Financial worries - early pregnancy woes

[Kelcat9494]

Hello,
I’m going through the early stages of pregnancy and worrying about everything, at the moment I’m
working and studying so our disposable income is around £800-1000 for the next two years and then after this if I don’t carry on studying it’ll be around £700-900 (depending on husbands overtime) is this enough to raise a baby on? We also have seven animals (5 cats and 2 dogs) but I buy in bulk for the cats so I spend £150 every six months and the dogs things end up in our weekly shop - it’s our first baby and I’m really worried, I just just wondering what people thought x

Is that 800-1000 a month??

If so, yes, of course that's enough.

Having £800-£1000 a month after bills, I think you will be fine 🙂

I suppose it depends how tight money is now? How much spare cash do you have at the end of the month? Do you have savings? What would you do about childcare so you can work/study?

Misread the bit about disposal income. Ignore me.

Consider second hand if you're really worried. Most of my dd's clothes are second hand (still are at 2) and we even have a crib that we borrowed. Most of my maternity clothes I got from ebay and I'm wearing them again in my second pregnancy. It's very easy to get sucked into spending a lot of the latest, shiniest baby gear, but as long as your baby is fed, warm and loved, you don't need all the gadgets.

£800-£1000 disposable income a month is plenty and a lot more than a lot of people live on! What is it exactly you're worrying about?

Do you have a finance spreadsheet set up? We found that really useful to see which categories we spend on and what can be cut down or set a budget for. Same with meal planning and food shop budget

Providing that you aren't left with very little after bills you should be OK, and that is relative I know but many make it work no matter how little they have each month.

If you price up nappies and formula (if you intend to use or if you end up needing to use it) and add that in to your outgoings you'll get an idea.
Then you can factor in wipes if using, weaning, baby groups etc.

You can use reusable nappies, second hand or a starter bundle upfront then low cost, you can use water or oil to clean instead of wipes, you can get everything 2nd hand or gifted other than mattress and car seat (maybe family can chip in?) babies need very little and each month especially if breast feeding it won't be a huge amount more during the first year or two.
Bottle feeding you can buy mam bottles which self sterilise in the microwave saving money on a seperate steriliser.
Weaning wise, baby led is pretty much what you eat so cheap, or purees are obviously cheapest if made yourself not bought in jars or pouches so maybe add £10 worth or less per weekly food shop for when they are eating.

We had dd when I was at uni and dh just left uni. His pay was lower and rent was higher than our mortgage is now and we had very little to no savings and we got by just fine. Dd had lovely clothes gifted or 2nd hand off ebay or nct sales. Pram was 2nd hand off ebay (we bought a new SX pioneer when she was almost 2 to suit needs and when money came in)

If your disposable income you mentioned is post any payments or subscriptions then you will be more than fine!

try not to let the stress overwhelm you. We have enough anxiety in pregnancy as it is!

I’m also worried too! At the moment we’ve been saving £1000 each month as we’re buying our first home which we’re looking at buying whilst we’re pregnant (We’re looking now) . Our mortgage will be only slightly more than our rent and I reckon we will have the same as you after bills etc. I’m worried our families will judge us for not quite the right time - my in laws think we should have bought a house first and I’m worried this will cast a shadow over really happy news

@Rosie399 Have you put a budget together? That's plenty for disposable income! Especially as it's short term and you find you go out a lot less with a baby!

@raindrop84 we are in the process of doing that! We’re split between two houses - one more, bigger mortgage, one cheaper, but not as future proof if you understand. But like others have suggested we will get most things second hand so we won’t have a huge cost. Although I think I will splurge on a next to me crib.

Also we’ve not been going out much whilst saving so not much will change!!

Just out of interest, what does everyone spend their disposable income on? What are the biggest areas of expense?

Sorry I’m counting income after rent/mortgage and bills rather than disposable. Not including food and general shopping

@Rosie399 Oh ok, I class food shopping as bills so not included in my disposable.

The biggest expense with a baby before you go back to work is stuff you don't need. I formula feed, use disposable nappies and a mix of home made purées and pouches. I think baby adds about £15 to our weekly shop. She's dressed beautifully but it's all hand me downs or charity shop bargains. I know the charity shops where you get 6 things for £1! I only buy new if it is an absolute necessity and so far I have only bought one pack of baby grows from Morrison's for £6! In terms of feeding I don't have a fancy steriliser or milk maker; I use a big tub and cold water sterilise and make the milk myself in the same way the perfect prep does; make with hot water to ensure bacteria isn't there and then add cold to the right temperature. When I had my first I was amazed at the mums paying £120 for a cake smash photo shoot and £15 a lesson for swimming. If you can afford and want to that's great, but I couldn't and I thought it was madness! Lots of people give away cots and Moses and you can even get beautiful proms in almost perfect condition on eBay for a fraction of the original price. However realistically the real price of a baby is either the nursery and wraparound childcare costs until secondary or the loss of one parents income... I shudder to think how much I have paid out in these for three children! In fact I can't think about it...

I don't think babies add a massive amount to your monthly outgoings after the initial outlay of all the essentials. £800-£1000 disposable enough is more than enough!

Your £80 a month child benefit will cover the cost of nappies and formula if you use it. Then apart from clothes when they outgrow them babies literally cost next to nothing

Write your budget out and make some changes if you feel you can, but i don't think there's anything to worry about with that amount. We'll have about £350 left after bills before spending anything on baby and I m not worried at all as we're tracking every penny so know we won't go wrong.