Kids and cost?

[Deano1983]

Hi all

Me and my girlfriend (soon to be wife in october) are planning for the future and would like kids in 3-4years time and was wondering around how much (if we are sensible with clothes etc) we would be looking at spending a month on 1 child??

I would like them as soon as possible but the money side of thing is obviously worrying as if we can't afford it what would we do. Its mainly the first 2years I am worried about as after this I should be able to earn a good wage. We have decided that my girlfriend would be staying at home to look after the kids as this is what she wants also, so this would mean we would not need child care.


So how much a month would you say?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[glenn_99]

Think of a number............................... and treble it.

[Deano1983]

I was looking for an answer which might help us, hence why I asked a question on here!!!!

[noxlumos]

hello, well depends upon you really. If you have no objection to buying second hand baby equipment, clothes etc then you'll scarcely notice the difference in the first couple of years. If however you want everything shiny new and up to the minute then you can look at roughly the following as my wife had a baby last week and we've bought all new stuff since the stuff from our previous kids was a bit tired now.

For a cot, moses basket, bedding, adequate amount of clothes for the next 2 months, car seat and buggy/pram we spent not much more than �1,000. We could have probably halved this at least had we gone for the cheapest of everything, possibly even less.

If your wife breast feeds then that's free, can't help you with milk costs as we've never bought it, I daresay someone else can help you there though. we always cook the same food for our babies as we do for ourselves and puree it, so no baby food costs and it's better for them ( don't add salt though).Baby food costs again can't help you with.

Until they are 2 years old there are very few additional costs, it's after about 5 they get expensive:)

At the end of the day you will manage, it's a very subjective thing to work out but money isn't everything and babies don't give a hoot about it , nor do they need much really, just love, security, clean clothes and somewhere safe to sleep and travel in, and you've done it.

Good luck to you both.

[Deano1983]

Thanks thats very helpfull.

[CLOWN TICKLE]

All I can suggest is to put a little away but not wait til you can afford them as costs vary depending on what is required, I liked noxlumos comments, enjoy the children, they are all to soon grown up

[hol5]

we have forgotten the nappies, the desposables quite frankly Boots own are ok and you are looking at about �5 a week as a rough guide. Then baby wipes at �2 a pack, these are often on a buy 1 get one free offer.

Then other additions such as nappy bags yo depose � 1 for about 50 bags, Calpol for teething etc. comes in at about � 2 a bottle. (or free on prescription)

As for clothes, even if you don't want second hand ones, Tesco and Adsa alone would clothe a child from new for very little. (you could do it from around � 20 a clothes size i.e. 0-3 months, 3-6 month)

[Deano1983]

Thanks am trying to take it all in and pick relivent points out. All good though, keep them coming.

Thanks everyone

[noxlumos]

Nappies and baby wipes yeah I did forget those as we don't use disposables etc.We use traditional nappies not much more work and a hell of a lot cheaper and more eco friendly, nor do we use baby wipes. We buy a 99p bottle of aloe juice from holland and barratt and dilute it down about 1 part that to 9 parts water and soak flannels in it, your baby never gets nappy rash ( aloe is brilliant) and a bottle of that lasts about a month. You can soak them and stick them inside a waterproof container when your going out as well with no hassle.Hol5 is right Asda for cheaper new clothes than almost anywhere else, but the main thing is don't worry and enjoy your baby:)

[Deano1983]

So on a monthly basis how would you say would be enough!?!

cheers

[hol5]

You meant how much? as in a monetary term? I would say after basics first bought ie pram etc, if using baby milk (which i forgot to mention is priced at � 5.50 a tin - 1 a week) with cheap new clothes and dissposable nappies and tinned milk, baby wipes other essentials you will work out, you are looking at about �60 a month......(which is on the lower side.. sorry, it sounds sooooo much and i am here considering my fourth!!!....)

[ruthann58]

if you are not too proud to have second hand stuff you can cut the cost quite a lot and lots of people will pass stuff on if they know you wont be offended ,kids grow out of stuff so quickly if we had waited till we could afford them we would never have had ours, first one was an accident and once we had 1 we found we managed so we had another, must admit we never had disposable nappies and as for baby wipes a few good old fashioned flannels did the job kids dont need everything new and shiney as long as they are clean and well loved you wont go far wrong good luck

[tigilou]

People say as much as you want but that aint gunna help you is it as explained by nox early stages are more expensive with pram cot all those things but hopefully family/friends will help and just to get you prepared ebay do supurb stuff and the majority is new. I have a daughter who is 2 and it depends on month to month i cant give you an exact amount as one month you might not need clothes the other they could have had a growth spurt - always happens wen your skint. But trust me you will get by also you will get �18.00 per month child benefit

[meltoadhall]

we have three and some months if you bulk buy for nappies we spent nothing at all except for food of course. at the begining i was given cot, clothes and breast fed so nearly nothing. used a sling instead of a pram, then bought a push chair in the sales. didnt have a car then so no car seat. shop in charity shops and ebay and never be too proud to accept things. if you have more than one then the clothes can be handed down.

my eldest is 10 now and I'm only just having to buy clothes for her as the supplies from family and friends is finally running out. thank goodness for child benefit and tax crdits.

