How Much Do Kids Cost A Month...

[marielapin]

For my first son, I think we paid 2000-3000 dollars for the hospital cost. I had some complications with delivery.
My second son was born when maternity care was fully covered with our new health insurance. We paid nothing out of pocket.

I have nursed both my boys so have had no formula/bottle costs.

I used disposable diapers with my first son, and the price was about a constant 40 dollars a month, including Sams or Target or Luvs brand diapers plus the wipes. My second son has a skin allergy to the low cost diapers and we switched to cloth (BumGenius). The initial outlay was 400 dollars, which we gained back within a year. I also spend 15 dollars on a special detergent for them every three months. The increase to our water and power bill to the extra 2-3 loads of laundry a week totals no more than 5-6 dollars a month. A friend of mine whose daughter also had a skin allergy to the low cost diapers had to buy Huggies Supreme. That cost her a whopping 120 dollars a month.

Craiglist and yardsales are fantastic for finding used nursery furniture/strollers for a quarter of the cost or less. I was lucky and got a crib and changing table from a couple who were "done" having kids. There are also great nursery consignment sales that you would have to look into locally. I'm about to attend one tomorrow to find cheap clothes for my sons. You can't imagine how much money some folks spend on their two babies' wardrobes that they wear for only a few months. I have bought super nice clothes for my boys for pennies on the dollar. You will want to buy a carseat new, which will run you anywhere from 30-100 dollars. Also don't forget the maternity clothes. If you look on ebay and know your size you can get large lots of them from women offloading.

My sons are now 5 and 2 and I probably spend 40 dollars a month more on food (that's being very liberal, we spent a lot on food before I got pregnant, mostly because I didn't know how to get the most for my money when I shopped then), maybe 15 dollars a month on clothes (once you average it out - I usually buy in huge clumps, and my second son wears supplemented hand-me-downs). Target puts their clothes on a huge 60-75+ percent off sale in January and August every year. Last January I bought 6 pairs of sandals for use in the future for 2 a pair, and about 4 pairs of sneakers for 3 dollars a pair. Then I buy that season's clothes for the next year...shorts for 2-3 a pair, shirts as low as 75 cents. Jeans are trickier and are harder to get on clearance - I look for them at the consignment sales. I've bought winter coats on ebay for 10 bucks for an OshKosh coat that has been barely used.

My 5 year old takes gymnastics which runs 35 dollars a month. I homeschool him and that's like 15 dollars a month. Well child visits and vaccinations are free under our insurance. Since I've nursed both my boys they don't get sick that often. But you still have extra costs like tylenol, vitamins, extra detergent for all those dirty clothes. And I haven't really even mentioned entertainment. But that is all unnecessary for parents to plan for that....that is what grandparents are for.

I am a stay-at-home mom. That actually helps me save more money because I have the time to look for the best deals and do my research. We also don't eat out or eat convenience foods very often. I also sew dress clothes for my sons/myself, and don't spend much time driving, so gas costs are low. We buy our food from Sam's Club and Publix (mostly according to sales). I spend an average of 90-100 dollars a week on groceries, and we eat very well. When we had to reside our house and take out a home equity loan, I was able to make that money up just looking at our bills and cutting what was unnecessary. Do you know that voice mail costs about 9 dollars a month? Ridiculous when you can buy a digital phone with an answering maching for a one time cost. We cut back our phone bill to the bare minimum, we have internet and the phone through the cable company, and basic cable (so no ESPN, HGTV, etc), but we get Netflix. I don't miss tv at. all.

Edited October 16, 2009 by marielapin

[Archaeology cat]

As everyone else has said, it just depends on how you do things. I got a good deal on a crib on eBay. Something that's cheaper than a full changing table is a changing table that sits on top of the crib (here it's called a cot-top changer, but I'm sure it's called something different there). Of course, as it turns out, we ended up co-sleeping, so haven't used the crib as much. Co-sleeping is cheaper, but isn't for everyone.

As for food, I still breastfeed my son. I've bought one thing of babyfood, and then decided to just do baby-led weaning, which entails the child eating what you eat, just cut up and prepared in a way that he can pick it up easily. So that really didn't add any cost. Now he eats more, but it still hasn't substantially added to our grocery bills. Since I'm in England I'm not giving actual prices, as it really wouldn't help you in calculating costs there.

