For those of us thinking about kids

hoffse · April 2014

I ran across this and thought it was really interesting, especially for those of us contemplating having kids in the relatively near future. It's been out for awhile, so you may have seen it. But if not:

http://www.budgetsaresexy.com/2012/06/ultimate-baby-child-costs-tracker/

Wulfgar · April 2014

Don't forget if your child is really good in sports or something else where they have to be on a traveling team, this gets really expensive.

lifeonthehill · April 2014

WOW. My MM brain doesn't like that.

hoffse · April 2014

alyssa32713 said:

WOW. My MM brain doesn't like that.

Mine doesn't either. Of course a lot of these costs are personal to him and will vary from family to family, but it's pretty interesting to see it all tracked. Of course, you just learn to adjust other things to account for it, but it was definitely an eye-opener for me.

HoneyBee973 · April 2014

It sure is an eye opener. Thank you for posting.

Xstatic3333 · April 2014

I love this blog! I think it is possible to cut many of his costs, but it still is eye opening. I can't believe his baby's insurance premium was $314 a month pre-ACA! We're already on a family plan so I really take stuff like that for granted. They did find a good price on daycare, however, and their pre-birth costs weren't bad.

blondie42107 · April 2014

Wulfgar said:
Don't forget if your child is really good in sports or something else where they have to be on a traveling team, this gets really expensive.

My friend's son plays travel hockey - age 10. They throw at least $4,000 on that with the sport cost, gas, hotels, etc.

blondie42107 · April 2014

Each of my pregnancies took place in the same year - getting pregnant in January/February and delivering in the fall. Not necessarily planned but it was ideal for planning for our medical family out of pocket max.

I thought the crib and dresser were a bit much. We didn't do a dresser, juAndst closet organization. We didn't bother with a conversion kit for our crib. It hasn't moved in almost four years. Ds1 transitioned from the crib to a toddler bed two weeks after Ds2 was born. We used a bassinet in our room with both (Ds1 5months, Ds2 3months).

Kiddos are so worth it!

brij2006 · April 2014

People always say that kids aren't that expensive, but put it this way and they are!

Yet another reason why we're busting away at Total Money Makeover.

vlagrl29 · April 2014

That seems like a lot of money he spent so far! I doubt we spent that much and we did disposables and formula. Got a lot of big items from the grandparents pre birth. I still think kids are not that expensive IMO. But I can see costs adding up as next year we will pre school and dance, but we will always limit her to 1 activity until she is older.

It's all worth it. can't imagine life without her.

vlagrl29 · April 2014

You know what cost us the most in pregnancy besides the hospital bill? Food. I was starving all.the.freaking.time. I thought something was wrong with me. We probably spent 6k just for me to feed my face. She sure was an eater. part of the reason we are waiting another year to TTC is I'm so afraid of all those costs again. We finally got to a point where we have a good emergency fund and we are both making decent money from jobs. I'm not quite yet ready for that to be gone. I was home bound a lot of my pregnancy with DD, therefore couldn't really work much which didn't help with all the bills. I'm hoping the next pregnancy is different.

jessica490 · April 2014

Yikes! I can think of tons of awesome vacations H and I can go on for that amount of money. Thanks for posting and re-confirming my NOT wanting kids ever

formerlyGDaisy09 · April 2014

Wow! sounds like some sort of epic master card commercial.

cbee817 · April 2014

I think it's kind of sad- they refer to their child as "baby money".. it seems nasty to me. No one forced them to have kids- you make the sacrifce (and it's a lot more than financial!) if you want a family.. that's life.

maple2 · April 2014

This blog makes me incredibly grateful for our insurance. Our premiums did not go up nearly that much when we had a child and we have almost no out-of-pocket expenses for routine doctor visits. We could (and have) make different decisions than the blog author that would save us a bit more, but healthcare and childcare look like the two major contributors to the overall cost and there aren't a whole lot of ways for an individual to save in those areas without taking drastic action (changing jobs, having a parent stay home, etc).

