how much do your children cost you?
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Topic: how much do your children cost you?
Posted By: blossombaby
Subject: how much do your children cost you?
Date Posted: 01 March 2011 at 10:11pm
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me and dp were talking the other day about the costs of a baby/child eg nappies, solids, wipes and the types of. and then the more 'by choice' things etc clothes, toys, swiming lessons etc!
I personally am off to add it up but I'm guessing we spend about $120 a week on her at least!! They sure aren't cheap! |
Replies:
Posted By: mothermercury
Date Posted: 01 March 2011 at 10:51pm
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Wowww, that's a lot!
We're using cloth nappies except for at night, so maybe spend $6 a week on nappies (Homebrand!). Maybe that much as well on solids (she only eats half a jar at a time, plus fruit or veg sticks). And probably $3 or $4 or so on wipes? Haven't really thought about it before, but it looks like I spend $15 or less a week! I'm lucky though, I have been given loads of clothes and toys for Chloe so I don't need to buy much from week to week. |
Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 6:04am
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Jacob's a baby at the moment; I imagine things will get more expensive as he gets older, but for now -
I put aside about $25 a week in my budget for 'baby' things. That doesn't get used most weeks, apart from for nappies (we use sposies at night, but he only uses on a night now, so a pack lasts forever). In saying that, I think the actual cost is a little more - I went shopping the other day to buy some winter clothes when BabyCity had 50% off, and spent a little more than was in the 'baby' account, so I'll have to save my $25's for a bit now. It wouldnt' be much more, though. I tend to take the extra out of what I put aside for day-to-day neccesities that pop up, so I can't spend that much or I wouldn't be able to buy anything else! And setting up for a baby was more than that! While it can be cheap - and we did it medium, mostly cheap with a few flash things - it adds up. ETA that I make his food (and the raw ingredients would be negligible) and he uses cloth wipes. I have bought some jars of food / wipes / disposable bibs and change mats for a trip we're going on tomorrow, and can see why doing it yourself saves money! -------------   
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 8:29am
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Apart from a pack of nappies each week and I always look out for specials I spend $10 on DD.
I spend more on myself meeting for coffees, but probably no more than I spent on lunches when I was working. Clothes I only buy on sale and at this rate we don't need clothes until she is 1 as we've been given so many from friends who have finished with babies or as presents. We belong to the toy library and the normal library and utilise them for any toys we don't have and books to read to her. The two most expensive items were her cot and the buggy they will both do her at least 2 years if not longer. I only use wipes when she does #2's I use cotton wool and water for #1's. Got her carseat for $30 via plunket next big purchase will be a highchair which we will easily get for under $100. I'm not convinced cloth is entirely cheaper for the cost of one cloth nappy I can get 3-4 packs of sposies. When DD goes onto solids she'll be eating mostly what we eat and a tablespoon of pear or apple, be lucky if we get thru one piece of fruit in the first week. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: pudgy
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 8:48am
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We don't spend much at all. They eat the food we eat ( did BLW) both are in cloth full time and the nappies are saving us heaps of $$$$$ as they're being used a second time around. I use cloth wipes as well
I have moeny aside for clothes, I ususally get a bulk lotoff TM then get whatever else I need when it's on special, or from the OpShop and we have a couple of 'good' outfits. So maybe $10 if that a week. Some weeks nothing at all. Cali in the long run cloth works out soooo much cheaper. It does coat a bit to outlay but once you're set up you don't need to buy sposies at all. I think in total we've spent about $800 on cloth + wipes but now we spend nothing and haven't for aages. And I do one load a day so no biggie there. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: _SMS_
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 8:55am
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We also dont spend much at all.
The main costs are nappies for night time. Up to $10 a week, wipes. Also things like swimming every other week, playcentre once a term. But these arent major costs. Clothing is the only thing i find expensive. I normally try buy for the year in advance. I just got $40 worth of summer gear for dd next year which was down from $130. If i dont do this thats where the cost comes in. Over winter dd will need pants & jackets because i didnt get many last year so these will now be full price.  -------------  
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 9:57am
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My daughter has cost me my hips, back, knees, boobs and belly. My body will never be the same again I have grey hairs since I gave birth and don't know when I'll get a full 8 hour stretch of sleep ever again.
