Can we afford a baby?

[Kelpop94]

Hi all, I know this seems like a silly question but hubby and I are considering having a baby (apparently two cats and a dog isn't enough haha)
I'm rubbish with money and genuinely don't know how much raising a baby/child would be.
At the moment our disposal income is around £660 a month, sometimes £860 when hubby gets his bonus - is this a realistic amount to raise a child? Well not just raise it but be able to afford holidays and ”spoil” them a little bit?

Yep. And I assume wages will I crease as will bonuses as the years go on.

Your big financial costs will be reduced income from maternity leave and the cost of childcare. Remember to consider child benefits and tax free childcare in your calculations.

It depends, is that disposable income just your oh’s wage or yours too?? If it’s yours too then you’ll need to take into consideration that you will either have to pay for childcare or not have one of the wages coming in! Also do you have savings Incase a job goes belly up?? Is your home rented or your own (more secure)?

That's more than enough. Try and bf because formula is our biggest cost by far for the first year (poorly DD couldn't latch). Try your local Facebook selling pages for 2nd items (not car seat for safety) and you'll save a fortune. Most items are barely used. We use aldi nappies which are better than Pampers and only a few quid a pack. DD mostly now eats what we eat at 10 months. She probably costs us £100 a month which will reduce drastically at 1 when she can have cows milk. That includes a baby class that she loves.

My biggest cost has been childcare.

The other things you have to buy new which are car seats and mattresses you can often get a discount code for/get given vouchers to help you buy it.

Paying for childcare is worth it as long as your employer gives you a reasonable pension.

There is so much more to consider than money, but yes, that's similar to the amount of disposable income DH and I had before having DD. We have less than that now, but we spend a lot less on luxuries for ourselves like going out for dinner. I'm pregnant with our second now, we'll be worse off financially but we'll scrape by. Completing our family is much more important.

Childcare would be your biggest cost. Are you planning to still work full time when you have a child if so think about childcare. Do you have family who could help or would it be paid help? Full time nursery fees are in excess of £800 per month depending on area/nursery.
However if you go part time that obviously reduces your income.
Of course you can probably afford it but for most people it means cuts/less holidays etc.
Due to me going part time but still needing some child care. We have lost approx 25% of our household income. We have made a lot of cuts and holidays are less frequent. But I see it as temporary when DD goes to school I can increase my hours again. Plus I couldn't imagine life without DD now

Childcare is the main cost. Run your info through a tax credits calculator, factor in childcare bills and What your salary would be (if either of you reduced hours).

Childcare is far and away the biggest expense.

I would think about how you plan to pay for childcare/if you will go back to work. Our nursery costs for full time nursery after tax free childcare are about £700-800 a month.

Will you cope with 1 less income on Mat leave and would you be able to afford to return to work given the cost of childcare. Nurseries near to me are between £45-£110 a day!

Full time child care is well in excess of your monthly disposable income. Going rate by us is about £40 a day and that's cheap compared to some areas of the country.

So I think you should probably get your head screwed on with money. Have a good hard look at your outgoings and see what you could cut back on or reign in before having kids to start saving. Then do your research on child care costs near to you.

Like others have said, formula is ££ at £13 every 5 days if you don’t want to/or unable to bf. You will need a new cot mattress and car seat.

Childcare is by far the most massive expense and as stated, it depends where you live in the country. I paid £1350 a month for ft nursery and my take home pay for a while after travel was £20 a month but for me it was worth it to continue to work, pension and sanity.

Yeah, that's fine. If at the moment you aren't including money you spend individually or as a couple on things like weekends away and going out for meals and drinks... That will happen a lot less so you offset some of the other costs too.

We pay £800 per month for 4 days nursery. It's painful!

I’m going to go against the grain - no. Nursery is about £50-60 a day on average.

How much your income is your salary and how much is his? You’d need to factor in statutory maternity pay.

You could get by but there won’t be treats and holidays.

I'm in a cheap part of outer London and nursery is £1500-1600/month for 5 days a week.

If you want a child, then you'll make it work. You will have a lot less money but there are benefits available to help out. Not sure what you mean by 'disposable income' - it that the money leftover after all your expenses?

What parents often find is that the first few years are a real squeeze due to childcare costs. It then gets a little better but once children get older they get pretty expensive. Teenagers will often cost more than adults in the family as they eat more, need more clothes, activities and hobbies etc.

What happens is that you just cut your cloth as you go along.