Firstly, I am not currently a parent nor am I TTC, but my partner and I are looking at TTC in the near future, so we've tried to make a loose budget to see how much baby's first year would realistically cost. I started off (now naively) saying I reckon we could do it with £500 of stuff before baby is born, and £500 of ongoing costs such as nappies. However, once we've actually added up everything people have told us is essential, it's come to £2800?!?!?! How on earth can people afford that? I feel like we've gone very low end of the budget as well with most of the things we've priced coming from ASDA's website so very much budget items. Is it really going to cost around £3k for one year? That seems bonkers to me! I am leaning towards formula feeding which is why I haven't accounted for breast pumps etc.
Here is the budget we made:
Clothing£185
total
- 5 vests size newborn£5
- 5 vests size 0-3 months£5
- 5 vests size 3-6 months£5
- 5 vests size 6-9 months£5
- 5 vests size 9-12 months£5
- 6 sleepsuits size newborn£15
- 6 sleepsuits size 0-3 months£15
- 6 sleepsuits size 3-6 months£15
- 3 sleepsuits size 6-9 months£10
- 3 sleepsuits size 9-12 months£10
- 6 t shirts size 6-9 months£10
- 6 t shirts size 9-12 months£10
- 3 pairs trousers size 6-9 months£10
- 3 pairs trousers size 9-12 months£10
- 2 jumpers size 0-3 months£10
- 2 jumpers size 3-6 months£10
- 2 jumpers size 6-9 months£10
- 2 jumpers size 9-12 months£10
- 2 warm hats suitable for newborn£5
- 1 sunhat suitable for summer£5
- 6 pairs socks (6-12 months)£5
Bedroom£555
total
- 2 cellular blankets£10
- 2 sleeping bags size 0-6 months£30
- 2 sleeping bags size 6-12 months£30
- 2 swaddle wraps£25
- 1 cot£0
as we are being given one by parents for free
- 1 cot mattress£150
- 2 cot mattress protectors£15
- 4 cot sheets£15
- 1 chest of drawers£150
- 1 full size changing mat£5
- 1 night light£5
- 1 baby monitor£120
Changing£480
total
- 1 changing bag£30
- 1 portable changing mat£0
- 1 car seat£130
- 1 car seat base£100
- 1 pushchair£150
- 1 baby carrier / baby wrap£40
- 2 hooded towels £10
- 1 bath support £25
Feeding£50
total
- 6 bottles with teats£10
- 1 bottle brush£3
- 1 steriliser£25
- 2 bottle insulation bags£12
Misc.£70
total
- 1 thermometer£10
- 1 baby swing (naps during the day)£40
- 1 playgym£20
Ongoing costs£1,510
total
- Nappies, wipes, formula£1,250
- Misc. costs for odd bits£260
Grand total - £2860
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If you don't mind not having all new stuff you can get bundles of clothes, blankets and other baby bits from local selling pages, car boot sales and charity shops. I've saved a small fortune buying stuff for my lot, sometimes finding things brand new for much less than in the shops and getting the occasional freebie. Also, babies really don't need loads of extras so just get the bare essentials first and pick up other bits as they need them or your budget allows.
In all honesty, they grow out of clothes so quickly you would find a lot of bargains in fab condition. For certain bits you could ask family to chip in (if you have that option of course) but it's definitely worth looking out for bargains.
I also discovered cloth nappies which (if you don't mind the washing every couple of days) will save quite a considerable amount of money. I also breastfed so don't have any experience with bottles and all the stuff that goes with them but it could be worth waiting for the sales in Boots or Mothercare.
Hope that has helped a little
You are way going into too much detail, dyou can swaddle babies with normal blankets, they do not need baby sleeping bags, I got a microwave steriliser and all.my bottles for 25 pounds and they're tommee tippee, think your panic buying thinking you need so much stuff when you don't and you get a lot of clothes and stuff given to you when she or he is born and tbh my little one has grown out of her stuff so quickly I'm so glad she had mostly second hand clothes
I am an expectant mum to be, and when I first looked at costs, I freaked out a lot. so I am absolutely with you
But if you are mindful of what you are buying, then I worked out that it doesn't have to be that much. I do think formula feeding will make it that bit more expensive, but that is personal preference
You have priced bits from ASDA, but have you thought about looking in Primark, H&M, and if your local £land has a clothing section, their clothes are low cost, and a good quality material. Also you will be surprised how good sale items for babies. I looked at the next sale, and spent about 50.00 on a few bits, which at full price would have been over 150.00 - the timing is just perfect, as it was last years winter bits, but I am due in September so the winter will be upon us again.
It helps if you have friends/family around because someone always knows someone who has bits and pieces. I wanted to set up the nursery already (we are due in Sept), but then I realised, my baby wont be sleeping in the nursery alone for at least another 6 months, so I focused on having a moses basket as a priority instead. Definitely put my mind at ease not freaking out about nursery costs so early.
