How expensive is it to have a child?

Pollycat

annabanana82 said:

But child benefit typically  only pays out for 2 children now, and aren't tax credits are closed for new applicants? Not sure if Universal credit is so generous as tax credits was/is?

If you are worrying about whether you can afford your first child, I wouldn't be concerned about any benefits that are restricted to two children at this stage.

Mrs_Soup

As everyone has said most of the costs are in loss of income if one of you stays home or childcare if you don't so it is worth thinking about those things in advance as childcare in particular can be a lot more expensive than you think.  It also doesn;t suddenly stop when they go to school as school only runs 9-3 ish so you need to think about before and after care and holidays.  but actual stuff they need is variable depending on your tastes and preferences.  Baby won't care if you have top of the range travel system and trendy changing bag.  I changed my car when I had my first child as I was driving a two door car which I thought would be a complete pain putting the car seat in the back.  when we had the second we moved to a bigger house although that was personal preference and because we could afford it- we could have raised two children in a three bed terrace instead of a 4 bed semi - many people do so just fine. It is worth thinking about your house and car if you live in a studio flat and drive a 2 seater sports car but most regular sized vehicles and homes will work for a smaller family. 

gwynlas

They must be quite cheap given some of the mothers I've seen around

JessyRM

Honestly I worried about it when I fell pregnant but we made it work - childcare is the biggest cost. We use a combination of nursery (Tax free childcare reduces it by 20%) reducing my hours slightly and using grandparents for help.

The actual 'Stuff' is so easily available second hand. You could proably go to a car boot or mum to mum market and pick up everything you need for a couple of 100. I hardly ever buy new clothes always second hand or gifted, same with books & toys. Car seat and crib mattress are the only things I would want to buy new. 

Breastfeeding saves a ton of money - the costs are minimal (for a pump if necessary, appropriate clothing, pads etc) compared to a tin of formula a week. 

Most parents get child benefit too which easily covers nappies, the extra food etc for us. 

My thought was If you wait until it's the right time financially it might not ever happen. Obviously thats providing you aren't in a serious financial state that needs addressing. 

CreditCardJunkie

Honestly I think it's as expensive as you make it. You can buy a pram/cot/moses basket/clothing from a charity shop or you can buy top end. My advice is take everything that is given to you. Friends and family also tend to be very generous and help out too. You will find ways to reduce costs in other areas so that the baby is fed, clothed and clean. If everyone waited until they had enough money in the bank before having a baby the maternity wards would be empty!

John_

Itsjustsammy19 said:

I've read that the first year a child is born it costs over £11,000 and the costs keep going up each year. Is this true? If that is the case there is absolutely no way we can afford to have them as that will be all of our money gone. :-( Are there any ways of making children less expensive and actually affordable so we can look after them and afford a nice life?

We have a nanny three days a week, twelve hour days, at £15 per hour, so that’s over £25,000 per year. Nursery for the other two days per week is £600 per child per month for two children, so that’s another £14,000.

Add in food, clothes, toys, activities etc, and we’ll be spending something around £45,000 per year.

If you have family to look after them, or a stay-at-home parent then those costs can be slashed.

Mickey666

fred246 said:

You get child benefit which covers the extra expense of having a child.

That might be the theory but in practice it doesn’t cover very much and it’s certainly no reason to think you can afford a child.
We opened a saving account for ours and paid all the CB into it.  By age 17 it had accumulated around £15k and was used to pay for driving lessons, a first car and the remainder towards uni costs.  Not bad for ‘free’ money, but it was a drop in the ocean compared to lol the other costs.

Samsonite1

It varies massively depending on your situation.  If both parents are well-paid then it is probably worth splashing out on childcare (e.g. you are still much better off than one person giving up their salary).
If you have grandparents/family to help out then that can really slash costs and when the kids go to school, if you have someone who can pick the kids up for you, it gets a lot cheaper.

RobM99

Use the above to calculate the cost - then double it!

Spendless

John_ said:

Itsjustsammy19 said:

I've read that the first year a child is born it costs over £11,000 and the costs keep going up each year. Is this true? If that is the case there is absolutely no way we can afford to have them as that will be all of our money gone. :-( Are there any ways of making children less expensive and actually affordable so we can look after them and afford a nice life?

We have a nanny three days a week, twelve hour days, at £15 per hour, so that’s over £25,000 per year. Nursery for the other two days per week is £600 per child per month for two children, so that’s another £14,000.

Add in food, clothes, toys, activities etc, and we’ll be spending something around £45,000 per year.

If you have family to look after them, or a stay-at-home parent then those costs can be slashed.

You are paying £39K a year for childcare? In that case either there is disposible income after this high cost is met, or one of you is working for a loss until childcare decreases in order to keep your job/profesion.