 8 months pregnant.

We've spent 10k getting the house sorted so we can stay here a few more years (all from savings - some electrical work, new kitchen, knocking a wall down, redecorating etc). And I've bought everything we need for baby. I made a spreadsheet with the price of stuff new and the price I got it for. We bought a new car seat, and three new mattresses (crib, moses basket and cot) but everything else pretty much is second hand and we've spent £800, a saving of 2k (got a bugaboo pram which new would have been £900). So initial outlay has been low as we'd been intending to do the house anyway.

We've also budgeted for my mat leave - I've saved enough to cover my half of the bills and my mat pay (stat) will pay for my 'spends' and my car. OHs wage would cover all the bills but I like to pay my way.

I'll be going back to work full time, as I want to and we need my income. By far the biggest expense will be child care - £800 a month! We've worked out that nappies, extra washing, food, clothes etc will be around £150 pm and expect this to increase as child gets older.

enthusiasticsaver

You budget and plan. My daughter is currently on maternity leave with a 2 month old baby but they seem to be managing on just one income and SMP but she has said she does want to go back to work part time when her baby is around 1 year old. Luckily she is local to both us and other set of grandparents and all of us willing to help out with childcare. She has taken lessons from me though and is a saver so has a buffer fund and you sound like you have your heads screwed on right so I am sure you will be fine. Look at your overheads before your wife finishes work and try and cut everything down to the bare minimum - neither of you will have time for a gym membership with a new baby, nights out will be less frequent and cut your Christmas and birthday spends down saying you are on a budget. Your wife will need to build in a clothes fund for maternity clothes and baby equipment does cost although if you have close parents I am sure grandparents will help out if they can - we certainly did anyway.


I would leave moving house until your little one is a bit older and your wife has gone back to work even if only part time.


Congratulations and hope all goes well for you.

sweetilemon

Babies have a few needs like feeding, nappies, clothing and a warm place to sleep. Most of these can be a reasonable amount - breast feeding, shopping around and second hand with the exception of the mattress. Most other things are optional such as slings/prams/toys/gadgets.

I'm 26 weeks pregnant and spend a fair bit so far because our flat was too small for a baby. This meant a deposit, lawyers fees, more house bills inc insurance, heating, council tax etc. I've not bought many clothes because my mum and MIL seemed to cover that but spent 1k on a pram and car seat, bits and pieces here and there. I think the "you just do" attitude is because your babies all of a sudden become the priority so financially I try make decisions that will benefit them. Maternity will be a huge drop but I certainly will put their needs first when before it may have been too hard to give up certain things in my life when there was no real 'need'.

Your baby can fit into your lifestyle, they don't demand brands pr gadgets. Just draw up a budget and find best prices.

maman

You've had some great advice. I'd suggest you take on reducing your outgoings as a challenge. Start with a spending diary and use it to find all the 'wants' that you buy rather than 'needs'. It's amazing how little you can live on if you really want to.




I'd like to add my congratulations too. I loathe those threads where people post that they've had a couple of children and now they're planning an expensive wedding. I like your priorities.:)

crystalfisk282

Interesting post really... I like it...

SG27

Thank you everyone for your kind words!

Here is my SOA. It didn't come out quite as I planned! lol
Household Information[/b]

Number of adults in household........... 2

Number of children in household......... 1

Number of cars owned.................... 2


Monthly Income Details

Monthly income after tax................ 1733

Partners monthly income after tax....... 0

Benefits................................ 0

Other income............................ 0

Total monthly income.................... 1733


Monthly Expense Details

Mortgage................................ 600

Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0

Rent.................................... 0

Management charge (leasehold property).. 0

Council tax............................. 130

Electricity............................. 33

Gas..................................... 33

Oil..................................... 0

Water rates............................. 28

Telephone (land line)................... 18

Mobile phone............................ 30.5

TV Licence.............................. 12.13

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21

Internet Services....................... 0

Groceries etc. ......................... 200

Clothing................................ 5

Petrol/diesel........................... 160

Road tax................................ 17

Car Insurance........................... 46

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 41

Car parking............................. 0

Other travel............................ 0

Childcare/nursery....................... 0

Other child related expenses............ 0

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0

Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0

Buildings insurance..................... 39

Contents insurance...................... 0

Life assurance ......................... 7

Other insurance......................... 8.5

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50

Haircuts................................ 2

Entertainment........................... 20

Holiday................................. 100

Emergency fund.......................... 0

logs/chinmey sweep...................... 18

pension................................. 270

Total monthly expenses.................. 1889.13




Assets

Cash.................................... 35000

House value (Gross)..................... 250000

Shares and bonds........................ 0

Car(s).................................. 0

Other assets............................ 0

Total Assets............................ 285000




Secured & HP Debts

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Mortgage...................... 91000....(600)......0

Total secured & HP debts...... 91000.....-.........- !


Unsecured Debts

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........- !




Monthly Budget Summary

Total monthly income.................... 1,733

Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,889.13

Available for debt repayments........... -156.13

Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0

Amount short for making debt repayments. -156.13


Personal Balance Sheet Summary

Total assets (things you own)........... 285,000

Total HP & Secured debt................. -91,000

Total Unsecured debt.................... -0

Net Assets.............................. 194,000


I basically just did current spend and my sole income. There would be SMP to add to this initially.

sweetilemon

SMP is 90% for 6 weeks then £138pw until 39 weeks so that's enough to cover the shortfall. How many years is your mortgage over? Is that the best rate? £600 seems a lot for the outstanding balance. Holiday at £100 is a nice luxury but can be freed up for baby spends if necessary. Will you save money on petrol when your OH is not travelling to work?

sweetilemon

Oh and everyone receives £20.70 child benefit weekly for their first child.

System

Congratulations! The only real cost is if you want to provide a bedroom, which is by no means urgent, although its still good to save. A lot of people, especially in my town consign themselves to rent with housing benefit, but owning a leasehold flat is far more aspirational than that. To be honest a child wouldn't care if it was in a castle or a cave as long as its safe and loved

Clothes, milk, baby food, nappies, are costs, but relatively small by comparison