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Rensa Flae
I'm in my early twenties, in a stable relationship and engaged. I'm not planning on having a child now, or soon - I still want to do things as a "childless" individual. I'm just curious, and I'd like to be prepared for when I make that decision. How much should a couple have saved before trying to conceive.
I appreciate the numbers thus far, but I am looking more for an answer in the form of a number.
I know that children cost a lot (and only increase in cost as they become older and have more expenses), and that once I do have children, there is a probability I will be financing them past their twenties.
Like I know I'll have to set aside a good amount for diapers, medical expenses, clothes, months that I'll be on maternity leave, things for a nursery, maybe a nursery school etc - I'm just not sure of HOW much to set aside initially.
I appreciate the *ANSWERS (is what i meant)
Answer
Figuring out how much money to save before hand is dependent upon you really. If you are planning on buying everything very expensive and brand new you'll need a lot, probably at least $10,000 - $15,000 for the first year. My husband and I have only spent maybe $800 - $1,000 on our daughter total so far (she's almost 3 months old now and we started buying things when I was 20 weeks pregnant) and the only thing we'll need to buy for her is a couple packs of diapers once she grows out of size 3, otherwise we have everything we need for her for her first year. I breastfeed so we don't spend any money on formula. We bought her pack and play and stroller/car seat travel system on clearance, 60% of her clothes were given to us, either as hand-me-downs or gifts at our baby shower and the rest we purchased on clearance. We stocked up on diapers and wipes on sale while I was pregnant and paid next to nothing for them and received a bunch of stuff we needed for our baby shower. We will be feeding her what ever we are eating once she is old enough to be eating solids so we won't be spending any extra money on baby food. Also, all of our daughters medical expenses are covered by our insurance. All in all for us our daughters first year is not costing us that much money, neither will her second or third year. I suspect we won't start spending that much money until she's about school age. Parents who formula feed, feed jar food and baby cereal, buy diapers at regular price, buy all of the priciest things, buy all brand new, name brand clothing and have medical expenses not covered by insurance will easily spend upwards of $10,000 in the first year.
Figuring out how much money to save before hand is dependent upon you really. If you are planning on buying everything very expensive and brand new you'll need a lot, probably at least $10,000 - $15,000 for the first year. My husband and I have only spent maybe $800 - $1,000 on our daughter total so far (she's almost 3 months old now and we started buying things when I was 20 weeks pregnant) and the only thing we'll need to buy for her is a couple packs of diapers once she grows out of size 3, otherwise we have everything we need for her for her first year. I breastfeed so we don't spend any money on formula. We bought her pack and play and stroller/car seat travel system on clearance, 60% of her clothes were given to us, either as hand-me-downs or gifts at our baby shower and the rest we purchased on clearance. We stocked up on diapers and wipes on sale while I was pregnant and paid next to nothing for them and received a bunch of stuff we needed for our baby shower. We will be feeding her what ever we are eating once she is old enough to be eating solids so we won't be spending any extra money on baby food. Also, all of our daughters medical expenses are covered by our insurance. All in all for us our daughters first year is not costing us that much money, neither will her second or third year. I suspect we won't start spending that much money until she's about school age. Parents who formula feed, feed jar food and baby cereal, buy diapers at regular price, buy all of the priciest things, buy all brand new, name brand clothing and have medical expenses not covered by insurance will easily spend upwards of $10,000 in the first year.
What is the average amount of money spent on a newborn baby?
Star201
My boyfriend and I want to have a baby but first we want to know if we can maintain a baby with our jobs. He works in construction, he just became like a safety inspector and I am a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. We want to know about how much is wasted the first few months when buying the necessary stuff like diapers, formula, bottles, clothes, baby wipes, etc. We really want this baby but we just want to make sure that we can maintain our baby by ourselves without help from our family.
Sorry I know nothing is wasted, I just didn't know how to explain myself. I am a smart shopper myself, my boyfriend on the other hand isn't. He buys expensive things. I am planning on just buying what is necessary nothing else. I am planning on breastfeeding which is best for the baby and me. I personally don't buy clothes unless I have too and it will be the same way for our baby. Thanks for the comments.
Answer
I am 29 weeks pregnant and I have been doing so much buying! But everything I have bought is on clearance, I spent about $200 on a ton of clothes from about birth up to 9 months, I even have some 1 year old things. You really don't want to spend tons on baby clothes because they grow so quickly! So leave tags on everything and keep your receipts! Only take the tags off a few things and wash them and if you run out of clothes you can just take tags off more! I spent about $150 on a travel system which is a stroller and car seat! I spent $95 on a high chair, about $100 on a pack and play. You really dont need a pack and play but me and my boyfriend are travelers so it will be convenient. You could buy a crib for as little as $150 and a mattress for like $100, I still have neither cause it is such a hard decision to make lol. I bought a bath tub for $25. It really just depend on you and what you want to spend! And there are sooooooo many little things that it is hard to add it all up, like burping cloths, baby towels, swaddle blankets, crib bedding, bouncers, swings, jumperoos, exersaucers, binkys, toys, diapers, wipes, thermometers, nail clippers, soap, lotion. The list is endless, some things are not neccessary but you will want them! And you can always have a baby shower and people will get you lots of stuff! Oh and another expense that totally caught me off guard is that some insurance will not pay for circumcision if you have a boy so you will have to pay for it. Mine is gonna cost like $300 .... ugh!
I am 29 weeks pregnant and I have been doing so much buying! But everything I have bought is on clearance, I spent about $200 on a ton of clothes from about birth up to 9 months, I even have some 1 year old things. You really don't want to spend tons on baby clothes because they grow so quickly! So leave tags on everything and keep your receipts! Only take the tags off a few things and wash them and if you run out of clothes you can just take tags off more! I spent about $150 on a travel system which is a stroller and car seat! I spent $95 on a high chair, about $100 on a pack and play. You really dont need a pack and play but me and my boyfriend are travelers so it will be convenient. You could buy a crib for as little as $150 and a mattress for like $100, I still have neither cause it is such a hard decision to make lol. I bought a bath tub for $25. It really just depend on you and what you want to spend! And there are sooooooo many little things that it is hard to add it all up, like burping cloths, baby towels, swaddle blankets, crib bedding, bouncers, swings, jumperoos, exersaucers, binkys, toys, diapers, wipes, thermometers, nail clippers, soap, lotion. The list is endless, some things are not neccessary but you will want them! And you can always have a baby shower and people will get you lots of stuff! Oh and another expense that totally caught me off guard is that some insurance will not pay for circumcision if you have a boy so you will have to pay for it. Mine is gonna cost like $300 .... ugh!
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