Xstatic3333 · April 2014

cbee817 said:
I think it's kind of sad- they refer to their child as "baby money".. it seems nasty to me. No one forced them to have kids- you make the sacrifce (and it's a lot more than financial!) if you want a family.. that's life.

I'm a regular reader of this blog so feel a need to clarify. The blogger's internet name is J. Money. He calls his wife Mrs. Money too. It's a personal finance blog, and I promise he's not trying to be nasty. Tracking the baby expenses was just an experiment-he also tracks his family's net worth and loads of other stuff. I can see why it seemed that way out of context though!

IAmSherlocked · April 2014

Wowza, that is crazy! And DH wonders why I feel we'll never financially ready for a family, haha. I do think it's pretty cool that he wrote down everything that they spent on the baby, and that is something I can see myself doing. DH's brother has 3 kids (twin girls, age 2-one of whom has had health problems since she was born- and a boy who is almost 4) and is raising them pretty much as a single dad. I know they struggle a lot with money, especially since his job doesn't pay much, but I can't even imagine being in his shoes. That list totally frightens me. I shared it with DH and he says he's going to start a new savings account for that, although he did say he reserves the right to use that money up for a nice vacation instead, haha.

sparklerose · April 2014

Wow, I appreciate my amazing health insurance even more now. We want two kids, but because of money, we are one and done.

MotherOfPearl85 · April 2014

Yea, it doesn't have to be that expensive. There are a lot of things that aren't necessary. The first thing that comes to mind is that I never bought the baby detergent. We just use the All Free and Clear for everyone. There are other things that I have never had to buy.

vlagrl29 · April 2014

MotherOfPearl85 said:

Yea, it doesn't have to be that expensive. There are a lot of things that aren't necessary. The first thing that comes to mind is that I never bought the baby detergent. We just use the All Free and Clear for everyone. There are other things that I have never had to buy.

same here. that's just silly. list everything that you think you need for the baby. then divide it into needs vs. wants it will help your budget. I had people give me wipe warmers, cart covers, paci holders. Those are all frivolous things babies don't need.

MommyLiberty5013 · April 2014

The "baby industry" makes you feel like you ought to have a lot of stuff. Examples: wipe warmers (they keep your baby butt wipes warm for use), wipes for boogers, wipes for hands, wipes for bottoms, wipes for surfaces, etc. There are a lot of baby things that are marketed just to make you feel like a bad parent if you don't get them. Also, baby marketing stuff makes you compare your kids' things to other kids' things. It's really crazy.

We have 3 kids. DS is almost 4. DD is 2. DS is 8 months. The best advice I have is to buy as much of your baby and kids' clothes at consignment places (because kids outgrow things so quickly you can find tons of awesome hardly used clothing for less money) and unless you tell people, no one will every know.

Also, buy neutral things so you can use your car seat whether you have a boy or a girl. Many baby companies make girly things and boy things, but then you get caught for your first kid with pink and your second kid needs blue....

Buy strollers on Craigslist. Those pop up for sale all the time.

You don't need super pricey baby furniture either. In a few years when all your kids outgrow it, you either try to sell it or donate it anyway.

Also, don't feel like now that your family has grown that you have to go buy a new car. Seriously. We have three kids' in car seats in the back of our Chevy Impala 4-door sedan. We are saving for a minivan, but you don't have to do into debt on a car just because of a larger family.

The only things we pay top dollar and buy new, are shoes (and pjs, underwear, and socks) and car seats (each of our car seats is nearly $300, but for safety it's important).

sillygoosegirl · April 2014

hoffse said:

alyssa32713 said:

WOW. My MM brain doesn't like that.

Mine doesn't either. Of course a lot of these costs are personal to him and will vary from family to family, but it's pretty interesting to see it all tracked. Of course, you just learn to adjust other things to account for it, but it was definitely an eye-opener for me.

