In days gone by, they often used to say there was no need to save for a baby – in fact, I remember many a conversation when thinking about starting my own family and being told “If you wait til you can afford a baby, you’ll never have one!” And so the encouragement continued to do the deed and wait for the bundle of joy to arrive, no matter what the bank balance showed.
Well – times have definitely changed….and my own advice to those thinging of making a “bump” – is make sure you’ve saved up for it first!
LV insurance announced that, based on a new survey, the cost of raising a child from birth to the age of 21, proves to now be a whopping £200,000. That’s an increase of over 43% in the last seven years – (£86,000) – making the new annual cost of bringing up a child to around £9,610 / £800 a month/ £26 a day.
And it seems, these heavy weighted costs, certainly give a whole new meaning to modern day parenting.
Even in my own case – making ends meet is an essential weekly challenge! For us, after working out finances, it made sense for both of us to go back to full time work – and the assumption by many is that by bringing in two full time salaries, we shouldn’t have a worry in the world – wrong!
Even from an early age, we’ve had to account for the cost of full time nursery – nearly £700 a month! Nappies, which, based on one pack a week, work out at around £40 a month, and whilst the baby’s still on formula, another £40 a month. In addition to that, there are of course new clothes, play centres and other bits and bobs. So in total, rounding it up, even for a young baby of just a few months old, the average monthly cost can be approx £1200 a month. Now whoever babies don’t cost much, clearly didn’t have one in modern day!
And it’s also worth noting, if both parents are working, they have to consider the fact they might not qualify for the same amount of benefits as other do – or any for that matter! Based on their net salaries (take home salary), they still have to cover normal expenditure as well, such as the mortgage/rent, food, utility bills, etc. And of course….more than likely, presents for other friends who are also having a baby! So a couple who used to afford their previous lifestyle comfortably, may have to make strict amendments once the “bundle of joy” arrives.
So it’s certainly not a simple case of making a baby anymore – it seems, the modern day approach includes a calcuator!
If you’ve had experience in this field, why not share your story here and comment on how others could save money when struggling to make ends meet whilst making, housing and keeping a baby, or two, or three….including the grown up ones!
