how much to save before TTC?

[DanisEndo]

myself and partner are planning on TTC in 2022

we've always been good at saving, and both ensure we always have a 'buffer fund'. We've just gotten engaged (yay!) and are in the process of selling our flat and buying a house, but have agreed not to start planning anything wedding wise until we're in the house and wont set a date till 2023 or 2024 to give us a chance to replenish our savings and generally just enjoy being engaged!

Last night I was discussing when we might start TTC with my partner and he said he wouldn't want to start trying until we had funds saved up for a baby separate to our 'buffer' and 'wedding' just in case we were lucky and fell pregnant quickly. I completely get this but am completely naïve to how much we realistically should have saved? I know 'as much as possible' but where is a good base level?

We're both in well paying jobs at the start of our careers and will be able to cover our monthly outgoings on one salary while I'm on maternity if that makes a difference..?

You can work out how much your income will be when you are on maternity leave, and then when you go back to work factor in nursery fees until your child is 3 and you receive govt funding towards the costs.

(www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds)

You should also factor in that you will be receiving child benefit, and that childcare can be paid for using the tax-free childcare scheme (www.gov.uk/get-tax-free-childcare?step-by-step-nav=f237ec8e-e82c-4ffa-8fba-2a88a739783b).

Then you can have a realistic idea what your income will be for the period from birth to when your child starts school.

I would then look at the costs of specific baby items that are fairly unavoidable, so the basics like a cot/cotbed, car seat, pram plus anything else you think you'll need. I got most baby clothes second hand for free from relatives and friends, you can also get bundles from sites like ebay. I made a spreadsheet of all of the big items plus a budget for the optional extras, then you can see your overall total and figure out how much you have to or want to spend.

You could also look at the impact that using washable nappies and wipes might make to your budget. It's more cost upfront, and more washing/drying cycles, but might represent a saving overall. There are websites for reusable nappies that can help with calculating savings.

Nothing! It's not necessary in my opinion. Unless there is something non negotiable like sending them to private school that your wages alone won't cater for.

First few years are quite affordable and most expensive baby items are unnecessary.

@miltonj

Nothing! It's not necessary in my opinion. Unless there is something non negotiable like sending them to private school that your wages alone won't cater for.

First few years are quite affordable and most expensive baby items are unnecessary.

This must come from a fairly privileged perspective to be honest. We had to budget for the reduction of my wages in Mat leave and then childcare in the following years. You must have a fair bit of flex in your budget not to need to save at all which is great but not true for everyone. We saved £16k because that was what we worked out we needed for me to have full year off without us stressing

The first 4 years were brutal financially tbh - maternity leave and then paying close to £1k a month in childcare. So I'd start saving now, so that you are saving between you what nursery fees will be and then that will give you a buffer during maternity leave and for any problems during the high childcare time.

The worst time financially for us was when we had two children in childcare and I was working part time. So less money coming in and a lot more going out. So it's worth considering long term if you hope to have more than one child.

It's all relative during the pregnancy you will needs funds to buy maternity clothing and baby items. This can as cheap or as expensive as you make it. While you are on maternity leave it will depend what your employer offers in terms of benefits and how long you plan on taking it off. For the amount of time you want off work out how much you and your partner need to earn to pay your bills and expected lifestyle and then see if your maternity wages and his wages can afford this. Save for the difference.

When and if you go back to work work out how much nursery will cost you for the days you plan to work out and compare this against the wages you and your partner will earn plus bills and expected lifestyle. Safe for the short full.

Kids clothes are as cheap or as expensive as you make them. Kids clothes go up in price after 2 years old. Depending if how close you want your children to be work out if you can pay two lots of childcare at the same time or will you need to add these to your savings now and expected savings when you go back to maternity.

When you go back to work take inconsideration that they may not go to childcare because of sickness and you will have those bills to pay plus unpaid leave if you need to take it.

There are so many variables.

Our eldest was unplanned and we had no savings at all. It was not easy but we still managed to buy a house and have a couple of holidays in her early years. I went PT so most of what I earned went on childcare. I have saving nowadays but 6 kids and a dog so those can be wiped out pretty easily if enough goes wrong at one time.

@nellly nope! Live in a small, rented flat, and have an income of 35k at the moment. Our kids have plenty. We don't break the bank. But we are not especially privileged or well off. No one I know has specifically saved up for having kids.

We saved £10k the first time to cover my share of the bills when my maternity pay started dropping so I still had disposable income. Gap between children specifically planned so we wouldn't have 2 in childcare as it's so expensive even though I went back part time

We had savings but didn't really need them as we could afford to live on one wage plus shared parental leave pay, and didn't find a baby to be that expensive. It depends what you want, though. Our second hand pram cost £30. You can spend £1500 on a new one.

We didn't save anything, nobody I know did either!

We were on very low incomes back then so a drop to mat pay (then SMP) after a few weeks wasn't a huge difference in take home pay. So definitely not privileged in that sense.

However I knew I was only going back to work 2 days a week and we wouldn't need paid for childcare so I appreciate that does make me privileged.

Of course we looked at our finances before having a baby but didn't plan it to the £. If we had, I think we would have worried too much and never had a baby.

Thanks everyone! Thats really helpful.

@RoseslnTheHospital thats amazing thanks you, Looks like we'll benefit from flexing my excel skills (I'll pretend not to be excited by this!) but also really reassuring that some have done it without big saving pots and not struggled. Hadnt even thought about second child/two in childcare and think my dp might have a heart attack if i start talking about a second, but he'll have to suck it up :')

I dont think either of us are particularly extravagant (dont see the point in designer gear especially for kids!) so hopefully that helps the numbers.

@MrsJBaptiste Of course we looked at our finances before having a baby but didn't plan it to the £. If we had, I think we would have worried too much and never had a baby. this is my fear for my partner!

Thanks again everyone!

@DanisEndo I would get married first then TTC. If cost is a concern, have a lovely but modest wedding (at the end of the day it's the marriage commitment that matters, not the wedding day ).

It's definitely good to have some savings but wouldn't worry too much or overanalyse. When baby hopefully arrives, just household spend according to your means.

Babies don't have to be expensive at all and there are always savings you can make to your lifestyle to help fund maternity leave. Especially since when compared to the average person, you're very comfortable finance wise. If everyone waited for the perfect time, hardly any babies would be born!