How much should you be earning to 'afford' to have a baby

[dogmum0]

As in, to have a baby and continue to live to a reasonable standard. We currently go on four or five holidays a year, enjoy nice things and spend a lot of money on things for the house, going out with our own close groups of friends etc...
I know this is all relative and everyone lives to their means but how much extra would a baby cost in the first year or so?

Eva

Those aren't costs associated with having children though, they are lifestyle choices.
People without children have these costs too, and most of them aren't necessary anyway.
Holidays are luxuries, plenty of free activities for children.
If you want a nice mc lifestyle it will cost, if you don't you can get away with very few costs.
Otherwise families wouldn't be able to manage on one low income, like they do, easily in some cases.

Largest actual costs:

• housing (unless you already have enough bedrooms etc)
• childcare. £££, including for primary school aged DC.

Largest opportunity cost:

• Earnings - for mothers, anyway.

I never understand how people can say babies don’t cost much. They cost a bloody fortune if you are already on good salaries and want to continue working. You’re still young and you’ll find it easier financially if you build up some savings/focus on progressing your career while you don’t have to juggle work and kids.

First: differential cost between maternity pay and existing salary. This can be massive if you only get SMP.

Second: buying baby stuff. This varies a lot depending on whether you go for second hand or new etc. However, if you’re in the 4-5 holiday camp, I can’t imagine you’re going to be picking up a cheap buggy etc. This is the category of spend though that can be in the ‘babies are cheap’ element and largely depends on priorities. If you’re going to want a new nursery furniture set, bugaboo, new clothes etc then saving up ahead of time is likely to be helpful.

3. Childcare and any pay differential from going from full time to part time (if that is on the cards). This for me was by far the biggest cost. Mat leave was easy in comparison. My nursery is £65 a day, I work part time but it still works out better to buy a season ticket for my commute so that is a high fixed cost that I don’t get back in salary every day. I am on 3/5 the income I used to be.

4. opportunitity cost. This is the one I didn’t think about but I have found I’m definitely on the ‘mummy track’ at work. Going part-time has stagnated my career and I’ve been passed over for so many opportunities and will never get promoted in my current place.

5. increased day to day costs. Our food bills etc have gone up and we also pay for activities, classes etc. Before kids we ran one car and now we need two. We have more takeaways as we’re knackered and spend a bit more on making our life easier. Overall I don’t think this is the greatest impact but it is something to factor in.

There is undoubtedly a financial impact but not everything is about money and you cut your cloth to suit your circumstances.

If you’re not married, and want to be, do that before ttc.

If you do have DC and are not married, don’t go part time, stay at home, or make any more work compromises than your partner is willing to!

The cost is all about lost income if you reduce your hours, or childcare costs if you work and have to pay for that.

If you earn £50k pa but give up work to stay at home then you have a net loss of your income plus whatever you choose to spend on clothes, furniture, food, entertainment.

If you earn £50k pa and pay for childcare then you have the cost of that (could be nearly the same as a £50k wage if you get a nanny or live in a very expensive area).

If you earn £50k pa and have family who'll do your childcare for free then you're very lucky.

Of course, most people don't earn £50k pa and manage fine. They also don't tend to have four or five holidays a year though.