Can we afford another Child??

choccyface2006

Is there a childcare voucher scheme at either yours or your husnands place of work? That could really cut the costs down for you?

Sarah x

speranza

emmaroids wrote: »

an only child is a lonely child.

That's simply not true. I'm an only child and have never felt lonely. I was always glad my parents didn't have more children.

madison's_mum

yes, you get funding when your child is 2 and a half

Ours started term after DD turned 3, she starts school next september & we are hoping to have number 2 around this time next year. There is no way we could afford 2 lots of full time childcare. The voucher scheme is also quite good, me & OH "sacrifice" £250 of salary each month & you dont pay tax on the 1st £247 so it's quite a saving.

heather38

i have a 1 year old and we are planning number 2 for next year.
i work evenings and weekends part time in a supermarket. i do however have a specialist job in the pharmacy so get paid more than the average shelf stacker. working 15 hours a week and 1 sunday at double time i clear £450 a month, which pays the morgage and shopping for the 3 of us for the month. we don't have any childcare to pay for as my mil has my DD in the hour between me starting work and my DH finishing on the 2 evenings i work.
if you are willing to sacrifice some luxuries then go for it, my DH is an only child (his brother died of sids as a baby) and he hated it, he was very lonely so he wants at least 3 children.

kj*daisy

We waited till DS was 3 till we had our second, so we got reduced nursery fees. (Funding still when they are 3 round here). I think bigger gaps are easier so it wasn't just the nursery fees that made us wait - but it helped!

Sea78

Hi

If we had waited for our second til we could afford it we wouldn't have had our youngest However, putting a plan in place will definitely make things SO much easier and it would have been sooo much easier if we hadn't have had 2 lots of childcare to pay. We are now trying to wait for another 2-3 yrs for another (last!!) child as then we'll be close to being debt free and won't have to pay DS's childcare - I will return to work, but might be ableto stay off for a decent amount of time as well.:)

Good luck with your plans
Sea xx

maisy-mai

emmaroids wrote: »

an only child is a lonely child.

as said, wait 2 years or so and do it again.

my dd is an only child as medically we cannot have any more .

She herself does not want a brother or sister and has stuck by this since little. dd now 8 .

dd has plenty of friends to play with and a packed social life . certinly would not say all one child families are lonely children .

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Hi. Personally i think if you want another child so soon you should go for it and just put up with having to work weekends and a few evenings or something. To be honest it may be a sacrifice in some ways but an advantage in others - you will know your little ones are in perfect hands with their daddy and it would be great 'daddy time' for them too. My little girl is 18months and definately a mummys girl but she loves 'daddy time' too which often means a well earned break for me - trust me even work can be a break as you get 'adult conversations' that you dont really get throughout the day no matter how much fun you have had.

Anyway im getting a little off of subject i think - basically if you can work it out that you can still afford bills etc and still have saving and spending money then go for it. Also now having baby i have realised children are only as expensive as you make them...you can still live hapilly on a tighter budget, now i know where i am spending so effectively i am more money savvy than before kids and i often have money left over for 'treats' at the end of the month (wow) which i never did before.

And look im still talking, please someone shut me up, lol.....my only other peice of advice is only go ahead if you know you can still get time to spend with your partner too, and try to make it special too as the most important thing when building a family is that you two are happy and stable as 'mummy AND daddy' together.

Becles

You can't just look at "spare" money each month and the cost of childcare. You need to look at the bigger picture and consider all aspects of your lifestyle - eg cutbacks you could make, how would working less hours affect the childcare costs etc.

Also a second baby is much cheaper as you don't have the initial starting costs of buying all the cot, pushchair, etc., as you already have it. If your second baby is the same sex, you don't even have to buy new clothes!

We have a lot less money "spare" a month than you do, but are considering a 4th child. I'm on maternity leave at the moment, but will go back to work part time (15-20 hours) in January. I could complain that I don't have a wardrobe full of fashion clothes and stuff like some of the other mothers at school, but I wouldn't swop my bairns for the world and it's a sacrifice I was happy to make.

kr15snw

I would say wait, if only for your own sanity!

My SIL is pregnant and due in May, her DD will be 2 1/2 then. Shes glad of this age gap as hopefully they will be close but she has been able to give full 100% attention to her DD. Enjoy the first words, first steps etc.

Now that her DD is walking, talking and getting ready to go to nursery a few mornings a week then SIL is looking forward to starting all over again

Maybe wait till you DS is 2? Then think about it?