Cost of a Baby

[bigbloomerz]

Saw this on MSN today, thought it was quite interesting! seems like quite a lot tho, or am I just being gullible?

https://money.uk.msn.com/investing/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=16075882

 

[BritAcrossSea]

Blimey, I better start looking down the sofa for any extra change - my savings are way off that mark!!! I can't believe that total though but I have no idea what things for a baby actually cost - don't think I shall let my DH know though, he'll probably wish to reconsider.

 

[AutumnRose]

That seems exaggerated.

 

[Pinkgirl]

wooooooooow
Thats us never having a baby 18k in a year.
hhhmmm Any ladies with babies can you add to this?

 

[bunnyg82]

bloody hell! That's a lot! I am guessing that's taking every single possibility into account, but that's mad! £311 TTC seems a bit mad - and where the other figures came from I do not know!

I did a spreadsheet for the initial costings (things like cots, pram, etc) and came up with £1500 and that's buying all the nice stuff, but I guess it could add up if you're decorating the nursery and stuff. But £18k seems very drastic!!

I currently have £25 in my baby fund, so I had better get that increased pronto!!

 

[colsy]

No, you're not being gullible - I know of plenty of people who could easily have spent that much. What I would question is whether you NEED to spend that much. For a start, if you are fortunate enough to not have any fertility problems, then you only need to buy a couple of pg tests (i.e. that's 300 quid in the story's budget that you won't be spending).

Then there's the nursery - why it would cost over three grand to deck out the nursery, I have no idea. Ours has cost probably thirty quid so far - we have used shelves and a chest of drawers that weren't needed elsewhere in the house, and the paint was left over from decorating our own bedroom. The curtains are the ones that the previous owner left behind - they are now washed and looking lovely, as though they're about a day old. The cot we will buy second hand - our local paper has them for less than fifty quid nearly every week.

If you BF, there's no money to be spent on formula.

If you use washable nappies, you save a lot of money (plus you can use them on the next baby, if you have another one).

Etc. etc.

My point is, it can cost what you want it to cost. If you think a little bit laterally and start planning early, you can save no end of money. Don't ever turn down the offer of something from another parent (you can always give it back later and say it wasn't quite what you needed), go to carboot sales, look in the local paper, and use eBay.

Above all, by reusing stuff, you're not only saving loads of money but also helping to save the planet.

 

[Pyrrhic]

You dont need to spend that much.

I actually SAVED money by having a baby! I have about £500 left over each month because I am no longer going out for meals, trips, nights out, etc and I'm not buying things for myself anymore but more for Niamh.

So I'm better off by having a baby

 

[Pinkgirl]

bloody hell! That's a lot! I am guessing that's taking every single possibility into account, but that's mad! £311 TTC seems a bit mad - and where the other figures came from I do not know!

I did a spreadsheet for the initial costings (things like cots, pram, etc) and came up with £1500 and that's buying all the nice stuff, but I guess it could add up if you're decorating the nursery and stuff. But £18k seems very drastic!!

I currently have £25 in my baby fund, so I had better get that increased pronto!!

Thats the figure i had come up with hun. I also think family support you to and buy some little bits i know mine would and both me and OH have grandparents who cant wait for great grandchildren.

I started a baby account other day but still way off!

 

[mikababy]

My point is, it can cost what you want it to cost.

I absolutely agree and think that article is a load of old tosh really. Perhaps if you were a proper 'yummy mummy' and you lived in a 5 bed detached in leafy Surrey and drove around in a gas guzzling BMW 4x4 (sorry for the stereotype!) you might spend that much, but your average set of parents wouldn't even have that kind of disposable income a year!

I did a spreadsheet too and even if we bought everything new and from Mothercare/Mamas & Papas it would come out at around £2,000.

 

[Tasha]

OMG!!! We have never spent 18,000 pounds before they were one.

I will say for my first child before they were born

Probably £40 on pregnancy tests just cos I couldnt believe it
Clothes before he was born around £100
Travel system £250
Cot £200
Draws £50
Paint £20
Curtains £20
Carpet £100
Bedding £30
Toys around £80
Moses basket £50

So around £940

I have no idea where they got the £13,696 in the first year, I didnt have childcare costs though.