------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: Faffer
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 10:07am
Where's the like button??? -------------  
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caliandjack wrote:Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 10:38am
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Haha Cali!
We spend $200 on childcare each week, but we use cloth nappies and wipes, do BLW and BF - so she adds very little to the supermarket bill! Just a 6-pack of yoghurt once a fortnight, and maybe some extra bananas  ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 10:50am
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We use cloth nappies and they have now been used for 2 kids- I have only bought a few new ones for Aiden. Bf is free! We have done blw so they eat what we do most of the time, never buy any jars of baby food, but do buy kiddy snacks.
Have used the same 1 buggy for both kids and we were given that anyway. Borrowed a carrier for DS, but have just spent $230 on a new one which we will be able to also use for the next baby. MIL buys almost all their clothes which is awesome, then I sell some of them and buy the kids more stuff with the $. We spend about $25 a week on their activites-ballet, swimming, music group, playgroup, playcentre and HIPPY. Kindy is free. We have started saving money into Isla's account for her school costs for when she starts in Oct this year. Her uniform will be almost $200, and with fees, stationary, trips and fundraisers we are budgeting $1000 a year for that- eekk! |
Posted By: Kellyfer
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 10:53am
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*Like* C&J!!
My boy is FF which is the biggest expense for us ($17-20 every 6 days) and probably about $10 a week on nappies. I only use huggies though, and have never paid full cost for them because they are always on special somewhere. Besides that though, he's not too expensive. I haven't had to buy any clothes for him because we were given so much, and have plenty for him up until about age 2. With solids, he just eats what we eat and baby rice (which is really cheap) so doesn't cost a lot at all - in fact I'm throwing out less because I'm using it more while it's still fresh. Most of the big-ticket type stuff (pram etc) we got off trademe real cheap except for his cot which was by no means a top of the line one (although I would have loved a touchwood). I would like to take DS to swimming lessons, which could be a bit of a cost, but if the budget doesn't stretch I think just taking him to the pool myself will be just as beneficial at his age. As for when he is older, we have a bank account set up for any costs that come along eg)school costs etc. It's not for school fees and that, but more for anything that pops up along the way. We don't have a lot of money, but we get by and I think kids cost what you let them cost. Ideally I wouldn't have had to use formula, breastfeeding is definitely a big saver! Also having a generous and supportive family and lots of hand-me-down stuff helps a lot too. We definitely couldn't afford to spend $120 every week on DS... although if I could I probably would find a way lol. On the other hand, I could definitely do things cheaper if I really needed to, not using sposies or buying cheaper brands for example. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: blossombaby
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 11:05am
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I'm guessing alot of our $$ spent on her is clothes, shoes etc .. We were never handed down anything and since we didn't know what we ere having we only brought stuff until 6months! We spend about $10 a weeks on purees, $5 on wipes, $14 (huggies averaged out dpending if on sale or not), i also use MCN but not fulltime and $10 on formula (we used 1 tin every 3 weeks bf the rest of it) so theres $40, $20 into her bank account and so about $60 a week for anything else which will include her swiming lessons etc.
love the comment Cali about the body .. man i wish before i had a baby i enjoyed my body more i sure wasn't any stick thin supermodel .. but it looked alot better then it now does haha 
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 11:56am
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agreed, i now regret the years i spent hating my 'fatness' when really, i was no such thing and now i'm all destroyed. Worth it though. I think..
He costs me heaps because he's a spoilt bugger, this week i have spent near on $700 on him - manduca and bulk itti bitti set and some second hand ones. I know i spent $60 in the last two weeks on sposies alone so the bulk buy is def worth it in my opinion. Other then that, he's only wee so no activities, he's b/f and i use cloth wipes (aka chux clothes) so i guess week to week he is free to run except the washing machine! |
Posted By: SMoody
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 1:01pm
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Nappies: $100 every 3 months
Wet wipes: $12 every fortnight Extra food: Not really buying any baby related foods. Do buy soymilk for him and me due to no milk. All in all a saving as I do all our own baking now due to his egg and dairy allergy. But fruit went up hectically. My kids go through a lot of fruit. (trust me that you wont believe how much. good thing we are planning to plant our own dwarf fruit trees) Then no extras for shampoos and that as he uses the stuff we use as well. Dr fees is a bit high with the specialist. $105 per visit but that went up too due to funding cut. Dont know what it is yet. Currently only seeing every 3 months. But was quite often in the beginning. Toys: Birthdays about $150 and Christmas about $50 to $100. Parties: That is random amounts. Other toys: Dont really buy as such. It is here and there. Wont be more than another $100 through the year for just him. Playcentre $35 per term. Other activities: Not yet. McKayla's swimming is quite a bit. We pay for the term and then holiday classes as well. School donation is $60 for her. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: LG
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 3:28pm
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C & J i totally agree!!
