to ask why having kids is expensive?

[HodgePodge23]

What do you need to buy them apart from toys, food, clothes and a few other bits and bobs here and there? I have an 8 month old so maybe things will get more expensive with time, but I really don't understand why people say having children is expensive. What are people spending their money on?

Childcare. Loss of earnings.

You are joking, aren't you .

You have a little 8 month old baby, give it a few -10- years then you'll see things differently.

Childcare is a huge outlay. If you're fortunate enough to not have to pay for it, you're saving thousands...

Strike out fail 10 is what I meant.

Childcare? Education? Every need possible for at least 18yrs?!! I Have a 5yr old & 2.5yr old and pay over €1000 pm in childcare alone.....

It doesn't get any better either. I only have DS 17 who costs me a FORTUNE in food alone...

Interesting article here www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/23421744

Bigger place to live. Taking them on holidays if you can.

Food. A bigger home. Clothes. Shoes. More food. Fuel to drive them to places and clubs that you pay for. Presents for their birthdays. Presents for their friends birthdays.

i have to say i've found it relatively cheap so far and i have a 2.5yo

breastfed, bought everything second hand or was given it, bar a few bits

clothes from charity shop, toys and books from charity shop / library

a few new bits here and there as necessary

i suspect in time it will become more expensive, but I don't think it has to be if you shop wisely. I don't plan on changing how I shop very much (eg will always look for bargains or second hand if I can find decent enough things).

all this said I never socialise (eg. pub) any more so i save a lot of money on that.

i guess the expensive part comes when they get a bit older, and with the childcare etc.

Childcare and or the loss of earnings of you opt to work part time or be a sahp.

It actually gets a lot more expensive at school. Uniform, dinners, fundraisers, fairs, discos, sponsoring, school trips, more uniform because the have lost it/ruined it/ grown out of it, birthdays partie they are invited to etc.

Then in the holidays it costs a fortune to entertain them.

Add on every day costs like food, clothes, electric, water etc.

Add in school uniforms, bags, shoes, PE kit, equipment like calculators, musical instruments, hockey sticks/rugby boots etc. etc.
Then maybe music lessons, Cubs/brownies, subscriptions to clubs, school trips, bus fare or petrol for school runs, car seats for little ones.

Just for starters?

They get way more expensive as they get older. Eat 5x the quantity of food a baby eats. Need more clothes, uniform, activities etc. Have to pay for over 5's for most days out and train tickets.

Mine still have some second hand clothes (8 & 6) but dd needs a bigger bike so I can wave goodbye to £100 for that.

Well I agree that having an 8 month old is no biggie cost wise.
Come back when you have to spend nearly £300 for one dcs winter school uniform and tell me it doesn't get pricier.
Can you honestly, and I mean honestly, not really envisage any escalating costs as they get older?

To be fair, we spend a lot on things because we have the money to do it. Horse riding lessons, school trips abroad, a few holidays a year, family gym membership etc and you could definitely never have to pay for things like that if you decided against it.
But it can be very expensive.
Even things like the ice cream van with 3 children and a couple of bottles of water is a tenner. Takes 10 minutes to enjoy on you way to or from somewhere, a couple of tkmes a week and twenty quid has just slipped through your fingers.
And the older they get, the more they see. Dd1 has friends with various ipads, iPhones, consoles, at age 11.
You don't always want to say no.

I'm a stay at home mum so we won't be spending any money on childcare. Money on education? If they aren't going to private school then surely it's not that expensive? I'm planning on home educating anyway so that won't be an issue I guess.

Ha I must be bloody naive.

Wait till they start music/swimming/drama lessons!

You have an 8 month old

Oh and my two are only primary school age but they seem to eat loads! I spend my life in the supermarket!

I wouldn't dream of calling you naive but I think you'll think differently as your dc grows and if you choose to have more than one child.

Mine have grown up now, even taking in to account nursery fees etc we found the most expensive years to be the teenage years. Our youngest starts Uni in September.... We figure we have about three more years of expense and then we can start to have a few holidays a year and clear our over draft.....not that I'm counting down

Childcare. £800 per child, per month.

And they'll cost you even more if you give up work.

Childcare. Two days a week costs is £490 a month which considering I'm only working 2 days is over half my earnings.

DS is turning 1 so but what I Forsee having to pay for are things like proper fitted shoes, not cheapy booties etc. and they grow so things need to be replaced. Days out when they are older and aren't free everywhere. School trips. School uniforms. School equipment. Down the line they want iPads and Xboxes. Going out means possibly buying loads of stuff like a magazine, a little toy, a juice drink, sweets etc. If you go on holidays they have to be paid for over a young age. Meals out. Trips out. Clothes get more pricey and they grow. People won't buy you stuff anymore, everyone likes buying something for an 8 month old as things are small and cute and toys are cheap. Not so much when they get older. I barely had to buy anything myself for my DS for months.

State school costs money. We pay online for dinners and outings. I totted up around £250 on trips and music in the last year alone.

Childcare is more than the mortgage. By the time DS starts school I estimate it will have cost - even after the bit of free time they get at 3 and 4 - about £30,000. That's for one child. If I'd stayed at home it would have been much more.