Nappies weekly £10 x 52 weeks = £520 in a year
Wipes probably about £104 in the year (thats 1 pack a week @ £2, so prob spent less than that tbh)
Formula x 1 tin weekly £7 x 52 weeks = £364 in a year
clothes x £100 monthly = £1200 a year
Toys (about) £50 a month = £600 a year
Baby food (like cereals when he was first weaned as he ate what we did after that as all our food is homemade any how) £100
Christmas £200
First bithday £150
Things like a walker, bouncer and any extras £500

Thats it I think so £3738 + £940 is £4678

 

[Dimbo]

Wow, that is surely highly inflated?!

I'm waiting at the moment due to saving, and although I haven't totted it up yet (which is actually a surprise because that is exactly the kind of thing I would do ) I am pretty sure that is far too much for those of us who live in the real world. I mean who has £1500 every month disposable income whilst on maternity pay?!

I think this is along the same lines of those surveys which claim that the average cost of a wedding is £26k or whatever the most recent amount is. Yes, there are weddings that cost that, or more, but the majority of people don't have that kind of money to spend.

Rubbish I say

 

[sleepinbeauty]

You dont need to spend that much.

I actually SAVED money by having a baby! I have about £500 left over each month because I am no longer going out for meals, trips, nights out, etc and I'm not buying things for myself anymore but more for Niamh.

So I'm better off by having a baby

hahaha, that's great!


I heard that you should save up $5,000 before baby...

 

[freckleonear]

If that's the average, I dread to think what some people must spend!

We have a yearly household income of about £9k which is half the amount they claim babies cost! And of course all our rent and bills comes out of that as well...

Babies can be as cheap or expensive as you want. If you are prepared to accept hand-me-downs and buy second-hand then they can cost very little. They don't NEED all that stuff, designer buggies and nurseries are more to please their parents than them!

 

[sparkswillfly]

Theres no way I will spend that much in the first year... seems highly inflated to me.

 

[Serene123]

Honestly I'd say we past 10k by now but you don't haveeee to!

 

[AppleBlossom]

You don't HAVE to spend that much...

 

[daniandbaby]

I spent about 300 pound on clothes up to 9 months. 60 on baby trainers n shoes(so cute) 90 for my travel system which I bought of a friend brand new and its lovely if i might add 70 for my crib, 40 for bedding, 40 for bouncing activity chair, 10 babys first year book, 20 bath, 15 changing mat, roughly 60 for toillitries and themometer etc (will last me months) 80 monitor, 15 baby wipes (will last me 2-3 months) 40 steraliser, 30 bottles, 20 dummies, £3.50 fairy non bio , I still need to get rain covers, changing bag and travel changing mat, Maybe a few soft toys allthough a baby that young wont appreciate them and besides I have the activity centre, Im sure I've missed some essentials out...Minds gone blank x

OOO AND BABY HASN'T EVEN ARRIVED YET LOL

 

[toffee87]

I did a list and it was £1,000-£1,500 and they were nice stuff.

You can get cheap preg tests of ebay!

 

[x-amy-x]

Deffo doesnt cost us that much. We only just about earn 18k!

 

[jillypoop]

I get tired of seeing things like this because if my OH saw this then he'd say "there's no way we can ever afford to have a baby if it costs that much" or something along the lines of that.
I think in a way, the less you spend the better. As long as your baby has all the essentials (i.e. food, nappies, clothing, bed etc) then I think if you buy all the toys and everything you are starting to spoil your child from a very early age.

My parents brought me and my sister up on what is probably slightly below average and as I was the first, I got new things but my mum kept everything that she thought a future sibling would use and when my sis came along used them all. It only became a problem when she was 9 or 10 and money was tight and my sister was a bit like "how come my sister gets new things and I get her sloppy seconds?"

Now she loves it (she's now 17!!!) and has started using the "sloppy seconds" and creating new clothes out of (which I sometimes steal.....hehe)

The only things I plan on spending a lot of money on are the travel system thingy, a car seat and a cot/bed as they are the things that keep baby safe. Everything else I will try to get the cheapest things, I want my children to know the value of money and more importantly the value of family.

xxx