Can you give us any budget and income tips for our first baby?

Question

We've got no idea what the costs associated with raising a baby will be. Money's tight so we'd also like to consider if we are eligible for any state help or any other entitlement but we're not sure where to start looking.

Many many thanks :-)

Answer 1

Have the baby and everything will fall into place. Your worrying too much.

Answer 2

First of all, everyone worries about money when a baby's on the way but once they're here you just manage. It might be hard, but actually most people find that its not as bad as they thought it might be.

Whether you're entitled to benefits will depend on your circumstances and the potential options are so myriad that its unlikely that you'll get a full answer here without people knowing your exact circumstances. Everyone gets Child Benefit, which is about £17 pw and you may be entitled to other benefits like tax credits etc. www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits is the Department for Work and Pensions website and you can get further information there.

Most of the stuff you need for a baby can be got second-hand and in good condition. You can save a lot of money by using reuseable nappies - you can buy secondhand ones in very good condition on places like e-bay (believe it or not, they have a good re-sale value), which makes it even cheaper. You can save around £2000 over the life of a child by not using re-usables. Even if you buy real nappies new, they work out significantly cheaper than disposables.

Breast feed and not bottle feed because its free (and better for baby). When baby is being weaned, cook from scratch. Fresh fruit and vegetables are much cheaper than buying jars and you can bulk cook and freeze in portions.

Most babies are only in clothes for such a short amount of time that second-hand clothes really are a good buy. You can save a lot by buying good quality second-hand vests, pyjamas and play outfits and then just splashing out on a couple of nice things for "best" if you want to.

You'll be surprised how generous people will be with things that they had for their children. Its likely that you'll be inundated with offers of play mats, cots, moses baskets, stair gates etc. Just make sure that you buy new mattresses for anything baby sleeps on and a new car seat. Don't accept second-hand when it comes to baby's safety.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 3

You may be eligible for tax credits, you will get child benefit whichis about £68 a month, try and find second hand stuff where possible, though you must buy a new car seat, dont skimp on that.

If you dont breast feed, you will have to buy formula which is about £6 a week, nappies are about £4-5 a pack, as a newborn it will fill the nappy every feed which is about every 2 hours, so you will spend most of your money on nappies. Thats where most of our money went! You will probably be buying a pack of nappies every other day, maybe more, depends on the child! Though as they get older and the feeds are less close together, you will need less nappies.

You also need to sterilise everything, a steriliser can be cheap or expensive, depends on what type you want.

Then there is the pram, cot, moses basket, etc. There is a lot of expense, but you may find that once you announce you are pregnant, a lot of people will offer you things like cots and clothes, I had most of my stuff second hand, thankfully, I cant imagine the cost otherwise!

it is expensive, dont be fooled into trying to buy the best brand named stuff of everything, use your common sense, cut out little luxuries that you may have at the moment.

Keep an eye out for buy one get one free in the supermarkets too. Wet wipes are always on offer somewhere, if Boots arent doing BOGOF, superdrug or Lloyds will be. There is always somewhere doing offers, so learn to keep an eye out for them.

I cant think of anything else at the moment, maybe try www.freecycle.co.uk for second hand stuff too. or Ebay.

Answer 4

Babies really are not as expensive as they claim - I mean you could spend a fortune on things you fancy, but are really unnecessary. You are entitled to about £17 per week from the government, until the child is 16, paid monthly into the account. This has nothing to do with whether you are employed or not, EVERY child in the UK gets this. Then, there is Family Tax Credit, depending on how much your joint income is, will the amount you receive be. This can be up to £4000 per year with the first kid. I am unsure about correct figures on this one, as my husband and I don't qualify due to high earnings. The Inland Revenue site has all the info.
Then comes the budgeting - firstly, try breastfeeding the baby - better and cheaper than formula. Nappies - don't buy the cheapest, but buy the cheaper. Modern nappies are all very similar to Pampers/ Huggies (tried them all, so I know). This may save you 50p - £1 per pack, which may seem peanuts, but when you consider how many nappies they go through, it all adds up.
Cotbed - you can pick one up on ebay or car boot, for like £30 new, as opposed to £100+. Just ensure the matress is new.
Baby walkers - I picked up an ultra modern from car boot sale for £5 - why pay £50. Same goes with toys. Kids get bored of them quickly, so why spend a fortune at Toys R Us, when you can just clean one nicely from a car booty. Same with baby clothes - they outgrow them so quickly, so again, we are back to ebay + car boot. I picked up a new bath tub/ changing unit combined, £12, £60 from baby catalogue, as well as a baby carrier for £1, instead of £30 from Mothercare! Honestly, take a Sunday off, and go to a car boot and you will see that bringing baby up is not that expensive. If you are considering child care, thats when it gets pricy!

Answer 5

Omg! Don't stress about how much the baby will cost, you will have far too much going on to even think about the cost! Ask people to buy clothes aged 9-12 months or 6-9 months as presents so you aren't struggling when it suddenly has a growth spurt. I asked for nappies from the family. I got all sizes from new born up to size 4+. That was a major help, not having to fork out for them every week was the biggest help I got.