I bet we will all have our own things that we feel like we need to buy that are particular to our own families. I'm newly pregnant, and the first thing we purchased was a back seat for our car. I've always rolled my eyes at people who HAVE TO HAVE A NEW CAR for the baby, but one of our cars is a two-seater... so there goes $1040 to get the optional back seat for it.

So I guess I'm eye-rolling at myself now... but I suppose that's what becoming a parent is all about.

formerlyGDaisy09 · April 2014

Those are all good points...we don't have any children yet. I definitely agree that a lot of "needs" are determined by lifestyle, for example I'm a runner, so a nice easy to maneuver jogger that will hold an infant or a toddler is going to hit the top of our list for things to buy, while we're generally skeptical of all the equipment that seems to be needed for a baby.

to the car point...we buy cars expecting that we're going to drive them for 7-10 years, so when we were purchasing our new car last summer the ease of fitting a car seat or two in the back was definitely part of the discussion. and it will be again when it's time to replace our now 7 year old car, which is a sedan that could easily hold a car seat or two anyways. I'm sometimes can't believe when people don't think about their vehical purchases until they're pregnant.

Xstatic3333 · April 2014

sillygoosegirl said:

hoffse said:

alyssa32713 said:

WOW. My MM brain doesn't like that.

Mine doesn't either. Of course a lot of these costs are personal to him and will vary from family to family, but it's pretty interesting to see it all tracked. Of course, you just learn to adjust other things to account for it, but it was definitely an eye-opener for me.

I bet we will all have our own things that we feel like we need to buy that are particular to our own families. I'm newly pregnant, and the first thing we purchased was a back seat for our car. I've always rolled my eyes at people who HAVE TO HAVE A NEW CAR for the baby, but one of our cars is a two-seater... so there goes $1040 to get the optional back seat for it.

So I guess I'm eye-rolling at myself now... but I suppose that's what becoming a parent is all about.

I think two doors/two seaters is the one time I don't side-eye this phenomenon. The whole "we have a child so must have an SUV" thing drives me bonkers. I mean if there's other reasons for your family-snowy area, lots of camping, need to tow something, etc.-knock your socks off. I just don't get why everyone's cars need to be so gigantic these days. Even within brands they just get bigger and bigger. My H has a 2004 Forester, and the 2014s are barely recognizable as the same model. It's not a mileage complaint-plenty of new SUVs get good mileage-it's just something I'll never understand.

hoffse · April 2014

Xstatic3333 said:

hoffse said:

alyssa32713 said:

WOW. My MM brain doesn't like that.

Mine doesn't either. Of course a lot of these costs are personal to him and will vary from family to family, but it's pretty interesting to see it all tracked. Of course, you just learn to adjust other things to account for it, but it was definitely an eye-opener for me.

I bet we will all have our own things that we feel like we need to buy that are particular to our own families. I'm newly pregnant, and the first thing we purchased was a back seat for our car. I've always rolled my eyes at people who HAVE TO HAVE A NEW CAR for the baby, but one of our cars is a two-seater... so there goes $1040 to get the optional back seat for it.

So I guess I'm eye-rolling at myself now... but I suppose that's what becoming a parent is all about.
I think two doors/two seaters is the one time I don't side-eye this phenomenon. The whole "we have a child so must have an SUV" thing drives me bonkers. I mean if there's other reasons for your family-snowy area, lots of camping, need to tow something, etc.-knock your socks off. I just don't get why everyone's cars need to be so gigantic these days. Even within brands they just get bigger and bigger. My H has a 2004 Forester, and the 2014s are barely recognizable as the same model. It's not a mileage complaint-plenty of new SUVs get good mileage-it's just something I'll never understand.

Agreed. I drive a CR-V, which I love, because it feels like parking a car instead of an SUV. It really ought to be plenty big for two kids and their stuff, and if it's not... well then I think we need to bring less stuff.

