Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

My beautiful mrs and I are thinking about trying for a baby (the trying bit is the best bit so i've heard) we are trying to figure out how much it will cost a month to support a little en.
So far we have worked out that for food and nappies it will be about £100 a month, is this a fair amount?
What did it cost others for the first year on average? We are lucky that we can afford to throw about £400/500 a month at it if need be but I was hoping that it would be cheaper so I can save for my dino.
Any help would be happy.

richardg

i applaud your sensible approach! mrs g and i did the same (she is an accountant...)

we have a 2yr old and a 3 month old. budgeting etc was the best thing we ever did as i changed jobs in nov 2007 and mrs g went part time (taking a significant salary cut), then my company went bust in march 08 and for 9 months of the last year (which excludes some time in between when i have been travelling back and forth to china for work), i was unemployed. only due to mrs g's financial planning (although i am good with money too) were we able to continue without racking up debt over that time.

can;t help with the figures without speaking to mrs g first, but there are so many people on here who will give you first hand experience of what to and what not buy in their opinions. all very useful stuff, so soak it up

i'll ask about the figures and let you know

what would scooby do

You need to budget over £700 per month based on the £180k your replicated DNA costs to raise until it is 21 years old

Al9

hi we have a 11month old girl, my other half says £100 is about right for nappies/wipes and food/milk, £10-£15 baby jars nappies about£10per week,£5wipes and £8for milk, but then u do have clothes to get,we got some new,some from sister which helps.

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Don't forget the inital setup pram, cot etc that could end up costing £600 or more. You do get a grant though (£250 iirc)

phillyctr

iTrader: (1)

if it hadnt been for the pesky kids i would have been driving a rb320 not a 9 year old classic.the only problem is the amount of strain they're put on my marriage which have led to us break up.oh well least ive still got the scooby.lol

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Get her to breast feed and that reduces your costs even more and gives you more time in bed

IanW

Tim,

As the others have said about £100 a month sounds about right, my little one is 3 months old now, so main costs are nappies, powdered milk, wipes etc...

Before hand though, with regards to the pram etc, Mothercare do whats called a Nursery Plan, where we bought her cot/pram etc and you only pay a £10 admin fee, you then get 6 months to pay it off with no interest! It certainly helps to spread the cost.

Ian

Mark Mac

Tim,
Kids cannot be factored into a monetary system.
There are sooo many variables.
As soon as you have one you will soon realise how priceless ther really are.

Spooky Mulder

When they are only doing milk then your sums are about right.

It is later that they get expensive, especially when they start doing baby food (if you buy it rather than make it)

6-10 jars of baby food per day @ 40-60p each

Clothes every three months as they grow

A wife/girlfriend who will be fired by oxytocin to start gathering and nesting - toys, baby things you have no idea what they are for, clothes, baby things for any friends who might have babies, future baby things just in case, another pram or pushchair as the current one is not quite right in some way (this will defy male logic), a more advanced child seat for the car, a spare childseat in case there is another baby travelling in the car or the first one breaks, more baby things of which you have no clue as to what they are...

In summary the cost of having a baby boils down to one thing - how much have you got and multiply by a factor of at least 1.2!!

hodgy0_2

i think you can,t work it in purely monitary terms because they are priceless and you just do afford it

I have 5 kids -- and a stay at home mum as a wife, I view it has my biggest luxury, yes it costs an absolute fortune, we have just potty trained one of our twins and its saving us £50 a month, great, but my 9 year old is just starting tennis lessons, at £25 a month etc etc so it never ends,

but everytime I look at them all the question of money never enters my head

off course sometime for a split split second I think wow with no kids, or just the one or two I could afford a pretty much any car I wanted, but I am realistic to know that even the spankiest of cars, after a while is, well just a car.