[mrstrunchbul]

hi , now i am going to say something that contradicts everything said, myself and my husband got married and decided to wait for kids because financially we couldnt afford we both worked full time but we had just got a mortgage, but i fell pregnant and thought thats it we will have to sell up because there is no way we can afford a child and a mortgage and it put a dampener on the happy event with constantly thinking about the future anyway i had the baby and i can honestly say that money wise everything was ok we didnt scrimp for anything because we had made cut backs without realising, stuff like bottles of wine at night, a meal out most of the week, clubbing at the weekend etc all these things are impossible to do with a child in tow, you just make changes to your lifestyle and if you are anything like i was with the spending i did on clubs,wine and clothes you will probally find the kids are a cheaper option. i hope everything goes well with your future x

[youngrusscle]

hi hope everything goes well with you and your girlfriend...my neice (furst and only at present) is 8 months old...she is hte most gorgeous little thing in the world...and at times i feel like i have a child of my own...looking at the amount of money i spend on her! i work in a shop which sells baby clothes toys etc...and so i think i'll make the most of my 20% discount...and buy her a few things...but this all soon adds up...in the past 8 months i think i have spent easily 350-400 quid on her...without actually realising at the time!!! but its all worth it cos i see her in the most gorgeous little outfits and i feel dead proud...because i bought it! for easter i spent around 60 pounds...i bought her some clothes, a new little jacket for the summer...it is so adorable, vests (which she was in need of!) pjs...a dress, cords and jumper and some cord shoes. and on top of this i bought her a new sleeping bag (since her feet are touching the end of her first one) and a big pink fluffy easter bunny! and you all might say...surely you shouldn't spend that much...i know! but she is my first born neice and i am guilty of spoiling her...but i just love her to peices! Gud luck with your future this probably won't help with costs as i dont NEED to buy for her...i just do it cos i WANT to...but you will obviously need to buy for your baby...all the best youngrusscle xxx

[Big A.T]

You will always be forking out for something. I had my first child 16 years ago and I am still spending it like water. Just after my daughter was born the mortgage rates shot up. It balances out in the end though Good Luck

[BetsyLou]

One thing no-one's really mentioned is housing costs. I don't know your current circumstances, obviously, but if you're in a one-bed flat or share house or with your parents or something, you're going to need to move! That's the bit that scares me most. I have no kids and no plans for th near future, but i know that my other half and i couldn't at all easily afford a 2-bed place, not in the expensive southern town we live in. So that's something to think about possibly. Not that i want to put a damper on things of course!

[Deano1983]

Me and my finacee are getting married and have been living in our 4bedroom, 4bathroom house for just over a year now so we are fine in that department. The main concern is the fact we are going to be down to a single wage each month. Am I right in saying that a BIG cost we wont have to worry about is the Child care??!!! As my soon to be wife will be staying at home as its what we both want?!

[cobie]

I am afraid that kids do not come cheap but you do reap the benefits. We were in exactly the same position, we both worked full time and earned half decent wages, after having our son I was off for 6 months maternity. The first 10 weeks were fine as I received full wages but then I took a drastic drop for the remainder. We were lucky that my parents bought a lot of things as he was their first grandchild but even so it was tough going. Cannot give an exact figure or even estimate but you have got to bear in mind there are nappies, wipes, bottles, milk, creams, bibs etc and they are on a monthly basis. However, looking on the positive side ( at last!) it does not matter how much money you have or don't have you will always be able to make things meet and your top priority will be your new baby, as long as he/she has everything you really won't care about anything else. Sorry cannot give any figures but everything varies in price.

Good luck for the future and hope this helps a bit.

[BetsyLou]

You'ev got a massive posh-sounding house. If you can afford to keep that on just your own salary, why are you worried about money? If you really want a baby, you could always downsize to somewhere with, perhaps, only 3 bathrooms??

Sorry to sound sarcastic, but there are a lot of people a lot worse off than you who manage perfectly well to have children and keep them in food and clothes.