savings/cost of baby

Hi guys
Have just started TTC and was wondering, I have just started putting some money into savings but how much am I going to need? I would love to be a SAHM but dont know if we will be able to afford it or not. DH is a builder and he doesnt always have stable work (especially at the moment!) and we dont have much savings and have a $5000 loan which we are paying $140 per fortnight on.

How much does it cost (roughly) to set up for a baby? (new or secondhand)

How much extra does it roughly cost you per pay to have a baby/child? (as in extra food, power, other bills, clothing, doctors visits etc)

How much money should I aim to try and save??

sorry i know there are probably heaps of threads on this but i couldnt really find any (no new ones anyway).

Thanks!

Edited by heaf3

Agreed, babies don't have to be that expensive. If you wanna try and keep up with every new trend or new toy available and shopping at PP rather than places like tnt then yep it can get expensive really fast.

With big ticket items you can wait for sales if you want new. Around June, mothers day, xmas etc theres always HUGE savings to be made if you are patient enough to wait for them.

I wouldn't worry too much about how much they cost as such cause it will vary so much. Just do a budget, try and see if you can pay for all your essentials using your DH's income and then try and set aside as much of your income as possible.

Our power has only gone up for the winter months and its only by about $30 - 40 a month because we have a heat pump. Theres virtually no difference in our summer bills from being home.

Oh yeah change table was $140 from $250 again on sale.

I agree babies are as expensive or cheap as you make it be, they have no idea if something is second hand or brand new!

My gran kept going oh buy brand new it's so much nicer, you don't know where second hand stuff has been or what diseases the people have had. What a load of sh*t imo.

MWs are FREE!! :) So are docs until 12 weeks

Scans, depends on where you are, mine were both free, despite being told it would be $40 each. (Least I think mine were free, but I know the place in town was free! )

MW is free!! My 12 week scan was $40, but that was it.

Remember to budget for some preggy friendly clothes too!!!

My scans have been 50 ea but i think we are in the expensive side. but if i had done them at the hospital they would have been free.

If you plan on using sposies you can get great bulk deals online

I agree with everyone - they are really as expensive as you want them to be. I saved for the time I was pregnant and we ended up with enough to buy everything new we needed for DS for the first year (as others have said, you really don't have to buy new). We thought it was best to do that so that the pressure to find the $ during the year would be off us. I made a list of absolutely everything we needed, put the usual rrp next to it and then made it my mission to find it cheaper somewhere. It is amazing how many sales you come across in the time you are pregnant. I have saved $1900 all up so far by buying things on sale.

When I left work to go on leave, I had 9 or so weeks annual leave owing which contributed to savings. With this $ I pay for my petrol, insurance & mobile phone bill to help out DH and I have paid for a few big bills (eg car repairs to get warrant) Extra savings like this aren't essential for everyone, but I have found it has helped us out alot.

Oh & don't forget you get 13 week payout from the government which helps out.

Holy crap Nic LOL you spent more on Lily than I have on either of my two INCLUDING cloth nappies!! Lucky girl Lily

I got a touchwood cot off TM $300 inc new mattress,
playgro touch and feel playmat $20 from 2ndhand babyshop,
another K-Kids playgym $2 from sally army,
milano buggy with capsule was $299 and my parents brought that as a baby gift and I just upgraded to a P&T e3 doubles buggy for $150 off trademe,
fisher price electric swing $120 coz Jake had severe reflux,
dresser was borrowed off my parents and then I sanded back and am painting DPs drawers from when he was a kid,
bassinet was family heirloom,
clothes were either under $2 at the secondhand shops, homemade or hand-me-downs,
Snazzipants fitteds, prefolds and bummis covers for both of them (so multiple sizes) $120 all up,
toys were hand-me-downs or I made them - we're just starting to get Jake some toys now that hes really getting some preferences,
Change table was a family heirloom,
Jolly jumper port-a-cot $20 off trademe,
then when Jake grew out of the capsule we got a safe and sound I think thats birth to 5 and when its forwardfacing you can tilt it back which is a primo feature. That cost $400 and Tys in it now coz Jakes already chasing the 5yos in size
blankets, etc we either got from secondhand shops, hand-me-downs or baby shower gifts (all cotton or wool),
my rip-off moby cost $10 for 5m of cotton and I got 2 wraps out of that.
My feeding chair was just a big comfy armchair that we already had.

My recommendations to get the most bang for your buck -
buy a carseat that goes from birth to 11,
buy a doubles or doubles compatible buggy (P&Ts also have a capsule fitting available and the capsule) if you're planning on having more kids,
buy a good quality cot, and while one that converts to a bed is useful the additional cost isn't really worth it if you're going to have another child coz then your oldest will be moving to a 'big kids' bed and the cot just goes back to being a cot IYKWIM,
don't stress too much about clothes - honestly Ty lives in woolen all-in-ones and stretch&grows!!!
don't stress about toys either - one decent playmat/gym, a couple of jelly/wooden teethers and a teddy keeps them going for ages and ages and AGES!

The power bill first time round was higher coz I kept a heater in Jakes room 24/7. This time round no difference coz no heater just extra blankets! Experience is a nice thing to have
No issue with food costs, Jake eats what we eat and I always make alot.

HTH

Yes LR coz if she has a boy I'm sending her heaps of stuff on the proviso of course that I get to be a favourite OB aunty!!

hmm

Cot - $50 2nd hand off SILs sister
Carseat and capsule $200 (brand new off a TM business)
Basinette $50 (paid for by MIL as a gift)
Pram $280 (as above)
Bouncinette and matching changetable $50 2nd hand off TM
High chair $50 as above
Extra pram (3-wheeler for speedway) $50 as above
Blankets - 2x $12 and a $30 cot set, all the rest were gifts from family/friends
Sheets - 2x $20 and all the rest were from friends/family as handmedowns
Nappies/Formula - $30 per week, not so much now that shes eating 'real' food more, and formula less, and can go longer before needing a nappy change

The biggest expense has been clothing (I am notorious for the amount of PP clothes she had and never wore, BUT it was all either outlet sales, or TM bought, never bought anything at full price! I buy PP as it has a great resale value on TM, and I the ranges you can mix and match with, rather than one full set per outfit) but you will find that (esp with your first) you will get a lot of clothes as gifts, or handed down from those who have already had kids and dont need the clothes any more

There are also a lot of one-off things I bought and either put away for next time, or sold, like the breast pump ($50 off TM) a front pack ($30 instore) breastfeeding pillow (a $15 tri-pillow from the Warehouse) things that arent necessities, but are great to have JIC