Does it really cost you around £15,000 a year to raise your child?

[alittlebitmanic]

I've just been reading an article about this and I am wondering how realistic this figure is. Obviously if you aren't careful with your money I can see that spending this and more yearly is easy to do, particularly if you buy excess, premium items and designer brands. Or if you have a very expensive nursery.

But if you're careful with your cash, budget, don't buy more than is needed and shop around to get good value items, can this be reduced slightly? Or significantly?

My partner earns well and I do OK, probably around the average salary. I don't understand how people can manage £15k a year of their joint income to be spent on raising children (30k for 2 seems barbaric!) and this is making me worry!

I know our lifestyle will be affected, but my partner earns enough that I don't think we can claim any child benefit so I'm concerned we'll be struggling if it does indeed cost this much.

Would you say this is accurate? And how easy have you found it to spend less?

Really interested to hear everyone's opinion!

Yep, one dc in nursery here and that alone is around £13k a year. The middle one is not long out of nursery so while she was there it was about £20k in total! Makes me feel light headed just writing that down

I've just looked it up, I'm going to assume that your partner is taxed at the same rates as everyone else, and we aren't in high tax times at all at the moment, which means his tax home pay is arounf £42k per year which is more than the average gross salary and way way more than those on the minimum wage.

Is there a reason that you haven't said that would make you think there would be any chance that you couldn't afford to have a child?

It doesn't cost £15k on top of childcare. If one of you is a SAHP the "cost" in actual money will be less than that.

Saying that your partner gets taxed "a hell of a lot" sounds either insensitive or just dim. We know how tax works. It's not a surprise.

You don't have to have children, if you don't fancy it.

If you would fancy it if you were rich at the same time but not fancy it so much if you were less well-off than you'd like, you are allowed to make that decision.

Childcare is our big cost too. Now that both dc are at school, this has come down a bit, but then there's music lessons, swimming club, school uniform (yes I'd clothe them anyway, but I wouldn't normally buy a polyester sweatshirt for £12), Cricket bats, school dinners, school shoes, Cub camp, holidays in school holiday times (even campsites are more expensive).....

So, many of those things are "nice to do" rather than "need to do", but none are particularly unusual.

Wow, no need to call me dim for asking a simple question is there! A bit rude.

I meant that he gets taxed at 40 odd percent above a certain level. I know he's not the only one, but it does make a big difference to the take home pay having someone earn 60 and 25, against both earning 40ish.

No need to bite my head off!

Reduced earnings at going p/t and childcare is £20k

Weekly costs of nappies, milk etc when younger was about £25. Now at 21m it's about £15 (no formula and eats our normal food).

Clothes not bad as we got most second hand. Most equipment was second hand too except mattress and car seat. Some things were gifts.

We have a joint income of £50k and it's a massive struggle. If we have any unexpected bills we're stuffed as are budgeting to the penny every month. Many due to repaying old debts and being stuck on a terrible mortgage deal that we can't get out of yet.

I can believe it for many families - esp those who put value/effort into enrichment type activities and/or work long or wierd hours. Also if no rleatives close by.
Cost of nursery here in oxfordshire is about £1000/month full time.
We had one in nursery full til school, now have ds2 in part time nursery(4 sessions) and part time nanny (equiv 3 days). nanny does wrap around on 3 days for ds1, i do the other days. Cost of all this childcare plus piano lessons & swimmng lessons is about £25,000 a year. Add to that things like extra housing, food, clothes, birthday parties, school uniform/trips/other costs and i would say it is more than £15,000 a year! Of course it is much less if you don't work so do all your own childcare - alhough there is often the hidden cost of that unless your partner is high earning so ou don't need top ups/benefits etc.

Apols regarding all the typos....post night shift brain.

I can believe it. My dc's are at primary school and whilst childcare is a touch cheaper the summer holiday clubs aren't cheap. Even their state school music classes will be £100 a term.