Is £500 enough?

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I know this will be different for everyone and everyone will have different incomes but we are starting to work out finances for when we have a baby. We've worked out without my wage and after bills, food and fuel we'll have around £500 a month spare, is this doable? Obviously this will pay for everything else so to go out and do activities, things for baby, savings, xmas etc.

rosie my one regret is that we didn't buy a second hand pram initially! We only spent something like £400 buy my god it was a total waste of money. I sold it for barely anything, then bought a second hand one for £30 which was fabulous.

Everything else, except moses basket mattress, cot mattress and bottles was 2nd hand.

We barely spent anything when DS was tiny, the big costs came in when he started nursery but if op is a SAHM she wont have that problem!

If you are like me you won't be going out much when you have a baby! You can go to baby groups but you should be able to find free /cheap ones. Even the commercial ones that cost are about £8 a lesson, so just over £32 a month for one of these.

It is enough, but dont waste money preparing for baby. NCT sales are brilliant. Reconditioned pushchairs are great. Once the baby is here, you will know what you really want, and it might be a takeaway not a third specialist baby lie down thing.

As well as savings, have you minimised your outgoings?

We made the following cuts so we'd be comfortable on a much lower income:

• sold my car. I walk almost everywhere, it was all I could do immediately after my cesarean anyway and it's much more relaxing than sitting in traffic with a screaming child strapped in to a car seat!
• join a car club. They're not in all areas but we use one that's only £5 an hour / £30 a day, as and when we need a car.
• changed mobiles to SIM only deals
• got rid of tv package and bought a Freeview+ box
• wore non-maternity leggings and giant pants backwards so the 'bum' bit became the 'belly' bit
• trawled Gumtree for decent freebies
• did house swap holidays with relatives

Anything is possible if you believe you can!

my one regret is that we didn't buy a second hand pram initially! We only spent something like £400 buy my god it was a total waste of money. I sold it for barely anything, then bought a second hand one for £30 which was fabulous.

I remember being gobsmacked at the pram market when i had my first. I was on a forum similar to this, and it was suprisingly common for people to research and buy their “perfect” pram or travel system. Usually a massive silver cross thing, or three wheeler.

6 weeks later they realised the thing just wasn’t practical on buses, in the car, house etc. So they’d sell and buy something without the carrycot part. Smaller, but still quite a gadget. After a few more months they’d sell that, rinse and repeat until they ended up with an umbrella fold mothercare job- small, light and foldable.

Then they’d get pregnant and buy a massive double buggy. Which after 6 weeks they’d realise was impractically huge so they’d sell and buy smaller. Then they’d decide a buggy and buggy board was better...

There are lots and lots of cheap and/or second hand around!

I’m not trying to be all “I make it work on 5p a week, you’re ridiculous!”
However I have an almost 2yo and £500 covers all bills that aren’t rent (water, gas, electric, internet) plus food and clothing and non essential spends as well. You do have an extra adult but It shouldn’t effect the difference that much. I had to manage when dd was first born just on benefits which between an advance repayment, rent and a debt my ex left me with only left the above. I now work but stick to the same and save the rest (not relevant but because I really want to buy a house)
It can be tight at times and I have some savings, but by and large we adapt to our circumstances.
My point isn’t to make you feel shit or greedy but just to say you will adapt, people do it on less. Cut back where you can, save what you can (if you’re saving £1200 a month you’re doing brilliantly!!) and it will be fine. Try to relax and enjoy

It is so variable , cloth nappies , breast feeding? Cost of nursery childminder in your area.,hours needed,

Some people buy all new clothes from next etc . Others happy with hand downs , second hand.

Social life expenses will go down on a regular basis though if you go out need to pay for a babysitter

For maternity leave or forever?

After bills, food and fuel. Yes. Sounds like you will need to budget more carefully than you are used to though. Remember to save for one off expenses.

Just a thought when you are home with baby all day you will use more gas and electricity than when you were out working all day. You may need to budget a bit more for heating especially with winter coming.

We have less than half that and have no issues.

Gosh yes that doable for sure. Husband works full time I work part time and we are both on good wages and we still don't get that much left after all bills and will live a basic life with no sky TV ect. If you have a big family (I do with lots of children) we do secrets santa with the kids to save us all money.

Bloody hell that's more than enough

That's what we've had whilst I was on maternity leave it's been ok, but no holiday Inn that and it was lucky we had savings when the boiler packed in last winter. I wouldn't want to live like that long term, some people get a kick out of making a chicken last a week, only ever buying second hand and caravanning. I'm not one of them, short term it's been fine, long term is not for me. I asked a friend with two DCs if she wanted to get a coffee this morning as we were both child free for an hour, she couldn't afford the £2.50, I'd rather work. (Obviously we still went and I paid for the coffee)

Some people work and still can’t afford £2.50 for a coffee (or have better things to spend their money on).

Also worth considering that socialising when you have baby depends on what your network is like already. If you have friends, family, neighbours etc locally who you can see, you can all go to each other's houses. If you don't know people who'll be around during the day already, you potentially need to spend more money to go to groups, events etc to meet people. Depending on what's available near you of course, but in a lot of areas the cheap and free provision has been gutted.

@SoyDora I understand that but that's not the case for her she had a very highly paid job previously and actually it's not £2.50 for coffee it is £2.50 to catch up with a friend and not have to do a 40 minutes round trip to go home for twenty minutes then travel back to collect her child. The OP has choices that's what the discussion was about not people working full time for minimum wage and barely making ends meet.

We have at most £200 after bills and that has to cover fuel so you will have more than enough. We try and save out of that.

@holidayhelpppp wow where did you go abroad for £700 including spending money?

wonderland vilanova (30 mins from barcelona) we mostly cooked (bbq'd) ourselves though which is v much slumming it according to mn.