Saving money for first baby

[jenk83]

Happy sunny Sunday all.
We are starting TTC towards the end of the year and wanted to know how much money realistically I will have to save up for all the things the baby needs.

I am planning on getting a lot of clothes etc second hand but was wondering how much money everyone else has spent on their first baby.

I appreciate any tips on buying things for our baby as well as saving tips

We spent around £1500 which included travel system and car seat, cot and mattress, a few clothes and bedding etc.

I would suggest you buy as you go along when baby is here. We bought so much up front that we never you used. Don't stock pile nappies as they move through the early sizes so quickly.

Baby will only need somewhere to sleep, baby grows to wear, and a way to get around.

We spent very little - we were given loads of stuff as hand-me-downs - and I mean loads - three pushchairs !!

So much of the stuff that is marketed is trying to 'guilt trip' parents buying brand new stuff for their babies. The vast majority is totally uneccessary.

It is no point giving you any 'tips' on what you need to buy as what one parent thinks is essential another will think of as a waste of money.

I don't think babies are that expensive. We got lots of stuff free or very cheap 2nd hand. I remember a time when we were spending £10a week on formula and the same on nappies but that phase didn't last long.
Children, on the other hand, cost an extortionate amount of money. Save as much as you can and only buy what you need for a baby would be my advice.

We didnt spend much as we used free cycle and second hand sites a lot. The biggest expense is pram and car seat (not recommended second hand) but there's massive variation - there's prams for a hundred or 2 thousand quid depending on preference.
Worth researching what income you'll have, e.g.maternity pay, child benefit, tax credits etc as this all varies based on company and your income.
In a way, because I had a premature baby I didn't spend too much money on unnecessary crap we didn't use!
Bumdeal.co.uk is a nappy comparison site that will save you loads of cash over the years

We probably spent about £800 but we bought the big items second hand (including an icandy pram for £200 and a beautiful wooden cot for £70, both in perfect condition) which saved us about £1k.

We bought little bits and pieces each week with our shopping too, which really helped, as you don't notice a bag of cotton wool etc added to your weekly bill.

If you know what you're having, you can keep an eye on the sales too - we bought loads of lovely clothes from Gap, John Lewis etc at great prices for the 3-6/6-12 month sizes as they were out of season. It meant that we got some lovely things for a few pounds each.

Hth

As many people have said, it hugely depends

The most important thing is funding your mat leave

NCT sales are a good source of second hand items if you don't have anyone to borrow from

Probably obvious but if you think you might want more kids go for the unisex stuff or boy / girl bits that either could wear.
Also, without sounding grabby, I was amazed at how much stuff we were gifted. You can hold off on buying toys and too many clothes and see what you get given. With online ordering and next day delivery etc you really need very little ready beforehand

Sorry for the multiple posts, I just thought, in a way its not stuff for the baby that's expensive. It's having the heat on all day and night for a winter baby, higher use of washing machine, sterilising machine and being out of work for a while

I agree with that. We overpaid our gas/electric bill for the whole of my pregnancy so that we could drop the direct debit right down when I was on SMP. We also put away what would be needed to fully cover our bills our bills when I was off, which meant that we had my DH's untouched wage every month and there was no worrying.

I think the biggest issue with be lack of income. Do you work? Have you looked at how much maternity pay you would be entitled to?

To be honest, it's very individual. I saved and spent quite a lot, somewhere between £1500 and £2000. But I bought everything brand new, £650 travel system, £300 cot etc etc. I could have done it for less than half of that if id bought second hand. Best thing to do is put together a list of what you need and do some research on cost brand new vs cost second hand and decide what you're happy buying second hand. Now that my wee man is here (6 mths) I'm a bit more frugal, buy plastic toys second hand/charity and clothes from supermarket. But it's exciting buying all the stuff at the beginning and if like me, you're able to save a decent amount then it's hard not to buy new!