How much money do you need to earn to have kids?

[Anudawan]

I’ve always wanted a brood, I mean 3/4.

how much does one need to earn to facilitate this?

how much do you ‘need’ to earn for 2 kids, 3kids etc.

for me private school isn’t a priority, id save some money for them to go to uni, get them a 2nd hand car (not a banger but nothing too pricey) and a contribution towards a house deposit (nominal amount, as I do think it’s important to save and grind a bit for this type of stuff) I think largely house deposits would come from my inheritance.

we’d like a moderate lifestyle, shopped around holiday abroad, a UK holiday etc

mortgage around 1100

I’ve posted similar in aibu, largely by accident but post hasn’t got much traction

LOTS! Like £100k minimum

Not sure what the answer is but can share my thoughts.

If you earn less than £100k childcare help is about to kick in earlier which is really helpful. With my first, our bill was about £700 pcm and it was really hard to save during that time and it flattened us for a bit. That was with the tax free childcare and only 3 days a week. Soon you will get help from the term after they are 9 months (I think) and not bave to wait until they are 3yo.

Other stuff like family days out are as expensive as you let them be. I find we don't do what we used to as much pubs, concerts etc so that bit balances out.

Clothes I buy a lot off Vinted they really do go through them quick.

We don't get sucked into expensive birthdays and Christmas pressies (or at least keeping it low key whilst she is young)

Parites we pair up with a nursery friend and split the cost.

So those are new child related costs.

The really expensive bit in my opinion is if you need to change your home or car. We are pregnant and if baby is a different gender that will mean a house move as some point. If they are the same we might be able to muddle through longer. I refuse to get a bigger car!

Overall, you become resourceful. I think the focus should more be on how you find motherhood and then go from there rather than working out if you can afford a certain number of kids upfront but I respect planning helps us decide.

Good luck x

3 kids, 90K - one holiday a year and either UK or cheaply abroad. It’s still tighter than I’d like considering we have a good income but that’s happened since Covid really as before it was ok.

All of it. They cost a bloody fortune.

Is that a household and gross i presume?

how many children for in your opinion? 2? 3? 4? X

The £100k is each isn’t it? You lose it if one person earns over £100k but you both could earn 65k so have a total of £130 and still keep it?

Nothing- the 48% of the population who are net contributors will pay :)

Really, as much as you can. If you want 3 or 4 children that is going to be very expensive, even for a relatively modest lifestyle.

48% are not net contributors are they?

What does ‘very expensive’ mean? I guess this is all a bit pie in the sky right now but it helps me decide and sort of plan accordingly as to what is in reach and what simply isn’t

I don’t know what this means

52% are net takers
48% net contributors
so basically unsustainable, which is worrying.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/theeffectsoftaxesandbenefitsonhouseholdincome/financialyearending2023

I mean there are people on benefits with large families, so you don’t ‘need’ to earn much at all.

the big considerations are housing (can you fit 3/4 kids in current house) and childcare, especially if you will have more than one in nursery at a time. Holidays abroad for 6 will be extortionate, but I can’t wrap my head around basing family size on whether or not I can afford a nice holiday abroad.

the most important consideration isn’t money as much as it is time and energy - we stopped at 2 because parenting is hard work and every child needs something different. I want my kids to have 1:1 time with their parents and for them to have an opportunity to pursue extracurriculars that interest them. On the financial side I can cut my cloth accordingly, but no matter what I earn I can’t be in two places at once.

It means you need to earn/ save as much as you possibly can.

No one can put a number on it. You don't know anything about your hypothetical children yet, for one thing. One or more of them might have special needs which cause you to have to give up your job, for example, or may cost a lot for other reasons. You need to think about eventualities and the more you can save, the better. You do not want to be scraping by.

The only couple I know with 4 kids who aren't in a financial mess are basically millionaires (and none of their kids went to private school).

It is a dig at people having more children than they can afford and claiming benefits.

That's right. I work one day less a week to keep it. We would be much worse off otherwise.

We both make a decent wage but as another poster said post covid definitely doesn't feel flush (but aware still privileged)

I do think the £100k each thing may change. It does seem unfair to a family with one high earner over £100k but the other partner doesn't work but maybe that's not what the government wants ey!

Ah yes, silly me.

where would we be without putting others down?

I think you'll find they cost all that you have. Some people live on NMW plus top up benefits and they make it work, others are on 6 figures, most fall somewhere in between. Everyone is feeling the pinch at the moment, so likely no matter what you earn things will still feel tight sometimes.

Every salary point will also be different in terms of what you're entitled to and can afford. At points it would have been more beneficial to drain my savings on childcare and then claim UC, rather than playing the long game and upping earnings.

The better question for you to ask yourselves might be what's the maximum income you can work towards/bring in. And then work out from that the kind of lifestyle you'll be able to afford and if it's worth it to you.

Well we don’t earn near £100k each, so looks like that might not apply to us, but it is a weird nuance of the system, similar in told to child benefit

We are at about 70k a year currently. Comfortable with 2 children however I’m aware they are young still and get more expensive as they get older! (Uni, gadgets, trips etc). Second the PP, it wasn’t about money as to whether I had a third, it was that two is plenty for me and I’d feel I was spreading myself thin with three! I don’t think you can really tell until you’ve had them.

Max in the short term? Or the long term?

I think short term my being around £60k is reasonable. I can see this going up to £75k without too much additional stress (med term) but I think therein after is where I might tap out with youngish children, and go harder on the career when they are teens.

probably similar for dh (maybe add another 5k to his) but broadly speaking comparable

I do get what you mean, but ‘‘tis a bit wooly for my liking lol

im a planner, big believer in manifesting etc, helps me to put a numerical on it

We have 5, soon to be 6, kids. I work part time and earn just shy of £40k per year. Husband is full time and earns about £65k. Both in NHS jobs and able to work shifts/days round each other so we don’t pay for any childcare. We have one big car and husband has a motorbike for work although school and nursery each a 5 minute walk from the house so we aren’t reliant on car for that. We tend to do 2 UK breaks and then a trip abroad somewhere like Disneyland once a year. Kids are all in the clubs they want after school. None are in private school- was never something we considered. We don’t get any benefits except child benefit which we currently pay some tax on due to husbands earnings. We’re happy with the current lifestyle we have but this will definitely be our last baby.

Any amount, but realistically a combined pay of £40k for your first, and an additional £20k for any more. Ideally a lot more though.

To feed & house 3/4, pay for childcare, activities, holidays, give them house deposits & cars you are going to need to earn very well. Life is only going to get more expensive.