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Baby Hints & Tips

How much will baby’s first year cost?

how much does baby's first year costI am stressing that I wont be able to afford to have any unpaid time off and will have to go back to work when our baby is only 5 months old as soon as my maternity leave runs out, how much roughly does everyone think the first year will cost?

Tips for budgeting with a family

  • It doesn’t have to cost mich at all. Bubs don’t need anything fancy. As long as they are fed they don’t need too many other expensive things. As they get a bit older anf you need to find things to do there are plently if free things – beach, park, free activites put on by council etc. Make your own food instead if buying baby food saves a fortune. Baby’s don’t need to cost heaps. Jenna
  • Depending on partners income but u maybe able to get parenting payment from centre link Sarah
  • I think it depends on how much your living costs are really. Baby doesn’t add much especially if breastfed (it’s free!) and clothes can be hand me downs, same with toys too. I’ve bought many toys second hand on gumtree saves heaps! Also we use cloth nappies about $1000 outlay will last through to toilet training. Disposables would cost $3000ish for the same time period Ange
  • Try to have all the big items for baby bought before you finish working. Ask for gift vouchers for your baby shower gifts. Then you can buy nappies and clothes as you need them. If your breastfeeding, no cost there. Don’t go overboard with little outfits as they grow out of them so fast and onesies are so much more practical. Mostly it comes down to your household expenses. Make sure you live within your means, and have a good budget that you can stick to easily. Put away a couple of dollars each week so you can get some clothes for yourself or have a pedicure without feeling guilty Serena
  • Dont forget to factor in the cost of child care when working out whether you would be better off back at work. Also other increased expenses like transport, bought lunches, morning coffees etc. If bub hasnt come yet it can help to stock up on things like dishwashing tablets, laundry detergent etc but beware buying too much for bub in advance – you may end up not being able to use it (eg I have a stockpile of johnsons products I can’t use because they dry bubbas skin) Bec
  • Bub will cost what you want bub to – it depends on how much you will want to buy in the way of toys and clothes etc. We got caught out with the maternity payments taking 3 weeks to come through, so we ended up behind on bills when bub came early! I ended up going back to work after 3 months and DH took a month off to stay home because I earn more. Taya
  • Babies don’t need to cost a fortune. My bubs just moved from 000 to 00 clothes and I got some nice summer tops and one pieces for between $5-$8 ea they had lil shorts for $3 and some basic summer body suits for $3ea. I get nappies from Aldi, compfy bots at coles are great too and at $11 they are large packets and usually last me just over a week. If you can fully breastfeed do it’ll save you buying formula. When bubs start to eat I usually start of with Farex but after around a month I just bled up what we are having for dinner, or I just cook and blend some potato, pumpkin, and other vegblend and fridge for lunch the next day. The less store brought food the better because baby food is quite expensive. Haylee
  • Can cost as much as you let it in a sense. When bubs was born, hubby was unemployed and I was stressing big time. However I had stocked up on nappies and wipes prior to babe being born (so then only bought more nappies when on good specials as I already had a bunch stock piled, so haven’t ever had to pay full price!), I had been given loads of hand-me-down clothes, kept an eye out at the salvos every now and then for extra bits of clothes (mostly $0.50 per piece they do them for at some!), and was just really sensible with what we spent our money on. Aldi currently have their nappy boxes & wipes on special (only come out twice a year I think) so grab some of them. And once it comes time for babe to start solids, again can be as cheap or expensive as you choose to make it. Making your own food for bubs is generally a whole lot cheaper than any store bought stuff. So, sorry I can’t give you a $$ figure as such, but would say initially, if you’ve got all your nursery stuff and big items, day to day it shouldn’t cost a huge amount, just need to factor in nappies, formula if using, and any ongoing essentials like nappy cream (but you may hardly use that even, so again, not a huge cost as it lasts ages!). If you breastfeed cuts down the cost of formula too of course. And just look on eBay or gumtree for items that you don’t need new (most things!). We got a bunch of toys from eBay. Most kids don’t use them for long enough to ‘wear them out’. Good luck, and hope you manage to enjoy the time with babe without having to stress too much over money. So hard, but even if you only get 5-6 months off with babe, it’s better than less than that treasure each day you have.. It flies by super quick! Susanna
  • I think you’re asking more how to make money stretch rather than how much does baby stuff cost. My paid mat leave is just about to run out now and we will be on one wage until I start work again in February. Draw up a strict budget for household expenses (rent / mortgage down to what brand nappies to buy) and start living on that budget now and save the excess. Lou
  • As said above it all depends on your situation. Are you renting or paying a mortgage and how much will you have left over after paying that first and foremost. As for raising kids, it all depends on the individual child. Clothes and toys you can get second hand from salvos, vinnies, savers and buy swap sell sites, and always take hand me downs. It’s more formula and nappies cost that can be the biggest issue. (Which I believe actually needs to be regulated price wise by the government as it is a necessity) If bubs is sensitive to certain formulas or has to have goats milk formula it can be so much more expensive (I’ve been lucky my boys both took karicare and Aptimal without any issues) or if they have sensitive skin you may need certain washing powders and bath products. And then there is also illness’. If bubs is one where they catch everything under the sun then that costs more money (and don’t forget tony Abbott and liberal are trying to bring a gp tax which is not just $7 if you need speciality you will need to pay more for that eg X-rays, ultrasounds) Oh and it can be done. We went from being a 2 full time income family with 1 child to a 1 income family with 2 kids and a dog and we manage. And we also get married this year. And I never received maternity leave as I actually resigned and we’ve done it for over a year now and plan to try for another year Stayc
  • I feel the same, I’m due to go back middle of January when my son will be 6 months. From beginning of December till then I’ll be on unpaid leave and I’m really dreading going back but I know financially I don’t have a choice but I use cloth nappies which saves a lot of money or buy aldi nappies which are great and cheap and try to buy his clothes on clearance Allyce

    How much does baby’s first year cost?

 

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