Since having my daughter I continue to come across blog posts about ‘how expensive kids are‘ and comments like ‘I’ll never have kids because they’re money grubbers‘. While I’m not arguing that kids are expensive over their lifetime, some of the numbers I’ve read are just plain foolish. Baby Center has an online calculator to scare help you estimate your first years worth of expenses if interested. Now I realize I live in Canada, and have the protection of universal healthcare not having to pay any medical costs and am entitled to a full 52 week maternity leave, but even with these costs aside, eight months in and I am no where close to spending the estimated $10,000+ dollars most sites I’ve been to estimate for one child in their first year and my daughter certainly doesn’t want for much.
These are a few of the areas that, in my opinion, continue to get over estimated and parents can make up substantial savings.
- Clothing. Baby Center estimation $59.00/month. I always check the local thrift stores before ever buying new. Some of the favorite pieces that my daughter has worn were ones I found in thrift stores for next to nothing. Kids, especially infants, grow out of their clothes so fast the clothes are hardly worn. I’ve found GAP dresses, a brand new infant snow suit, many sleepers and onsies, all in near perfect condition and never spending more than $4 to $5 on any one item.
- Toys. Baby Center estimation $35.00/month. I’ve found most success with online classifieds for gently used toys. Just last week I spent $10.00 and got a very large bag full of small toys (blocks and such) which I estimated were less than two years old (based on some of the characters), hardly used and retailed at over $100.00. When parents decide they want to regain their house from under a mountain of toys they will sell for cheap! I will continue to shop online classifieds as long as I can get away with it! Christmas too.
- Diapers. Baby Center estimation $72.00/month (disposable). Cloth diapers are a huge money saver but not realistic for all families, mine included. We use disposable diapers and I find buying in bulk and with coupons while on sale to be the best. One step further, if you have the time, write a letter to the company who makes your favorite diaper and tell them how much you enjoy your product. You might get a little surprise like a high-valued coupon (offering a free box of diapers). Worth a shot! We also had a ”diaper shower” where instead of a traditional girls only baby shower the men came too, drank beer and brought diapers for my husband. We received over seven months worth of diapers!
- Breastfeed. Baby Center estimation $105 and up/month on formula. For a million reasons and benefits I breastfeed (but respect those that cannot/don’t) but the cost savings on formula is huge. I also spoke about food savings a few weeks ago.
In conclusion, yes kids are expensive but they by no means have to be as expensive as some people or companies will have you believe. Regardless of how much you choose to spend it’ll likely be the best spent money in your life because they really are worth every single penny.
Catherine is a first time momma to a rambunctious toddler. When she isn’t soaking up all that motherhood has to offer, you can find her blogging over at Plunged in Debt where she chronicles her and her husbands journey out of debt. You can also follow her on Twitter.
I am in the US and just had a newborn and agree with you that babycenter overestimates the cost. I’ve spent about $50 and have enough clothes to clothe my daughter until 6 months. We even have some 6-12 clothes. Freecycle, friends, consignment stores and craigslist are all great ways to keep costs low. We have spent about $100 on formula because I cannot breastfeed enough, plus $50 on pump supplies. But, hopefully I start getting more milk and needing less formula. Personally, I think unless you coupon, the diapers might be a little low, but you could probably just go with that. I;m not sure on toys because I have not bought any yet.
Catherine you took a fascinating approach to dispel the myths that babies are expensive. I appreciate it because I am super frugal and I was beginning to feel cheap. I am a first time mommy of a two year old and we spend very little. Knowing that over time naturally things will get more expensive, we decided to change our spending habits and lifestyle. This blog is confirmation that I am doing things right! We breastfed, made homemade baby food and nearly all toys were gifts. I even had each grandparent give us ‘long term’ gifts instead of the typical ‘spoil the grandkid gifts’. For example, the amount my dad was going to spend was cut in half by purchasing a years supply of diapers; 1 huge box every month for $32. It took almost two years to run out!! This post is a MUST SHARE!
Thanks
-Freda