Tell us when you’ve forked out for your DCs - £100 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

As you well know, having children isn’t exactly cheap… Just when you thought there wasn’t anything else your DC could possibly need, something else crops up and rinses your account.

Since your DC entered the world, at what points have you found yourself shelling out for things? Maybe when your DC got older, you had to splash out on a new buggy, or your second DC arrived and you found yourself looking for a new home?

What have been the major purchasing decisions in your child’s life so far? Have you had to cut back in some places in order to afford what your child needs? And how have your buying habits changed over time? Maybe you used to spend money on holidays and now you spend more on childcare? Finally, what have been the products you’ve spent the most money on as a result of having children?

Here are a few topics to think about:

• Health
• Childcare
• Education
• Home & Garden
• Cars
• Insurance
• Technology
• Travel
• Baby Products

All MNers who post on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks, and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

The sheer amount of after school activities have cost me alot in various clothes, equipment etc

Childcare is the most brutal expense - until ds started school it was more than our (expensive) mortgage. Now with just one in childcare 3 days a week it is still over £650 a month.

Our next biggest expense is cars. Essential where we live, plus decent car seats etc.

And finally I like to spend on sports clubs /treats for the children and follow their interests - music, ballet, tennis, swimming and football at present!

I get a lot of clothes second hand but am fussy about them having decent shoes. DS has narrow feet and his shoes often cost about £50 a time!

And now ds is at school another horribly painful expense is booking holidays

School trips are getting so exotic and expensive . Iceland and China for my son, so far only France for my daughter by the Alps and Alabama on the horizon.

I have forked out LOTS on my children but I am always in and out of charity shops with bargains! ;)
I spent alot on nappies when my little ones were babies! and clothes WOW!!! they grew so fast! I used to purchase clothes from Tesco or Asda (Infact I still do) Clothes stain so quickly with having little ones.
My oldest child has just started school, I have had to fork out money on school clothes and stationary!
Our eating habits have changed for sure, we have smaller portions and try to be as healthy as possible which isn't cheap!
I had to spend money on a bed too because the cot bed was too small for my daughter everything needs updated as your little ones grow up but you need not spend LOTS I tend to hunt for bargains, charity shops can be awesome! they have LOTS of good quality second hand clothes and shoes, even toys too.

Childcare
Lego, Lego and more Lego.

Did I mention Lego

Hobbies can be expensive but you want to encourage your child.

Ds participates or used to participate in two sports: rugby and cycling.

The rugby - which he's been doing since he was 5 (he's now nearly 16) - isn't too expensive: boots every year or so as well as a rugby top (which is usually a Christmas present) but the club has a "boot/kit" bag for the junior section so you can check there to see if someone has handed in grown-out-of boots/tops before buying new. The club also supplies match day tops and people take it in turns to wash the kit. The subscription is only £65 per annum and the only other expense is the gumshield, which can vary from £5 for one that you soften in boiling water before biting in to to fit, to £50 for a customer fit one from the dentist which melt into a little round ball if it goes through the wash

He's been cycling since he was 12: bikes have progressed in cost from £300 (but sold for £250), to £700 (sold for £500), £450 (track bike) and £1000 for his latest road bike (after growing out of the £700 one). Once he started getting serous, his "good" bikes were bought with some money left to me by my mum (and the latest upgrade was also part birthday present from my dad).

Guess which sport he's now given up?

He did have the grace to look embarrassed when I pointed out expensive the new bike was per race that he did complete on it

Fortunately, it was bought big enough for him that when he's ready to start cycling again, it'll still fit him. If not, either dh or I have a fabulous light bike to ride!

We live in Scotland so we don't need to factor in Uni fees (as long as he chooses a Scottish Uni) but we are aware that we'll need to think of living expenses for the 4 years at Uni.

My daughter is only four but i found in the early stages, shoes were something that we were having to buy quite frequently. She has quite wide feet so they cost quite a bit of money to buy and her feet grew very quickly too!

Now the cost of getting her kitted out ready for school is our biggest cost at the moment. School uniforms are quite dear so I've been buying from the supermarkets alongside the official school uniform shop as I know she will grow quickly and is likely to lose things at school!

She is now at an age where she is able to tell me all the lovely things she would like for her birthday and these items are also quite expensive so I do try and shop around to find it at the cheapest price.