Diapers - we decided from the beginning to use cloth because they really are cheaper in the long run. we have the bumGenius like marielapin mentioned. If the child is going to go to a daycare, you need to see what their policy is. Many of them will accept cloth diapers, but prefer that you get all-in-ones (AIO) (no preparation or anything for them), and some will accept shaped pocket diapers (like the bumGenius or fuzzibunz). I almost never put mine through the dryer, but if you do AIO diapers you will need to be able to dry them, as I think they'd take too long to hang dry. Anyway, what we did is we asked each set of parents for 12 diapers. So they didn't actually cost us anything.

Clothes - people will buy clothes for your child, I can guarantee. We've had to buy very little in the way of clothes for our son, and he's turning 2 next month.

I highly recommend Freecycle, eBay, craigslist for finding things. Here there are frequently people on Freecycle getting rid of entire trash bags full of children's clothes that have only been slightly worn. You can also find lots of clothes on eBay for fairly cheap.

Let's see. High chair - we got one that straps onto an existing chair, thus saving space and money. I think they run about $30 new at Target or Amazon.

I got a stroller at a market for £2. Brand new. So check out yard sales and the like.

I know that doesn't give you a monthly number, but hope it helps some.

[Era Might]

I will let your child work on my farm for 20 rubles a month, but I will also require a new goat.

[StColette]

ChildCareGroup (daycare aide for Texas residence)

http://www.childcaregroup.org/Parents/CCA_Eligible.html

[rkwright]

Thanks for the replys.

I'm nearly 99% sure that she'll want to stay home once the baby is here. I finish in May, take the Bar in July, but we normally don't find out the results until November - which means I won't be on my full salary until then. There is some worry about a month or two with very little income (shes at home and I'm at an hourly rate).

[Brother Adam]

If you are going to be a lawyer I think you are going to be just fine having lots of Catholic babies.

[rkwright]

We're just impatient

[StColette]

[quote name='rkwright' date='16 October 2009 - 10:27 AM' timestamp='1255703277' post='1986418']
Thanks for the replys.

I'm nearly 99% sure that she'll want to stay home once the baby is here. I finish in May, take the Bar in July, but we normally don't find out the results until November - which means I won't be on my full salary until then. There is some worry about a month or two with very little income (shes at home and I'm at an hourly rate).
[/quote]


If you can afford to have her stay at home, I don't foresee much of a problem as far as expenses go. Start saving early on so that you'll have a money cushion for those little income months. Plan for the unexpected (including forced bedrest by the doctor for your wife if her pregnancy is difficult). Remember that if she chooses to stay at home that means that she will have to drop her health insurance coverage that she is given access to via work. Most employee group plans will drop you right after you are no longer an employee for that particular company or business. A baby has to be placed on a parent's or their own insurance plan before 31 after their birth. If not, you can be facing a pre-existing condition waiting period that can last as long as 1 year, even with government provided coverage you can face this waiting period if you miss the deadline for enrollment. That's not a good thing if little one gets sick and needs medical care.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='rkwright' date='15 October 2009 - 08:33 PM' timestamp='1255649611' post='1986113']
Easy question, but I need an honest answer.

My wife and I are living on a tight budget. I'm still in school, and she is a teacher on a "reduced" salary because its her first year.

She has health insurance, and I don't think the delivery would break us - though we would really have to save for it.

My question is how much on average does a newborn cost per month. There are some websites that give an idea, but I'm not sure whats realistic, whats needed, ect.
[/quote]
Breastfeeding is the way to go, you should qualify for the WIC type programs which will provide checks for milk, coagulated milk and cereal stuff while your wife is pregnant, and until the child is in about kindergarten. Check your local hospitals, many have a free carseat program.
Don't forget the little church ladies and other teachers, we are experts are finding hand-me-downs.
I buy stuff every weekend at the fleamarket for the grandbaby, all her clothes, books and toys came from there. Yard sales are the place to go to get the bigger stuff - carseats, strollers, sliding boards :)etc. Don't forget the St Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army and Goodwill stores.
If you have a local farmers market, get your food there its much cheaper than the retail stores.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Brother Adam' date='16 October 2009 - 10:32 AM' timestamp='1255703534' post='1986420']
If you are going to be a lawyer I think you are going to be just fine having lots of Catholic babies.
[/quote]
Contrary to popular belief, being a lawyer is not an instant window to fame and fortune. Lots of lawyers I know trade the big firm jobs that pay big bucks for lower-paying jobs so they can have time to have a life. That is my personal choice as well. I have no desire to work 80+ hours a week.

