Cost of having a child per month/year?

[Lalafelpotato]

Hiya everyone

Myself & my other half are starting to talk about having a baby. One of our worries is how much it actually costs per month/per year. I've looked online & there is articles saying £15,000 per year & others saying £5000 per year, so it's all a bit confusing! So realistically, how much did it cost you? We wouldn't be buying top of the line stuff & we usually shop in Lidl/Aldi, so would be getting baby stuff from there.

Any help would be appreciated :) thank you!

You can pretty much spend as much or little as you want - breastfeeding is cheaper but may not be possible, do you need to pay for childcare? Are you happy to use second hand pram etc or do you want a top of the range model? No way is 'right' imo just what suits you

It’s like asking how long is a piece of string. I know friends whose babies have 2-3 regular nappy free days per week (on plastic sheeting) to save money on nappies. Yet more friends who can’t or don’t want to do this and so spend more. Childcare is, of course, the biggest bill. In most areas it can cost 1-2k per month if you need full time care from 0-2.

It's something that fluctuates. You can buy a £1000 pram or use one that's been handed down from friends, clothes are as cheap or expensive as you want them to be. There are fixed cost of nappies and formula (if not breastfeeding).

You can spend a fortune on baby singing, baby massage, baby swimming classes or you can go to free groups at the local children's centre or church groups for £1.

Have a look at your company maternity leave cover - I got 6 months of half pay on top of smp, but I was very lucky. So a Sri in your income may happen, especially if you decide to go part time once you return to work.Also have a look at childcare costs - these depend on area, hours needed, nanny/childminder/nursery.

Thanks for all the replies!

So after the initial costs of prams, cots & the big stuff & excluding childcare. What would you think it costs per month on average? x

900pcm childcare
60pm nappies and milk if not bfing.
30pm additional food
30pm classes or clubs
20pm clothes (they grow fast til about 4yo!)

I've based the above on a 12mo.

Bulky outlays newborn stage - cot, carseat, pushchair, playmate, bouncer type things circa 1000.

Bulky outlays toddler stage - car seat. 200.

It costs as much as you have! Children need to be housed, fed, clothed, looked after, educated and entertained. And you can spend very little or lots of money on all of these things.

Child are is the bIggest drain. Depends where you are - south east, a nursery is £65 a day for us (varies from £45-£110 a day), child minders are cheaper- weigh up that verses loss of a salary if a SAHP. Factor in 15 or 30 free hours a wk once they hit 3

It depends on your situation. The main cost of children are housing them, childcare and loss of earning/pension.

The other stuff you can get for free, borrow, buy cheaply or be given. You can do free activities or spend money on swimming lesson, group and clubs. The housing, childcare and earning are the killer.

If you already have a property large enough (aren't upsizing just to be able to have children) then I would just count a small amount to extra bills- although in reality if you get things like a bath dam then hot water etc isn't much at all for their baths. Other than that there is sooooo much baby stuff sold for reasonable prices as there's so much of it about people are wanting to sell! I would buy the car seat and the cot new (or if buying second hand then just the mattress) for safety reasons, but everything else can be really reasonable. Initial outlay doesn't have to be huge bearing that in mind, look out for baby sales (NCT or some counties have different ones), charity shops and Facebook marketplace for toys, clothes etc- this is also better for the environment. If you formula feed the bottles etc will have an initial outlay and the formula will probably cost £40 or so (depending what brand you use), but remember unless you are high earners you will get circa £80 a month. Supermarket clothes are fine as well if you want sleepsuits etc and can't find any you like secondhand; their nappies are also okay and a lot cheaper than leading brands.

Childcare is probably the area I would look into the most, check out rates locally and different types, and think whether you'll want to go back full time or part time and the financial implications of this etc. It's hard to put a monthly figure on it imo as it really depends, but it is true that it can be as much or as little as you can afford (with limitations of course!). There are free sessions at libraries usually for babies to socialise and for you to meet other parents if you want to; private groups can be around £8 a session but I don't think they're any better to be honest to justify the cost.

Thanks everyone!