I can definitely see priorities, etc. changing when you have kids. But I feel like the whole "keeping up with the Joneses" thing goes into overdrive as soon as you are thinking baby. And I mean... some of the stuff I see out there just can't possibly be good for development. I don't know much about it, but instinctively it seems really strange to park your baby in front of an ipad or to leave them in one of the 7 bouncers (one for each room of the house!) all. day. long. I dunno. I shouldn't be all judgy-pants, because what do I know.

I'm actually kind of paranoid that all the baby gear I'll feel obligated to buy is going to give my kid a flat head. Apparently about half of all babies get flat spots these days because they spend far too much time on their backs while awake. That's just absurd.

Obviously some things are worth spending money on. Car seats? Sure, I'll burn money on those if I have to. A good carrier (so I don't give my kid a flat head!)? Yes. One decent stroller? Probably. But the rest of it just seems to get progressively less relevant and has a very short lifespan. I seriously don't get the $150 bouncer that people just have to have. Or the $1,000 luxury crib that all my coworkers have to buy. I mean... your kid will get teeth and will chew on it whether it's $200 or $1,000.

ashleyjesse1112 · April 2014

It looks like daycare was about $10k of their $24k expenses, so that's a relief since I plan to stay at home with ours. I am hoping my husband has the same job as he does now when we have children because our insurance is pretty awesome. And the people in our life are very giving so I have a feeling we will get more than enough baby things... I am just glad we plan to wait a few years to have little ones. Phew.

brij2006 · April 2014

Xstatic3333 said:

hoffse said:

alyssa32713 said:

WOW. My MM brain doesn't like that.

Mine doesn't either. Of course a lot of these costs are personal to him and will vary from family to family, but it's pretty interesting to see it all tracked. Of course, you just learn to adjust other things to account for it, but it was definitely an eye-opener for me.

I bet we will all have our own things that we feel like we need to buy that are particular to our own families. I'm newly pregnant, and the first thing we purchased was a back seat for our car. I've always rolled my eyes at people who HAVE TO HAVE A NEW CAR for the baby, but one of our cars is a two-seater... so there goes $1040 to get the optional back seat for it.

So I guess I'm eye-rolling at myself now... but I suppose that's what becoming a parent is all about.
I think two doors/two seaters is the one time I don't side-eye this phenomenon. The whole "we have a child so must have an SUV" thing drives me bonkers. I mean if there's other reasons for your family-snowy area, lots of camping, need to tow something, etc.-knock your socks off. I just don't get why everyone's cars need to be so gigantic these days. Even within brands they just get bigger and bigger. My H has a 2004 Forester, and the 2014s are barely recognizable as the same model. It's not a mileage complaint-plenty of new SUVs get good mileage-it's just something I'll never understand.

We don't even have children, and I drive a 7 passenger SUV. It's AWD though and we get very rough winters here. We bought it 2 weeks before we found out we were pregnant. Before we lost the baby, we had test drove 3 different 4 door cars for H. We borrowed carseats from friends to test out in his little car, and there was no way we could've made it work past the infant seat.

formerlyGDaisy09 · April 2014

@Hoffse I feel the same way about our Subaru Outback, bigger than a sedan (you should have seen all the lumber we had it loaded with over the weekend), it's AMAZING in the winter (though next year I may put snow-tires on it). Can't stand all the "need SUV for kids" BS...unless you have 4-5 kids then you don't really have a choice

if we need more space for "stuff" once kids are involved I'll get one of those roof boxes

vlagrl29 · April 2014

I'm still driving my 2 door ford focus with DD in the back seat, it's totally doable. I plan on using it with baby 2 as well and I will drive my focus until it dies. It beats a car payment IMO.

Once you guys use baby wipes you will find them pretty much able to clean everything. I use them to wipe off counters, tables....they are lovely

Xstatic3333 · April 2014

brij2006 said:

Xstatic3333 said:

sillygoosegirl said:

hoffse said:

alyssa32713 said:

WOW. My MM brain doesn't like that.