[quote name='rkwright' date='16 October 2009 - 10:43 AM' timestamp='1255704224' post='1986422']
We're just impatient
[/quote]
Understandable. What I have learned so far is that no matter how much planning you do, your plan cannot be big enough to accommodate every contingency. There are so many "ifs" in play when it comes to children. If all that's keeping you back is worry about a couple of lean months ... I say go for it. You may not achieve pregnancy right away, and if it takes a couple of months then you're past your problem time anyway. A big part of parenthood (of life, really) is learning to trust that God will bring good out of every situation. It may not look like you think it should, but it still happens.

[StColette]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='16 October 2009 - 11:00 AM' timestamp='1255705238' post='1986426']
Breastfeeding is the way to go, you should qualify for the WIC type programs which will provide checks for milk, coagulated milk and cereal stuff while your wife is pregnant, and until the child is in about kindergarten. Check your local hospitals, many have a free carseat program.

[/quote]

WIC actually lets you have it for a longer period of time if you breastfeed because they aren't having to pay for lots of formula for your baby. Thought that was neat.

[Jesus_lol]

well if you are canadian you can forget about the hospital stuff.

hmm, i dont know about money figures, but if either of you has to take time of work, count that as an expense, of money not earned. i dunno, hope it works for you

[rkwright]

[quote name='Terra Firma' date='16 October 2009 - 10:59 AM' timestamp='1255708799' post='1986451']
Contrary to popular belief, being a lawyer is not an instant window to fame and fortune. Lots of lawyers I know trade the big firm jobs that pay big bucks for lower-paying jobs so they can have time to have a life. That is my personal choice as well. I have no desire to work 80+ hours a week.


Understandable. What I have learned so far is that no matter how much planning you do, your plan cannot be big enough to accommodate every contingency. There are so many "ifs" in play when it comes to children. If all that's keeping you back is worry about a couple of lean months ... I say go for it. You may not achieve pregnancy right away, and if it takes a couple of months then you're past your problem time anyway. A big part of parenthood (of life, really) is learning to trust that God will bring good out of every situation. It may not look like you think it should, but it still happens.
[/quote]

That and I don't have an offer yet. Offers are supposed to come out in Janurary... hopefully one has my name on it!

[Sojourner]

[quote name='rkwright' date='16 October 2009 - 12:12 PM' timestamp='1255709579' post='1986456']
That and I don't have an offer yet. Offers are supposed to come out in Janurary... hopefully one has my name on it!
[/quote]
Yeah that is the boat many of my fellow grads from 09 have found themselves in. It's a really bad time to be graduating from law school, honestly ... or really any school at all. I had a couple of friends who had offers whose offers were later revoked, or postponed. The ones who were merely postponed at least (hopefully) still have jobs. I know a couple of people who have started their own firms as a consequence of being unable to find work elsewhere, and that seems to be working out well for them. That's my plan, mainly b/c I don't want to work full-time and I want to be able to have significant control over the work I take and the hours I work.

[rhetoricfemme]

WIC is a major lifesaver for us. We also do the classic pre-fold cloth diapers with diaper covers. That is where we've really been saving money. We spent about $300 on our diaper stash, which consists of all of the diapers we'll ever be needing for our little guy. Plus, we'll be able to use them for any future kiddos that come along. Depending on what stuff you buy, cloth diapers can save you on average $800 - $1500 per kid.

Once he's old enough for solids, I plan on making my own baby food, too. I'd feel so much better knowing what I'm feeding him and leaving out all the extra stuff. And canned baby food is kind of pricey, too, IMHO.