Budgeting for a baby

[lucky1979]

As I'm terminally bored at work (start maternity leave in 4 1/2 days!) I've been creating an updated budgeting sheet for me and DH for us to use.

But I'm really at a loss to work out what to put in for the baby bits! I was just wondering if people could let me know roughly what they spend monthly on specifically baby things. Things like nappies (will be using disposables), formula (would like to breastfeed ideally but would also like to know roughly how much people spent on it per month), wipes etc. Clothes and toys and so on will go seperately, it's just the monthly regular purchases that I have no idea about. If there is anything I've not thought of that is a regular expense, please let me know

Can anyone help?

[SparkleandShine]

thanks for the milk advice! I'm planning on turning into a partial FF'er soon as exclusive BFing is getting a bit too much - So was introducing formula in babyrice as a starter to get him a bit used to it.

[lucky1979]

Thanks everyone! We've done the majority of our purchases upfront and some generous relatives had helped with the big bits, but just was trying to estimate how much things like the weekly shop will go up and so on.

Some really good tips for money saving too, thank you again - I will be staking out TK Max

[alana39]

Not sure if it's already been said but child allowance should cover the essentials - it's everything else that you can spend as much or as little as you want on. And don't forget to check out your entitlement to tax credits, based on what work you actually think you'll be doing for 2009/10 - you'll only be working for just under half of the tax year so if you're planning a year off you've got 2 tax years on reduced pay and it might mean you are entitled to more than you had originally thought.

[mummeeee]

i'd second the info about using cloth nappies. we use a mix of both, with disposables at night (medical reasons - a long story). I think if you have a drying space (washing line in the garden, radiators, airing cupboard) it can be pretty cheap. If using disposables, one thing I'd say is that they go through the first sizes quite quick and then slow down (my dd has been in size 4 for months now, but flew through sizes 1 & 2). Just in case you were planning on buying lots of size 1's in bulk.

one thing I'd add is that it's easy to spend a lot on essentials that aren't toys or clothes, like stair gates, high chairs etc). i find a quick bit of research on the net about what type you want and then looking out for a baby event at a supermarket, especially asda, really works. Also, I didn't buy anything on ebay until I was pregnant and now I'm quite an addict. If you know what you want you can search and buy quite quick....yes, I now have a toddler and browsing round the shops is not something I do often!

[amarantha]

Asda are starting a baby event on Tue with mega packs of pampers for 12 and 756 wipes for 9 :-)

[Clary]

yeah cloth nappies and breastfeeding very cheap.

I never used baby wipes either - just use damp flannels (cheaply available at Wilkos ) and had a pack in a bag for when out and abaout.

Prob bought about 3 packs on my entire life. But agree with others, if you do use them, make sure you get them on 2 for 1 offers etc.

I mixed washables with disp nappies (at night and when out sometimes) and found Boots own brand fine and pretty cheap.

[lucky1979]

Amarantha that's the day I start my maternity leave, I'll definitely have a look, thank you

Alanna, I've done one of those tax credit calculator things online and we don't qualify unfortunatley. Just trying to get a handle on how much to expect for outgoings on everything at that I haven't forgotten anything vital

[LadyBee]

This sounds a little frivolous, but you might not want to get rid of that socialising budget completely , I found to stay sane, I would be out with my baby meeting other mums for coffee after a rhymetime or just in the afternoon, or going to mum&baby cinema, or a lunch at least once, sometimes 3x a week. Obviously this isn't compulsory, neither do you need to spend a lot, but if you're doing a detailed budget it might be a good idea to work out how much you think you can afford for that per week.
I also paid for some activities - a baby swimming class - for example, which was great fun. Friends did various other things - post-natal yoga was one thing. You might want to allow for something like that.
Also, if you're not normally home during the day, you may want to allow for increased heating and electricity bills, especially as you'll be at home over the winter.