Estimating first year costs

sojourn

Soon to have 2 under 2
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Has anyone kept track of the things that they have purchased and their approximate cost?

My husband and I are trying to conceive and working on hashing out exactly how much we need to be saving. For baby things.

We are fairly minimalistic. A wise woman once said that "Babies need love and food. The rest is to make your life easier. If it doesn't make your life easier, don't buy it!". That's the idea we are working on. So, what did you find to be invaluable during your pregnancy and the first couple of years?

Thanks for your help!
 
Well DD is 7 months old so I can't speak for the first year, but an approximate tally of what we've spent on her so far is
$85 change table (could easily have done without one but there was a baby sale when I was 7 weeks pregnant and it was half price so I was excited and bought it lol)
$150 capsule/infant car seat (purchased second hand from a friend who used it for two months and I knew had never been in an accident)
$150 on toys (mostly second hand. Bouncer, play mat, soft toys, board books, exersaucer. We were loaned a swing for when she was little)
$200-250 on clothes and accessories (mostly second hand and gifts)
$85 on a pram I used less than 6 times
$350 on slings and baby carriers (got a little carried away. Was also given a $185 buckle carrier by MIL)
$600 on cloth nappies and paraphernalia for them.
$250 for upgraded car seat
$60 on a shelf we use as her dresser

Was given two second hand cots - one of which is set up side car to our bed and the other we use for storing stuff in lol.
Was given a second hand high chair
She's exclusively breast fed so I haven't had formula costs or even a pump and bottles.
We're also doing baby led weaning. So far I haven't seen an increase in the grocery bill but I'm estimating about $10/week between now and when she's about 1.

So by my tally we've spent just over $1800 in 7 months. She's going to need more clothes soon (which I'll also get second hand) and we'll probably spend about $300 combined on Christmas and birthday presents for her so in our situation we'll probably end up spending just over $2500 in her first year. We'll call it about $3000 in case I've forgotten anything.

Oh yes one thing I forgot - spent about $70 on pain relief - teething powder, gripe water, etc.
 
Thanks! That sounds like a pretty comprehensive list. I have priced out a lot of stuff at thrift stores and on Craigslist (not sure if there's an Australian site or an equivalent, but it's an online classified ad). It seems like things are even less expensive in my area, so that's nice. I didn't even think about teething/pain relief. I remembered to add diaper cream and a first aid/grooming kit.
This would be our first child and I also anticipate some amount of gifting/hand-me-downs from my family, but I wanted to get a picture.
Thanks again.
 
Hopefully it's a good guide to get you started at least :) If you'll be using disposable diapers or formula then you'll have different costs to look at but everything else is pretty much the same. And ya even second hand lots of stuff is more pricey too, so you can do it cheaper I'm sure if you're also thrifty minded :)

I've never understood the whole "oh but babies are so expensive!" mentality. Sure they CAN cost a fortune if you buy brand new name brand everything but they certainly don't have to cost much!
 
It can be as cheap or as expensive as you like. If you're on a budget you could probably get everything from ebay easily for around £500-£700. If you are able to get hand me downs it doesn't have to cost much at all, perhaps half that. If you want to buy all new then it literally can cost thousands depending on the things you choose. You will also find that you will but loads and end up not using some of it.
 
It can be as cheap or as expensive as you like. If you're on a budget you could probably get everything from ebay easily for around £500-£700. If you are able to get hand me downs it doesn't have to cost much at all, perhaps half that. If you want to buy all new then it literally can cost thousands depending on the things you choose. You will also find that you will but loads and end up not using some of it.

WSS, but also try local forums and sites, dont know where you are but in uk, gumtree and mumsnet etc. also cut costs by refining eBay searches to local and emailing to see if they accept collection.
 
It can be as cheap or as expensive as you like. If you're on a budget you could probably get everything from ebay easily for around £500-£700. If you are able to get hand me downs it doesn't have to cost much at all, perhaps half that. If you want to buy all new then it literally can cost thousands depending on the things you choose. You will also find that you will but loads and end up not using some of it.

WSS, but also try local forums and sites, dont know where you are but in uk, gumtree and mumsnet etc. also cut costs by refining eBay searches to local and emailing to see if they accept collection.

That's a great idea. I am in the US so we do a lot of Craigslist (online classifieds) and they have a lot of baby stuff locally. I'll keep the ebay thing in mind.

It's so funny. Just yesterday, we were at a two year old's birthday party and the dad (my husband's boss) was laughingly gesturing to their house full of baby/toddler gear and said "When you have kids, all of this crap is going to you!" and another coworker with a two year old chimed in "Yeah, you guys aren't going to need anything. I'm just setting up a Uhaul and dropping it off at your place". They don't know that we are trying to conceive, but we were recently married, so people are always talking like that.

We already have a walker, a toddler chair and a really nice high chair. Luckily we have no shortage of storage space. People don't even know we are trying, but it's no secret we plan on lots of kids.

Long story short; we are anticipating LOTS of hand-me-downs and I am 100% ok with this.
 

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