I buy a box of huggies and a tin of formula every second week, i like to have extras around though just in case so thats about $60 a FN. She mostly eats the same food as us now but i still buy her her own snack foods and way more fruit than i would if it was just the 2 of us though. When she first started on solids it cost us heaps trying to find stuff she would eat/snack on so its definately cheaper now. Also have swimming fees and we're starting baby ballet - $140 a term for both (dont tell DH!) I mostly only buy clothes on special if i can help it...i dont want to add up a weekly cost especially having to think about buying nappies etc for 2! -------------  Angel Baby Aug '12, Feb '13 |
Posted By: TheKelly
Date Posted: 02 March 2011 at 5:59pm
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I have 3 kids,all at different stages and I have nooooo idea how much they each cost.
Id be willing to say my 8 year old costs the most with her activity fees for school, uniforms etc blah blah blah ------------- 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: happymum21
Date Posted: 03 March 2011 at 9:42am
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This is an eye opening topic. I did a costing of how much it cost each week for my daughter. We live extremely frugally, don't keep up with the Joneses so to speak and I worked it out at $190-$200 per week. I factored in everything including the cost of petrol to take her to after school activities, uniforms, the cost of a room in the house etc etc etc.
I did it to prove a point to her father as he seems to think that paying $67 a month child support is fair and reasonable. ------------- Becs |
Posted By: rachelsea
Date Posted: 03 March 2011 at 1:01pm
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We don't spend much on our DD either. She's just had Xmas and birthday so got given heaps more clothes so we hardly need to buy her clothes. We've always used cloth nappies, so haven't had to buy disposables, and now she's toilet trained during the day we still use cloth nappies at night. Spent probably about $40 on knickers for her though (over $10 for a 5pack of teeny undies, crazy!!). She eats what we eat now, so don't spend any extra on groceries for special things for her. Maybe we buy more fruit but we all eat that so hard to say how much of that is DD's portion...
When she was younger we did buy jars for her as she went thru a phase of not eating our meals lol, but aside from that she's pretty cheap really
Oh and $3 on swimming a week, that's pretty good for all three of us! (DH and I are both free at our local pool when we go with DD) ------------- DD 4yrs DS 2yrs http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 03 March 2011 at 1:10pm
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No idea! lol Though we do spend $70 a week on daycare ------------- |
Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 03 March 2011 at 1:53pm
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Hmmm Mine is kinda more monthly... Nappies about $30 a month (give or take $10) - disposables. I buy all mine in bulk. I don't bother wasting my money on the 'popular' brands Huggies, Treasures... I just buy Homebrand - cheap, but does the same job, if not better, that the other brands do.
Wipes I spend about $25 a month too, again buy it in bulk but that's for a pack in her room, a pack in my room, pack in bathroom and pack in the nappy bag oh and a pack in the lounge. Food, we don't spend anything as she eats what we eat and has done from the start, I have used jar/tinned stuff on occasion but not enough for it to be an expense really. But I haven't noticed a difference in our food bill as we always make more than enough for left overs too. Although we probably spend a bit more on Banana's as she's a bit of a junky lol! Clothes, I tend to buy bulk each season and normally only sales... We just spent $100 about 2 weeks ago on some PJs, trackies, hoodies, long sleeve tops for Winter. Also about $200 before Xmas on some clothes for Summer/Autumn which *should* also fit in Winter - mainly bodysuits, singlets, tshirts, tights. Toys - she got all her toys in the first year through gifts, 2nd hand or on sale. I never pay full price. We were signed up for the toy library but it wasn't really appropriate for her age at the time and now she is moving more etc then we will probably sign up again but as it is - she's easily amused by things around the house, tubes, containers, tennis balls... We spend a lot on books but we go to the Library once a fortnight. Our biggest weekly expense is transport tbh - going to and from playgroup (1 bus ride is about $2) and going to the library in town $4 or next suburb $2 one way. Our big expenses were tbh just the P&T pram $1100 with accessories, it's been well worth it with the amount of walking I do so it gets used regularly. We got a 2nd hand cot (Touchwood) for $170 - can't even tell it is 2nd hand. Another big expense we are going to face is buying some cloth nappies, had a look online and looks like it's going to cost about $400 which will last the next 2 years + any future babies. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 03 March 2011 at 1:55pm
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I've got no idea how much my kids cost me either! I think the dog is costing more at the moment!
