approx how much money does it cost monthly to raise a child???

Question

im 6 weeks prego, and im trying to create some type of budget, save some $ now while i am working... just exactly how much does it cost to raise a baby?? with the job that i have i would not qualify for any government assistance so i want to be responsible and start saving now, and having an idea of how much it would cost monthly would help tremendously!!!! Thank you in advance!!!

i plan on breastfeeding

Answer 1

First of all, congratulations.
Secondly, I would look at formula, because you don't know for sure if breastfeeding will work out, and if you can do it for a full year. It's possible, but it's also very hard. Some women's bodies just don't let them.
Formula will cost you about $100 a month or more, depending on the brand, and that's if you get the powdered formula.

Then you have to look at diapers. Infants go through a pack or two a week. Depending on the brand, you will spend $7-15 dollars per pack. As they grow older, they dirty less diapers. At a year old, you will probably go through a 'jumbo' (not very jumbo) pack of diapers a week.

Clothes: I am assuming this is your first child. You will probably receive much of what you need from friends, family, and your baby shower. With my son, I have had to buy him a total of maybe 3-4 outfits myself. He is almost 2. This goes double for burp cloths, receiving blankets, etc.

toys: You will no doubt receive some toys from family and friends, but you will probably want to buy some of the stuff yourself. Think about teethers, rattles, stuffed animals, noisemakers, walkers, etc.

Don't forget the essentials! Stroller, car seat (you will most likely need two rearfacing carseats, one slightly bigger than the other), a front facing car seat, crib, bassinet, playpen, baby proofing stuff (get about 3-4 baby gates($10-15 a piece). Don't forget the highchair, bibs, etc.

Again, a lot of this stuff, you will get from others.

When baby is about 6 months old, he/she can start drinking juice, and eating baby foods. baby foods cost about .50 a jar, and you'll need about 3 a day. Juice is about the same, and you'll need one a day. You'll also need sippy cups. they are about $3 a piece. You'll want about a half dozen, in different styles and sizes.
Even if you are breastfeeding, you'll want bottles, and don't forget the breast pump.

Wow. that is a lot of stuff. Now you have to get a bigger place to live, if you haven't already.
Don't forget the babysitter/child care. That's about 100-150/wk.

Good luck
Heather

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
approx how much money does it cost monthly to raise a child???
im 6 weeks prego, and im trying to create some type of budget, save some $ now while i am working... just exactly how much does it cost to raise a baby?? with the job that i have i would not qualify for any government assistance so i want to be responsible and start saving now, and having an idea...

Answer 3

Most of what you plan on doing is going to affect your budget... If you breastfeed you wont be paying insane amounts for formula. And if you do go the formula route you can buy store brand it's cheaper and just as good. If you decide to use disposable diapers that'll cost ya some money. Using cloth reusable diapers are cheaper but take more work. If you do what the average American woman does you'll probably spend around $150 to $500 a month on formula and diapers but that again depends on what brands you buy. I know you said that you don't think you qualify for government assistance but you could still try... I don't know if you have WIC in your state or not but if you do You should try to get it.. they'll pay for almost all the formula you'll use.
That's just for the food and diapers. You'd still have to figure out how much bottles and clothes would be. You'd want wipes, monthly for sure.... bottles you don't have to replace as often.... It's fairly expensive to have a child... You should see if there's a local agency that'll donate some stuff to you... churches things like that....

Answer 4

Oh goodness, where do I start. Well this all depends on if your breastfeeding or not. Diapers alone cost easily a few hundred a month, add formula on that. Clothes, toys, and other things that will come up like doctor visits and medicine. Your looking at around a grand. It's hard to budget because things are so unexpected. Just save how much you can now. No frivolous things. Congrats and good luck

Answer 5

My best answer is to put aside as much money as possible. How much is your disposable income? Try to set most of that aside. This way you will have a little reserve when the baby is born and will also get use to not having that money.

Children are expensive and it's hard to plan on the cost. Some kids eat more than others, go through more diapers, have more medical bills, etc. And day care also varies depending on where you live. Good Luck!

Answer 6

i don't have a baby or know exactly, but i had to answer because the only answer you have on here is pretty worthless and it sounds like you sincerely want to provide for your child, which is to be commended.

first, i would make a list of all the things you know you need and that are not going to be or already purchased by family or friends (a baby shower will hopefully take care of a lot of those bigger purchases!) ... make a list of food, formula, clothing, diapers/wipes, etc, etc. everything you know your baby will need. go to the store and write down how much they cost and how many your baby will need on a daily and monthly basis. this will start to give you an estimate of how much money you will need for your baby.

if your job won't allow you to get gov help (even food stamps??), then you are probably in pretty good shape. just be sure, like you said, to save save save. that's the key. just build something up for when you baby arrives so in case of unexpecteds, you're as ready as you can be. =)

good luck!

Answer 7

Depends on how you plan to get things, where you live, how much daycare cost, etc.. New, used or free. You can purchase some things used at thrift stores, yard sales, etc. You can get some things free on craigslist, freecycle, and from relatives.

I'm thinking saving at least $450-850 a month is a good start.

Answer 8

First of all, use the GENERIC items like diapers and formula. No need to spend mass amounts of money on things that work just as well. Target formula is only $13.69 a tub, whereas Similac is $22.59. It is all approved by the FDA and works just as well. (they even compare them on the back). Also Target brand diapers work just fine on my daughter. They are way cheaper than Pampers or Huggies. We go through one tub of formula a week at $13.69 and $10.85 in diapers for about two weeks. daycare is the kicker. $150 PER WEEK in California. We got all of her clothes as hand-me downs from friends. We aren't poor, just don't like wasting money.

Answer 9

You can't really budget for having a kid. I can only budget monthly for her daycare expenses which alone is $440 a month. Then there's the extras that you get left and right. To budget, good luck.

Answer 10

Go out to the store and price things....

Diapers
Wipes
Bibs
Bottles
Plastic Cups with lids
Formula
Baby Food
Extra regular food to feed the baby once they grow.
Clothes
Shoes
Socks
Underwear
College - never to early to start saving since they run about $5,000 a semester and up
Sheets
Toys

Then figure up how much you need.