Affording a baby !!! Help xx

[MrsMulrooneytobe2016]

Hi guys, I love this site. It's amazing. So many helpful people on here. Basically, me and my fiancé are at a point where we both want to start a family. We get married in July 2016 and I start a 1 year top up degree course in a few weeks, which I will have completed by April/May next year. We both work full time, myself in a nursery and my partner in Marketing. We earn £32,500 a year between us. How much would people suggest to put away a month so that by the time baby comes, we had a little starting point. Is this do-able? Xxx

Your main issue is to cover your drop in earnings while on parental leave. I would start with working that out and go from there if you are talking about affording the first yr.
After that you need to have considered how you will afford or split the child care before they go to. School.

Yeah, that's the thing, we aren't sure where to look for the things we will need. As we would be first-time parents we aren't totally clued up, so are unsure where the big expenses come in.

For us the big expense is the mortgage while I am off on Mat Leave. DH is SAHD so no childcare costs to consider.

As far as 'stuff' goes, there is a ludicrous thread running on how much people have spent - for some it runs into thousands - on equipment for their baby. There is really no need to spend a fortune.

Car seat - about £100
Pushchair - second hand, about £50
Cot and mattress - £100
Babygros and muslins etc -£50

I spotted a thread like that and nearly fainted. It's something we both want so much. So do you think if we put £100 a month away from now until baby is born (not pregnant yet) we will be alright?

As long as you don't get sucked in to the 'everything must be new, everything must be perfect, I must have a wipe warmer' mentality, then I'd say £500 is enough to get what you need. Gumtree and ebay are your friend!

We didn't have any money put away, and did just fine buying stuff before I went on mat leave. Rather depends on how much you rely on your income, ie can your dh cover all bills and mortgage without your income or with you on smp? Depends where in the country you are I guess? I'm pregnant with dc 3, we can live off dhs income but doesn't leave a lot spare, my income is generally savings and unexpected things, so when I go on mat leave we are generally fine. If I were you I'd work out your minimum monthly outgoings as a starting point

Oh and babies don't cost as much as they would have you believe, ds barely cost anything for the first 6 months, we got given loads of second hand clothes, I used cloth nappies and breastfed, things like cot/car seat and pram can cost whatever you let them :-)

I think a budget of £1000 to get reasonable buggy, car seat, cot etc is very doable. You can get everything on eBay/2nd hand sales if you want. Loss of earnings is definitely what you want to consider- we could afford mortgage and bills etc on dh's salary only but you may not be able to so you may need to budget to lay bills while you're on mat leave. I think "kit" is the least of your worries tbh, childcare costs when you're back at work will be 30-60 per day and though babies are fairly cheap I understand they become astronomical when they get older especially if you want to go on fancy holidays during school hols etc.

To pay bills not lay!

Its not paying for maternity leave, or the things for a baby - its the years of paying for childcare, or not working (unless you are lucky enough to have free family childcare).

Work that bit out, and then work towards putting that much away each month, and then you'll have leave and equipment easily paid for!

Gosh, a lot to take in. Thank you all so much for your help :-) Best get my maths head on lol xx

You need to calculate your income post baby taking into account childcare and/or less hours of work. That's the main expense.

The only thing you need new is a car seat (unless you get one from someone you trust that it hasn't been in an accident). Don't get suckered into the expensive biggie, both mine have been on a Maclaren since birth and its great. Freecycle and local second hand selling groups on Facebook will be useful.

I'm unsure how to calculate the income post baby as I'm unsure what we are entitled to.

I did a degree whilst pregnant and with a baby and it was hellish. Get your degree, get your career established afterwards and get settled, married and enjoy yourself for a bit. I'd put by as much as you can anyway, but don't put your life on hold

It is the drop in income that is the worry at the moment

What I would be trying to so is out away a sum to cover mortgage/rent and starting to get frugal with shopping bills.

It's shopping etc that adds up once baby arrives - nappies etc.

Also once you are back to work - childcare.

One big expense that hit us was needing to change the car as tiny boot in old one.

We have a tiny boot in our car too. I work in a nursery so would receive discount of 25% on my fees.

Also consider if your house is big enough. When ours was 1 we decided we needed an extension which is going to cost £40k!

We're in a 3 bedroom new build so should be fine :-) Xx

If you Google - The money advice service - they show typical childcare costs in different regions.

What are your 'individual salaries ans how do you think you would split the yrs leave as that will affect what you get. I think basic statutory maternity pay is about 600 per month over the first 9 months (the first 6 week's are higher I think this varries with diff employer's so worth looking at your hr policies). You can then take up to a yr but the last 3 months are unpaid.

As others have said if you can live on your reduced wage now and save the excess for the next yr or so, you should be fine to by/get the bits and pieces you need before and tbh to cover nappies and formula during that first year if needed.

TBH just go for it
you WILL afford it
no idea how but you will
it just happens
I look back at what I lived on when DCs were born (younger one is 14 today) and still cannot see how, but I did
as can you

Unless your household income is going to drop to less than £26k you won't get any help from tax credits. You will get approx £20 a week child benefit. When you go back to work you may get some help with childcare costs.

So if we can live on my lower income now, we should have plenty saved for when we need it. I can't find where to look for entitlement.

I would suggest you put away as much as you can reasonably afford starting now for several reasons. Make a conscious effort now to be accurate about your own spending & cut back on non-essentials, although not to the extent that life is joyless.

First, you will get used to managing on less money as standard. Get into the habit of 'paying' your savings account immediately you both get paid and you won't miss it. Second, you will develop a savings habit that will stand you in good stead your whole life. Third, it will cover some of the shortfall if your family income goes down or if you have to pay for childcare. The 'set-up costs' of babies vary massively but the ongoing costs of family life can be quite high.

There's quite a good benefit checker at www.turn2us.org.uk where you can find out if you'd qualify for tax credits etc.

Work out how much you need to pay the bills / eat every month. Everything else is extras!

Things like nct nearly new sales where you can get second hand stuff that's often barely been used are great.