Hello! You have lots of stuff in there that are not essencial and lots of stuff you can get in charity shops super cheap... for the first months really don't need that much stuff, but if you really want to cut costs, breastfeed and cloth nappies are the way to go... regarding clothes I can tell you I got my stuff from Loros charity shop, vests, blankets, babygrows at 75p each, towels at 1,25£ until 2,5£, we even found a cot bed at 18£ (in oak wood! Didn't bought it and regret it but got a Moses basket for 5£) you can also buy a lot of feeding material from there as well... I got my car chair from Amazon in a promotion and paid 40£ for a Ferrari chair, my pram/push chair costed 18£ at eBay,
one big portion of your expenses for what I saw will be nappies (my baby changes nappies 8 to 12 times a day) and formula (feed like 6 to 10 times more or less) if you buy formula that willl be a big expense and you need to be sure that you get exactly what you baby needs
We spent no where near that I went mad buying things but half we haven't used, we brought all brand new and came to about £700 (but my mother in law brought Pram at £250, and nan gave £100 towards Cotbed), we even have a crib downstairs. I never used the monitor i bought nor the swaddling blankets, sleeping bags. We don't have room for chest of drawers so saved there! Baby is co sleeping so isn't using either Cotbed or crib, doesn't use bouncer, don't use sterillser (breast feeding)-saves a ton on formula. Regarding clothes we brought 3 newborn sleep suits, and 3 0-3 month sleep suits and pack of 5 0-3 bodysuits. However now it's summer haven't used any bodysuits so far as r house is quite warm! That's all the clothes we have brought. I didn't think I have many people who would give gifts when she was born, maybe 5- or 6 people however, ended up getting over 18 sets of gifts now I have too much 0-6 months clothes, thank god I didn't buy any more! Regarding ur list we don't have (and manage without... Baby swing, bath support, hooded towels) don't forget if ur in England and this is ur first child u will get £20 a week from government, which is ur nappies (we r using no more than 60 a week) and about 2 wet wipe packs a week, we use pampers and the more u buy the more u save we have just brought 160 in tesco for £18. Making them 11p each so we spend approx £10 per week on nappies and wet wipes, leaving £10 per week for formula don't know how much it is or how much £10 will buy! Regarding Pram we brought a brand new Mothercare journey travel system so got a car seat for free, car seat however only used upto 9 months so u will need to buy one at 9 months, but can save over 9 months for it! as ur not pregnant yet, u could put a little bit back say £50 per month, and if u waited 6 months u would have £300 then there's another 9 months! Hope all my info helps!
Also forgot to mention if u r in uk, and r claiming certain benefits u may b entitled to £500 from government if it's ur first child!
First thing first spend money on important items such as pram, bottles. Things you are going to use every single day.
Second thing, do you have family and friends? They will probably want to buy you a gift. For example my mum and dad gave us £500 before my son was born (it was for the pram) but once I started looking I got a graco evo pram, with carry cot, car seat and cot bed all for under their £500. I'm just about to have my second child and will be using the same pram, carry cot and car seat from my son. You'll be surprised how generous people will be with your first child. Just look after your stuff so you don't need to keep buying new and buy unisex colours such as green, red, black for expensive items.
I think you're gonna need way more clothes then that. Babies are sick and poop a lot, which means a lot of changing clothe.
As others have said you don't need half the crap they are advertising. Talk to your mum and ask for her advice when the time comes. For example you can buy bottle warmers for like £30-£40 and my mum was like WHAT! You just put some boiling water in a jug and sit the bottle in it for a few minutes. Thanks mum! i didn't know I never had a baby before. You'll learn all this stuff.
Start buying after your 12 week scan so your spreading the cost and keep your eyes open for sales. My second child will be a girl and ALL of her clothes have been brought in the sale, most of the other stuff is her brothers.
Good luck.
I'll have to agree with the other posters - your list sounds pricy, and there's some rather expensive items in between.
Instead of thinking Asda = cheap, spend some time looking online at different shops (Ikea, Argos, Mothercare, H&M, John Lewis etc.), save the links of what you like and catch it on sale. You can also save a decent amount buying summer clothes when winter comes, and winter clothes when summer comes. Neutral ones at least
My husband and I are expecting our first, and we've so far spend roughly £630 and saved £450! I love keeping an eye out for sales, and did we ever snap up some good deals! We're only missing a few things now that about £300, so in all we will have kept our planned budget below 1k.
Another thing is to look for a bundle with pushchair/pram, carseat and carseat base. We didn't get the cheapest available, but got a full set of pushchair, carrycot, carseat + base for £499 on sale. You just need to keep an eye out, and don't worry about buying everything at the same time.
If you breastfeed you don't need to spend approx £500 a year on formula so that would cut your costs down hugely.
I would spend money on a good car seat.
Most other stuff can be second hand!
hi.
i read thru your budget draft and i have some suggestions.
1) shop around. not everything is cheaper from Asda. If you go to mothercare, sometimes you can get clothing cheaper than in Asda.
2) i would advise you to try and breastfeed. It is better for you and your baby. Also you would save tons of money.
3) shop around for furniture. Look online, you can get good deals on chests of drawers, wardrobes etc
4) if you are planning to have a baby shower, make a gift list. otherwise you will end up with tons of blankets, clothing... Make sure your friends and family know what you have already bought.
5) when buying nappies, try bumdeal.com
there you can compare prices and get the best deals.
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