Lastly, I did have to change my car as it was too small to fit in her pram when she was younger and also any shopping I had done. That really was my biggest cost! But one I'm glad I did.

My DC are only little so we're not at the expensive school trip stage yet, but a couple of weeks ago I paid nearly £100 for their school shoes, swimming lessons are £100 every 10 weeks, childcare is more than my mortgage and then all the little things like ice cream at the park really add up too.

The general wear and tear on things, and accidental damage. DD is on her third pair of glasses in 5 months!

The general wear and tear on things, and accidental damage. DD is on her third pair of glasses in 5 months!

The general wear and tear on things, and accidental damage. DD is on her third pair of glasses in 5 months!

Oops didn't mean to post that 3 times!

Childcare still is the biggest expense as I need before and after school care. The one connected to the school is expensive. I'm still on the waiting lists for childminders.
They grow out of their clothes so quickly. My eldest had ripped the knee of his new school trousers within a week last September. He had better not wreck them this time or he'll have to replace them with his pocket money.
School trips are another. Glad they allow you to pay in instalments.
I'm dreading the cost of secondary, which is not too far away.

Childcare is easily our biggest expense - when LO was full-time - this was in excess of £700 which was painful!! This was only for a short time though, until I was able to reduce my working hours. He's now in nursery 3.5 days per week which has bought it down to a more manageable level. I'm not in a high paying job but like others, fall just short of entitlement to Tax Credits. However, I love my job & I like my son to see that Mummy & Daddy work & it's through work that we are able to pay the bills, go on holiday & have treats. It's been great for him socially too, especially as he has no siblings. I guess this is why, even though I don't earn much more than what we pay in childcare fees, it's still worth it for us.
Soft play is another drain - days out generally can soon add up.. An ice cream there, a farm entry there, blink & you've spent £20 in a few hours!
We make savings where we can though & I complete surveys in the evenings for a bit of a extra money.
I remember in the early days, I couldn't put a price on a good night's sleep, & my LO did not sleep well!! In the car, he would drop off no problem, but I was so pooped - I was at risk of falling asleep in the car too! So when I saw a baby seat which simulated the motion of a moving car, complete with road noise & windscreen wiper car sound effects - I couldn't get my purse out fast enough! £60 later, & much to the chorus of 'I told you so' from my husband, I admitted it had been a waste of money!!

With baby products we spent quite a lot on our first (everything we bought was new) when our second came along we had most bits already but some of the stuff we needed I bought second hand as it saved us a lot of money.

Our worst year was when we had all three of our DC at Uni - DD1 in her last year, DS in his first, and DD2 in between - and were paying their three lots of rent and our own mortgage. Fortunately tuition fees were based on parental income in those days and they were all counted together, so theirs were capped at around £3000, but that was another expense. We managed by using credit cards for everything and moving from one interest free deal to another to avoid any fees.

When we got over that and paid the card off, we had a few, very few years of being relatively well off as they all made their own way in the world. Then the weddings started and the grandchildren arrived

I'm thinking that I'm lucky that I'm not brand-driven, nor into gadgets, and so from the start we bought what was right for us rather than relying on listening to other people. I went back to work after 4 months, so childcare was a huge expense, but for the money it was worth it - they did so much with him that I just couldn't or wouldn't have thought of doing. I think as parents we all have to make compromises and prioritise what we think is most important in how we bring up our children. The Scout Association I think is wonderful - it takes children out of themselves and gives them new challenges and all run by volunteers - certainly somewhere that I don't object to my money going.

We are lucky in the fact that my son is the youngest of his cousins, so we get some hand me dow things, like the buggy and cot when he was born. Now he is getting older and growing quickly we are going through loads of shoes and trousers with holes as he never seems to stop running. We cut back on going out to the cinema and out for meals as well as our weekends away.
I have changed job and career to make childcare easier for us, but still couldn't do it without support from our families.

Not sure where to start at all. I try to be as prepared as usual. Buying clothes an age in advance so they always have something to grow into. Paying club fees in advance and buying presents across the year. Strangely I always seem to forget pj's and they will have a growth spurt and grow out of thm all at once lol

With my eldest daughter (now 14) it has been her after school activities - maths tutor to bring her on in maths, singing lessons, piano lessons and weekend drama/dance/singing group! But she loves the arts and it's what she enjoys and thrives at so worth every penny!!