My sis in law sent me her list from when she had my nephew for the first year, does it seem about right?

Nappies: £50 pm
Formula: £40 pm (if i don't BF)
Wipes, bath stuff, toiletries: £20 pm
Medicine: £5
Clothes: £20 pm
Extras: £20 pm

Anything i'm missing? xx

I know friends whose babies have 2-3 regular nappy free days per week (on plastic sheeting) to save money on nappies.
What the what now? Could you please explain in detail what this means?

OP for us childcare and loss of income is the main expense. The other stuff like nappies, clothes, cot etc is insignificant.

it's not just what you buy and the consumables, the more significant (imo) cost is the opportunity cost i.e who is working less to make time for the baby? what is the short term and long term cost of that? as well as having to have say a 3 bed house instead of a 2 bed, a bigger car. every minute of my day has become precious since having a baby because any minute away has to be covered by someone else so my opportunities are compromised which will have an impact on what i earn in the future.

50 pm on nappies? Where the fuck do you lot get your nappies from? My newborn went through ten nappies a day in the early days and that was only about 20 quid a month. 🙄

I dread to think how much we have spent. Larger house, family friendly larger car when I needed a new one. Wages lost on maternity leave, childcare then I became a SAHM so wages loss/pension. Cost of specialist formula while we were waiting to see dietician. Dairy alternatives. Expensive vitamins and posher fruits and veg because that is what she eats.

Oh and washing/tumbling and heating costs during the day in winter.

Other than the almost £9k a year we spend on childcare it's completely intangible

the costs of the consumables as many have pointed out on this thread is minor and variable compared to childcare and the dent of maternity leave. Whether you buy Lidl or Waitrose nappies, breast feed or formula pales in significance to that

The main costs of babies is the childcare cost
and the lost income / promotion prospects and pension of the main carer.

Everything else pales into insignificance.

The biggest cost when they are tiny is the childcare element. We have four and I've had childminders, used nurseries, had nannies etc and the monthly cost was more than our mortgage. The loss of my career and pension has also been very painful but DH has, by dint of me relinquishing my career, built his to allow us a good standard of living and a reasonable pension....

Teenagers are very expensive however, and the amount of money we spend on clubs, trips, uniforms, shoes etc is eye-watering every month.

But, I wouldn't be without them - if one counted the (actual) cost beforehand, I don't think anyone would have children....

Nappies: £50 pm
Are the covered in gold leaf?
And £20 on wipes also far too high.
Medicines £5 make that £2 if that.
Toiletries £1.

I was glad to leave the 'second mortgage' stage of nursery fees behind, but in reality we didn't notice a saving as was quickly replaced by breakfast club (£7.50) and after school club (£9.50) plus holiday club...varied from £18 to £35 per day. As well as activities.....rainbows, cubs, martial arts, ballet, football, cricket, tutoring for maths or languages, music lessons etc, etc. At one stage around £400 per month just on activities for my three. School lunches for three were £150. Then there''s the school residential trips £100-£750!

If you can rein yourself in on baby equipment coats....buy or accept secondhand and stash any savings away for some of the later stuff (or if you go for two or three later on!) you'll be very glad you did.

Thanks everyone! I've worked it out as roughly £800pm for a childminder, the ones in my area are around £5 per hour for under 2s.

I wouldn't say they cost that much in the first year to be honest (mine has been formula fed since 4 weeks). I found that the £20 per week child benefit covered it especially the first 6 months (I did get enhanced maternity pay from my job at the local govenment & went back to work 3 days per week after 9 months).

OP you can also get tax free childcare and, if your combined salary isn't too high, child benefit and possibly tax credits.

That's very affordable childcare.
So yes, childcare and loss of earnings are the biggest bills that can go into thousands. The basics aren't too much.

We spent about £100 on formula/month (very big baby) but Pampers and Water Wipes off Amazon don't even cost £50 together and you can go a lot cheaper with Aldi or Lidl stuff. Some families I know get hand-me-downs or buy second hand clothes and toys so that's quite cheap.
DS gets clothes from posh places, nice new toys and I doubt all the expenses amount to more than £300-400/month.