Although I do spend $200 a term on ballet & Gym for Alia. $80/yr for toy library for Cooper. He's the poor second child. He does cost me $28 a week/week 1/2 in formula. ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com"> 
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: Whateversville
Date Posted: 03 March 2011 at 2:03pm
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Lots. I'm not ashamed to admit I spoil him. I don't have alot of money but what I do have gets spent on him. I spare myself $20 a week for gym membership.
I use cloth nappies 98% of the time so a box of 81 huggies lasts months. He pretty much just eats what I do, but I get a few xtras just for him like plain rice crackers, yoghurt, ham or luncheon etc If I take him swimming it's $1.50 but most other activities we do are free. |
Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 04 March 2011 at 10:07am
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Both my 2 cost about $40 a week to run plus daycare - we use cloth nappies except for at night, then there's food (but I only pay for breakfast and tea in this $40). I buy all clothes a year ahead, just kitted them out for the next year and a half for $170 at the farmers sale (including some things that weren't necessary like a gorgeous wee outfit for ava )
I do however pay $300 a week (only 4 days as have family caring for them another day) on daycare but that includes their meals. They don't do any other activities at this stage, Jack wants to play soccer next year so that'll be a Saturday thing. I'm by myself the majority of the time so they can't do anything unless its after 5.30. We live relatively frugally, so don't pay for anything unnecessary really. Have only ever paid for daycare when we need it (like me working), bought the clothes that they need (even though some clothes look lovely, there's nothing wrong with KMart ones etc and trademe bulk lots). We are not on low incomes, but I don't want to be stuck in a rut by throwing money away. I'd rather be frugal so we can have family holidays, build a new house etc down the track. |
Posted By: Kalimirella
Date Posted: 04 March 2011 at 11:23am
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Hmm well we use cloth nappies full time, so no weekly expense there. She eats our food with us and if there are leftovers I use the jars from baby food bought in the past but we haven't bought that for months now.
So basically just clothes, and thats only starting to be an expense now because all the hand me downs are drying up :D We spent about $200 all up for last year and this year on clothing (maybe more when we get back to summer if she has grown) so say 250/52 = about $5 a week :D And for the next baby on the way, well we already have the nappies, if its a girl (heres hoping) we already have all the clothes, if its a boy hand me downs are king :D, and food is Breastmilk and our food. ------------- Kiara is 3 and Teagan is 2, now we're expecting our long awaited 3rd! http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: tictacjunkie
Date Posted: 04 March 2011 at 12:48pm
| On our youngest it's almost nil, just switched to cloth, bf. Though this week she's been having a pouch of organic baby smush each dinner because I'm being lazy. My 9yo is easily the most expensive. Stationery for all 3 school kids this year was $300, plus fees, camps, etc. Friend's Year 9 student (12yo) stationery was $230 + "subject fees" + "materials cost" + school fees + uniform. Easily $1500, & there'll be more. Wff will definitely be reduced, do not include it in your budget! Sorry |
Posted By: tictacjunkie
Date Posted: 04 March 2011 at 1:01pm
| I mention fees & stationery as they are non-negotiable. Clothing, food, housing, toys etc are all "costs as much as you want it to" things. Health insurance (for us & the kids) is currently paid for by DH's work. Petrol & electricity cost more with more children. Rates & house & contents insurance I guess are typically more if you have a larger house with more stuff in it, =). |