How much to save!?

[poodlepip]

Hi
We are a couple of months into ttc. I came over in a mild sweat thinking about money

We usually have a few hundred squid left every month after mortgage bills food and savings all went on the house. I could work some extra work in the next 9 months(+).

Did anyone work to save a set amount? Or just go for it and make it work!!
Thanks!

Oh and tips for cheap baby stuff too please!

Are you thinking in terms of money to kit out the nursery and buy newborn basics, or are you talking longer term e.g. putting aside something to cover reduced earnings while on maternity leave and childcare?

A bit of both really. Can anyone estimate cost of all of the bits for babies (prams costs etc) before the baby comes and then extra monthly costs of having a baby under one?
I know it's very variable!!

I don’t think anyone can give you a number as it can vary hugely - you can go budget or top end with almost every baby purchase. And there are plenty of baby bits not everyone would consider essential.

The biggest cost for us was me not being at work and only receiving statutory mat pay. We worked out how much we would need to top that up by every month to keep ticking over and went from there.

You could sit down on the Mothercare website or similar and tot up pram, cot, basic clothes, car seat (if needed), a few mega packs of nappies and get a rough idea?

If you or friend/family are a member of Costco you can get Pampers nappies at an absolute steal!

Yes, it's how long is a piece of string really. But don't panic. If you find money is tight and you haven't been able to save as much as you wanted, you can get almost everything you need second hand for just a few hundred, especially if you get given hand me downs from friends and family too. Do you want to keep to just newborn stuff, or look ahead and get toddler things like highchairs/cutlery/toys as well? Will you be able to cover things like that later on once you're on reduced pay? I would say just save everything you possibly can now while you're ttc. As soon as that BFP hits, you know you've only got 8 full payslips left! My main worry was being able to cover all our bills/mortgage etc while I was on mat leave. So I did some sums, and worked out that I would essentially be on a third of my usual pay for a whole year. But if you're only entitled to statutory it could be a lot less. That might affect how much you want to put by. Honestly, you can go right down the rabbit hole of financial planning (I had spreadsheets coming out of spreadsheets because I'm the 'managing' type!) but ultimately the more you have stashed away the easier things will be, but plenty of people have unexpected little arrivals and still make it work.

In that first year it’s loss of earnings that is that main expense. Actually, loss of earnings and/or childcare are the big ones full stop.

Things you will need to budget for are mainly things to keep you occupied whilst on mat leave. Baby groups, coffees etc. These can add up quickly and even £100 a month might not get you very far.

Utilities may also increase a bit as you will be home more.

Baby as a stand-alone costs very little in that first year. But the things you do to make that year enjoyable add up!

I would say 2000 minimum :)

We didn't save anything in advance at all ! But if you can do it thats a great idea. We didn't buy anything while TTC , we just bought bits and bobs gradually over the 9 months of our pregnancy. Tbh you don't really need to spend a fortune. It depends what you want to get , how fancy you want to go. There are certain things essential and others aren't . For example if you've got a cot you don't NEED a crib/Moses basket etc. You don't need specific nursery furniture. We bought a little kids wardrobe and drawers from IKEA rather than buying a nursery set. You could get some second hand bits too like a pp said.

I hear it's something like £200,000 pounds to raise a child to age 18?

Jokes, everything you can save is good. I'm budgeting £3000 for the nursery and baby stuff (pram, car seat etc...) this includes some electrical work and decorating too. Hoping for money left over from that with gifts/ buying by a few things second hand etc... but that's a max.

My husband is the breadwinner at the moment and I earn very little, so in that sense, maternity leave won't be that big of a financial hit for us. So it's quite personal how much to save!!

Great tips thanks!
I am the higher earner and won't be able to take more than 6 months but that's ok as long as I get myself prepared.
I will start trying to put a bit more away now and budget :-)