Answer 6

1)Only buy what is abs. necessary
2) Dont buy all the best stuff on the market eg Avent- Boots home brand are even better and half the price
3) join the boots parenting club (b4 24 weeks preggers)
4) contact advisor at your local jobcentre who can give you a form for sure start maternity grant(parents on low incomes can claim up to £500- you dont have to pay it back!!
5) Spread the cost of buying items- mothercare do a payment plan, you put down 10% of all items you want, you dont go thru credit check you only get what you pay for and all items delivered to date of your choice - never too early to start.
6) Ebay is a wonderful place to start - new items really cheap
7) Make a list of things you want so when people ask you if you need anything just show them -Like a wedding list- its not cheeky its practical!!

Answer 7

The most important thing to remember about budgeting for your first baby is to know the facts about mother/infant separation.

Research has been done for 50 years and the results are consistent and often hidden by the media. The research shows that if a baby is separated from mommy for more than 10 hours a week, grave harm is done to the baby emotionally, intellectually, and even physically.

Fathers become less approving of their own child when that child separates from mommy for more than 10 hours a week. The child and the mom become less attached to each other. Divorce is more likely!

Human milk is your baby's birthright and it's free. Also, nursing for at least two years will provide tremendous health and IQ benefits.

Cribs are a new and silly invention; babies evolved to sleep with their moms and grow best when they do. Most baby clothes are a waste of money. YOu don't need bottles, changing tables, strollers (get a sling!)

The fundamental starting place for your planning is that your baby and your wife need to be together for years without significant separations (ie, no daycare, nanny, grandma care, even daddy care - all substitutes have been shown to have bad effects - no surprise, our babies are mammals and have evolved to be held by mommy nearly around the clock.

In fact, brain cells only form connections while a baby is being touched!

If you're an American, it's doubtful there's state help. We just don't find supporting families they way they do in europe consistent with our family values.

Answer 8

hi. firstly congratulations on your good news, a new baby is fantastic!

as a mum of our i might be able to help a bit!

if the expectant mother has been working she will be entitled to maternity pay, if not thru her employers thru the government. ring your local dss office to find out.

if you are on a low income, you may get a grant for the baby, again the dss will be able to help (numbers in the book)

go to the tax credits website, tap in all your details of income you will have when baby arrives. takes a while, but it should give you some idea of how much tax credits/working tax credits you will be eligible for. you might be suprised! if you are eligible for this, you may also get help with your housing costs.

all families are entitled to child benefit, its not much, but every little helps!

lastly, dont buy too many clothes for your little one, they grow extremely fast so its not economical to buy too many. buy a decent buggy, you will need it for ages, make sure it fits easily in the boot of your car or folds small for use on public transport (preferably with one hand, ur gonna have a baby and a change bag in the other!)

best of luck, please check out what you are entitled to, and i hope your baby brings you years of joy x

Answer 9

Whatever income you have, you will be eligable for child benefit which is £17.45 per week. If your household income is less than £50,000 pa you'll be eligable for child tax credit which will be £20.80 per week, reducing to £10.40 once your baby is one year old.

If one person in the household works at least 16 hours a week, you may be eligable for Family Tax Credit. Ring the helpline on 08003003909. You will be able to claim all these once your baby is born.

In addition, if you are deemed to be on a low income, you can claim for a baby grant of £600.00, you must apply during your pregnany or before your baby is three months old and this payment is to buy all the baby things, cot, pram etc etc etc. I think you obtain from your local council (ring social services dept and find out).

Good luck.

Answer 10

when i got pregnant i thought it would be expensive but to be honest its not that bad. don't go mad on buying new for he first couple of months all they do is drink sleep and pope. i had a good group of friends and family who bought a lot for me and eBay and Charity shops are great. depending on circumstances you should be entitled to tax credits child benefit income support and a maternity payment of £500. you also get a £250 child trust fund voucher to invest in an account for the future. good way of raising money is do car boot sales to get rid of your old junk ready for the baby. you can go on maternity leave no sooner than 11 weeks before due date so try and work for as long as possible as every penny helps. join baby clubs like boots parenting club as you can get money off vouchers and extra incentives lie triple points on huggies. buy a little each week so you don't have to worry when baby comes i.e pack of baby grows this week, sleep suits next week, changing mat the following week until you've got everything you possibly need. try getting your Friends to organise a baby shower for you. every thing always works out in the end. good luck and congratulations

Answer 11

What state are you in?

I am on the WIC program, and it saves about $100+ a month for our son who is almost 9 months old. So that would be a good one to look into. I'm not sure how it works from state to state. Just in case though WIC- Women, Infants, and Children. Also If you go to a local FIA- Family Independant Agency. They can help with income if you qualify. Plus medicaid. They can help with alot of different things.

Also for budgeting, buy in bulk! Things don't have to be expensive brands. We buy the off brands for diapers and wipes. They work just as well.

One more thing is depending on your heritage or culture, you can sometimes get state help with that. Such as if you are Native American you can get help from certain places.

I hope this helps!