Expecting Twins - help me budget?

[BrassicaBabe]

Hi

I've been messing with my head today doing childcare calculations for twins due in July. Would anyone care to put the boot in and burst some more of my bubbles?!

So childcare aside, what else/costs should I be budgeting for?

Just nappies and forumla surely? That can't cost too much, can it?!

x

Cot, pram, bouncy chairs and basic clothes. Tumble dryer most definitely. Bottles and steriliser x 2 if you're FF - one tip, different type of bottle per child; helps you keep track on who's had what. I also had a travel cot downstairs which the triplets slept in during the day. Oh, and muslins, LOTS of muslins.

Btw, most nurseries/childminders will give you a small discount on a second child.

Sorry, I was thinking about on-going month in month out costs.

But I could wax lyrical for ages about the costs of the other stuff!

Don't forget your food bill - ours went up massively. Firstly as I was breastfeeding and so eating 24h a day, but also we were both so tired all the time that I think we needed extra fuel and treats to keep us going.

Then when the DTs started on food.. wow. I had kind of forgotten about that bit as before they arrived I was so focused on the little baby stage, and didn't know how early you wean. We did it at 5 months, and the quantities were vast. I nearly cried when a whole bag of organic pears, once peeled and cored and steamed, became 4 whole ice cubes worth of puree. So yes, that is one meal.

Pretty soon they were eating quite large portions, there are lots of ways to keep costs down like making big batches, not using salt in your food so you can whizz up left over veg into puree for the next day for them etc.

And you will have a bigger incentive than most to get them all eating family food early - we make vats of spag bol etc. But yes, food bill was something we overlooked in our planning.

Good luck!

Oh yes, the food! I used very little packet or jar stuff. I'd have the three lined up in their bouncy chairs, then one large bowl and one spoon. Frozen veg will be your friend as it can be steamed/microwaved very quickly.

My twins are 13 months and we've been trying to keep our costs down.
Rather than buy separate bottles for each, we used to put an elastic band round my sons so we knew which one was his.
Buy 8oz bottles. We bought the smaller ones to start with and the twins soon out drank them.
Dishwasher tablets and laundry detergent costs mount up with all the washing required. Try and pass some of your washing to a family member to do once in a while.
We didn't bother with a baby bath - we used one of those moulded support seats which sat in the normal bath. They used them from newborn to 1 year and it meant the transition to the big bath wasn't an issue.
Nappies and wipes are expensive - try and buy them on sale or in a mega pack.
Join Tesco Clubcard and Boots Advantage card schemes - they give you good discounts for every day products.
Tesco do good nappy bags. They're less than 1p each. We also use a sangenic bin thing and the plastic cartridge refills are very expensive but it does eliminate all the smells.
We used a cold water milton steriliser and a steam sterilier. Milton requires a fluid which isn't that cheap but we still use this steriliser now as it's easy to dip in/out of without making everything dirty again.
Cotton bibs are useful - we use a lot of them.
Hope this helps and good luck!

Can i suggest reusable nappies instead of disposable. Just the cost of disposable nappies gives me nightmares! And in the early days when you cant leave the house reusable nappies will be easy to manage.
i wish i'd bought some but now i'll have to wait till i start going out with the twins.

Also make sure you have plenty bibs etc, my boys constantly dribble or spit up.

You're right that formula and nappies are the main recurring costs.

Formula = £50pcm by 6 months
Nappies = £30-50 pcm depending on bulk buying/brand/how low your standards are.

Reusable nappies don't save you anything IME because capital outlay huge and washing machine on all the time.

But if these are your first children, there's a mass of other recurring costs which are less obvious but which are about to through the roof, e.g.:

• food after 6 mo (as other posters have said)
• wipes
• kitchen paper (6 packs a month in our household)
• tissues
• cleaning products of every kind
• detergent
• bibs, muslins, cloths
• energy (gas.electric) because your home has people in it most of the day
• medical stuff
• armagnac.

This is small stuff in a way but it all adds up.

On the positive side, you won't have to pay for going out and having fun any more.

Buy nappies and everything in bulk when they are on offer. Join your twin club as lots of stuff gets passed around. There are also groups on facebook.

Tried reusable and sorry environment but there just wern't enough hours in the day and big praise to twim mums who manage it.

Accept all offers of help, clothes and equipment that come your way. I got mu buggy from a mum of older twins who didn't need it.

Breastfeeding costs nothing
Baby Led Weaning - no 'baby' food, just same food as you (still lots of it as others have said)

Totally agree that disposable nappies are a no brainer - too much effort and too much other laundry for anything else. I stock up when they are on special offer and check out Amazon's new subscription service for household items including pampers nappies - great price and free delivery on a regular schedule, what a great idea.

Shoes have a whole line of their own on my budget. £30 each, sometimes as often as 6 weeks! (From about 12m)

car seats - we spent £1200 on them so far (but have 2 cars and need them both as we both work)

biggest expense is nursery fees @ £14 400 per year for 3 days per week, since turned 3 has gone down to £10k per year ...roll on school!

Definitely go for breastfeeeding, it'll save you about £1200 if you do 1 yr! And that's just the formula!

Baby Led Weaning is fab. They eat the same as you so u just have to cook a bit more, it's great. Check out www.itsyummymummy.com for ideas on BLW

EBAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get everything off ebay, and you'll probably get your money back if you put it back on after you've finished with it

Find a friend with babies of the same sex about 18 mths older than yours, You'll get all their clothes! I have bought practically nothing in the 6 years that my boys have been with us :-)

Freecycle, bit of a faff but get some great stuff if you're patient

NCT nearly new sales are great

Join TAMBA and get lots of deals, especially Clarks shoes.

Childcare is the most expensive thing. Other than that babies don't have to cost you much at all

Thanks guys. That's really helpful. I've already started stocking up with nappies and wipes.

I've been doing some calcs on nurserys/nannys and OMG that's why I'm going to be broke!! Part time wage minus petrol to get there minus childcare for twins minus nappies etc = not a bloody lot!