Mine doesn't either. Of course a lot of these costs are personal to him and will vary from family to family, but it's pretty interesting to see it all tracked. Of course, you just learn to adjust other things to account for it, but it was definitely an eye-opener for me.

I bet we will all have our own things that we feel like we need to buy that are particular to our own families. I'm newly pregnant, and the first thing we purchased was a back seat for our car. I've always rolled my eyes at people who HAVE TO HAVE A NEW CAR for the baby, but one of our cars is a two-seater... so there goes $1040 to get the optional back seat for it.

So I guess I'm eye-rolling at myself now... but I suppose that's what becoming a parent is all about.

I think two doors/two seaters is the one time I don't side-eye this phenomenon. The whole "we have a child so must have an SUV" thing drives me bonkers. I mean if there's other reasons for your family-snowy area, lots of camping, need to tow something, etc.-knock your socks off. I just don't get why everyone's cars need to be so gigantic these days. Even within brands they just get bigger and bigger. My H has a 2004 Forester, and the 2014s are barely recognizable as the same model. It's not a mileage complaint-plenty of new SUVs get good mileage-it's just something I'll never understand.

We don't even have children, and I drive a 7 passenger SUV. It's AWD though and we get very rough winters here. We bought it 2 weeks before we found out we were pregnant. Before we lost the baby, we had test drove 3 different 4 door cars for H. We borrowed carseats from friends to test out in his little car, and there was no way we could've made it work past the infant seat.

Gotcha. That reasoning definitely makes sense, especially with the rough winters! I even think just liking SUVs is a valid reason, just don't think it needs to be mandatory. I've already gotten shocked looks and comments from family when I tell them my Fit won't go anywhere if we have kids, which is my main frustration source with this.

vlagrl29 · April 2014

Xstatic3333 said:

Xstatic3333 said:

hoffse said:

alyssa32713 said:

WOW. My MM brain doesn't like that.

Mine doesn't either. Of course a lot of these costs are personal to him and will vary from family to family, but it's pretty interesting to see it all tracked. Of course, you just learn to adjust other things to account for it, but it was definitely an eye-opener for me.

I bet we will all have our own things that we feel like we need to buy that are particular to our own families. I'm newly pregnant, and the first thing we purchased was a back seat for our car. I've always rolled my eyes at people who HAVE TO HAVE A NEW CAR for the baby, but one of our cars is a two-seater... so there goes $1040 to get the optional back seat for it.

So I guess I'm eye-rolling at myself now... but I suppose that's what becoming a parent is all about.
I think two doors/two seaters is the one time I don't side-eye this phenomenon. The whole "we have a child so must have an SUV" thing drives me bonkers. I mean if there's other reasons for your family-snowy area, lots of camping, need to tow something, etc.-knock your socks off. I just don't get why everyone's cars need to be so gigantic these days. Even within brands they just get bigger and bigger. My H has a 2004 Forester, and the 2014s are barely recognizable as the same model. It's not a mileage complaint-plenty of new SUVs get good mileage-it's just something I'll never understand.

We don't even have children, and I drive a 7 passenger SUV. It's AWD though and we get very rough winters here. We bought it 2 weeks before we found out we were pregnant. Before we lost the baby, we had test drove 3 different 4 door cars for H. We borrowed carseats from friends to test out in his little car, and there was no way we could've made it work past the infant seat.
Gotcha. That reasoning definitely makes sense, especially with the rough winters! I even think just liking SUVs is a valid reason, just don't think it needs to be mandatory. I've already gotten shocked looks and comments from family when I tell them my Fit won't go anywhere if we have kids, which is my main frustration source with this.

It shouldn't, why does anyone have to get an SUV unless you have more than 2 kids? BTW - one of my adult students has a Honda Fit and it looks really cute. Do you like it?

For those of us thinking about kids

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