Cost of raising a baby?

Question

My wife and I were having a discussion this morning about how much babies cost. My wife felt that the baby would need nothing but breast milk for the first 6 months and inexpensive clothes and an argos cot set, which I see being the ideal. I was much more cynical and felt that they are expensive to raise til they are about 17 and leave home.

We are currently doing ok financially with about £200 a month spare cash. My wife feels we could afford to have a child, I disagree.

What are your experiences financially with raising a child and how expensive/inexpensive was it?

Thanks for all your answers so far they have been really helpful. I know I am not ready just yet, but I know I will be mentally ready very soon. I query the cost as I think deep down I want to do as good a job as my parents did with me. I dont want the child to have everything available i.e. designer cloths and all the gadgety learning tools. I just want it to have enough.

Answer 1

well firstly there are few things you have missed of the essentials list.
pram
car seat
steriliser
nappies (lots of these especially if you plan on breast feeding)
changing mat
baby wipes
creams and talc
baby bath and shampoo etc
baby monitors
the bedding to go with the cot
moses basket

there is probably more but i cant think of any.

but with all that said you have from now until the time the baby arrives to buy it all. start putting as much money aside as you can, and you will be OK. yes babies do cost a lot of money but once all the large essentials are sorted you just have the on going things like nappies approx £5-7 a week.

there is never a good time financially to have a baby as you always have something else to buy when you do get some money saved up eg, new car, xbox, house, bigger house etc...

but if you can afford to feed your selves, keep a roof over your head and have money left over then go for it.

is it the money that's stopping you or is it something else?

if you have a baby you will cope, we have never had a great amount of money left in the bank at the end of the month, but my daughter is more important to me than anything in the world so if that means that i cant go out to the pub this week then so be it. when you have a baby your priorities change, and you learn to adapt.

Answer 2

When you have a baby you just make do. The government will help towards costs if you are on a low income. they can top up your income, pay for milk, vitamins and even fruit and vegtables. But you need to check what you would be entitled to.

Its such a joy to have a baby, that money really becomes insignificant. Baby feed costs around £6 (say one tin a week), nappies are £5 each for the disposables (2/3 packs a week) Baby wipes are around £2.69 for well known brands (2/3 packs a week)....so your looking at £25 for essentials per week AT MOST. All the other stuff you buy as a one off. for example the cot etc.

But thoase are for the well nown brands, you can buy cheaper store name brands.

At the end of the day, you can wait a lifetime to be in a better financial situation...and that day may never come. So why waste the opportunity to bring such joy? The question is not whether you are financialy able, its whether you are emotionally able.

Good luck in your choices.

Answer 3

You can never be financially prepared enough for a child, me and my boyfriend both work and are expecting our own baby. we have thought ahead about costs etc and we will only have say £100/150 left over a month. We dont have much money as it is and we still have a few bits to buy the baby, although family are generously buying the cot and moses basket. When you feel ready then dont worry about the money because as parents we learn to make sacrafices and it all works out well in the end.

Answer 4

people get away with raising a child on a lot less. it all depends on every decision you make. its all very well your wife saying that she will breast feed but there is always a chance that the baby wont take to either your wifes breast or her milk so where you think you have cut the corner there turns into bottles, sterilser, powder, sterilsing fluid. im pregnant with my second i throw everythink away with my first so i have to start from the begnning again and ive worked it out for the things that i need for the baby straight away is about £650.00 and thats not including the milk to buy or most of the clothes but you can cut that cost down by buying the least expensive things and second hand things i have worked the things that i need out from the mothercare book. i suggest you sit down and really talk out the pros and cons of having a baby and the cost of things if one of you isnt 100% there then leave it and talk again in say 6 months and see if anythink has changed. there is alot to think about not everythink goes to plan so you have to remember to plan for the unexpected as well. i hope ive helped in some way and good luck whatever you and your wife decide

Answer 5

Stop penny pinching. You always manage to find the money, You also get"Family Allowance", that everyone is entitled to, no matter what you earn. The love and happiness that a child brings into the home is worth more than the £200 you have left at then end of the month. Have children while you can and are young enough, that way you can enjoy them and grow up with them. Who wants to be an old parent!!

Answer 6

babies are expensive period. im a mum of 3 and soon to be 4. in the early years you can do without the expensive things i have managed fine. i have always been on a budget but my kids never go without. no one can ever really afford kids but you get along fine and sometimes better on a budget because you make do and mend as my mum used to say.kids dont need fancy designer clothes or £700 pushchairs or even newborn baby reeboks. dont be tight and remember in the uk there is also a thing called family allowance for the more luxury items like days out

Answer 7

You are falling into that "Marketing" trap that 99% of all couples fall into.

I had to drill home to my misses that it isnt that much to bring achild up, if you let it spiral away then yeah, it costs a packet because you get lulled into this world of gadgetary and devices and toys which oddly enough are manily designed by people who have no children.... So what makes them an expert?

Jr will not need many clothes, if you go over the top, Jr will have more than enough stuff. I had to put my foot down to stop the misses and grandmother from buying lots of stuff, we have got about 30% of all clothing just thrown because our baby grew too fast to wear them, so that is nearly a £200 waste in itself.

If you let your misses out shopping while her hormones are running riot, you will be having calls from the bank asking you to pay your overdraft back pronto....

Make a simple rule that you both do they buying, that way you both have to agree on a purchase.

Also When buying baby stuff, buy the next size up or the item so it has more than a couple of years life use.

Its a question of control at the end of the day, allow yourself to be told by external forces like adverts and people in shopping malls selling baby crap, whatever, you need to be able to remove yourself from that circle and you will see just how rotten the baby industry is, most goods do their job, cost more than they should all because the manufacturers know that people will buy it if its £100, £200 or £300, take the average Pram or Push chair, a "Quality" one will set you back £400... Hmmm, Ours cost £80 from Boots and it does the job better than that Brand named pile of junk thats constantly in need of repair...

Golden rule, shop around...

Get the picture?

Answer 8

If everyone waited untill they knew they could afford a baby, then hardly anyone would have them! :)
There are ways of keeping the costs down. Breast feeding is a good one, also cloth nappies. The initial cost is more, but they can actually do 2 or 3 kids, or you can sell them on once your baby is out of them. Lots of parents do this. Bambino Mio are a nice set of baby nappies. If you google them you'll find their website.
Also, try ebay. It sounds cheesy, but there is sooo much stuff on there that is nice and cheap and most of it is new or used only once or twice. (And the bambino mio nappies are on there cheap too) Just be weary of buying thinks like cots, matresses, moses baskets or carseats second hand.
As for clothes, check out your local papers. Lots of people sell bin bags of babies clothes in varying sizes for cheap.

good luck! :)

Answer 9

no one can ever afford to have children, you can make it as expensive or as cheap as you like. there are plently of ways to make it cheaper for yourselves eg try buying clothes from supermarkets etc. you also put your childs needs before your own so forget about the new shoes you fancy or a night out, is the issue here that your not ready for children just yet and your using the money issue as a way to get out of it, be honest with yourself, children are hard work, they make you laugh but they also make you cry. if you really want them then money shouldnt be an issue.. good luck

Answer 10

When you have your baby you will want to spend every spare penny on him/her--and there's nothing wrong with that.When you become a parent your views change.As you know you can buy good quality baby products really cheaply,but think about all those take-aways you'll need cos your too exhausted to cook or baby sick ruining your sofa or crayons in your dvd player oh and don't forget about a bigger car.