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SAHM of 2 - question for ya...
Please school me on this. Did your expenses go up a lot as a family when you added #2? I mean, initially, like for the first 2 years?
We plan on using all DD's stuff (crib/glider/carseats/clothes if the next one is a girl/etc) and I plan on BF again but we know we'll end up having to buy SOME things - though we can usually count on grandparents for the pricier stuff.
W/ DH's new job, he won't really start seeing significant financial improvement for a couple of years, so I'm trying to be cautious. I'd definitely continue to be a SAHM - heck, if I can't financially justify working w/ just one since I'd be working just for daycare, then we definitely could not swing it w/ 2.
I'm looking for help w/ things that I maybe did not think of. I know that DD will soon be in a MDO/preschool type of thing that will cost us $$, but am I forgetting other big things?
Any advice/insight is appreciated.
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Re: SAHM of 2 - question for ya...
We had to buy a lot of stuff when Layna was born because I didn't have the baby stuff from Jakob anymore. But that doesn't have to be expensive. I didn't need expensive furniture or bedding. We spent about $400 at Babies R Us before she was born and that was everything from burp clothes to bottles to an infant swing.
The main expenses the first year were medical bills, formula and diapers. Clothes don't have to cost much, either. I don't get hand-me-downs from anyone and I only spend about $200 on clothes per kid a year. I buy a lot from ebay, sales from Old Navy and Target and then Walmart is always cheap.
Doctor office copays and milk are the two things I notice we comment on a lot. We have been going through a ridiculous amount of milk since the twins turned one. It really adds up.
Luckily our copays are cheap right now and well checks are free, but it still adds up too. Can't imagine if it was $20-$30 per kid every time they got sick. We have only had two instances so far where all three needed to be seen on the exact same day, so it isn't like it happens all the time.
Up until this point M and W have been opposite seasons from Rhett so I ended up having to buy clothes. Once they are in 2T this summer they will be able to use his stuff so that will be fantastic. Still, I only spend a few hundred bucks a year to clothe all three of them because I shop really carefully. I also think that even if your #2 is a boy you can still prepare for him without all that much expense. We had to buy a second set of nearly everything, but between craigslist and consignment sales I was able to do it for next to nothing.
I am really happy at home with my kids anyway, but there have been times during all this financial nightmare where I have felt like I really needed to figure out how to go back. There is absolutely no way for me to do it, pay childcare and gas, and still bring home any money. Every way we have figured it, it would cost us money for me to go back to work. So we just figure out how to make do on what we can with me continuing to SAH.
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It was an adjustment to add back in the cost of diapers after getting used to having a potty-trained child. We ended up going with cloth though so in the long run it's not as expensive as it could have been.
We ended up having to buy a new carseat for Meredith so Alex could have the Britax Boulevard. He was so big that he didn't last long in the infant seat.
We bought a new crib mattress for him, and I did get a new stroller, but I sold the old mattress and my two old strollers to fund the new one.
Obviously we needed boy stuff.
We were already paying for preschool for Meredith when Alex was born, although this year we're paying more for her to go three days a week. That also means more transportation costs as we chose a school that is not exactly convenient to our home. We'll have preschool costs for Alex at some point too.
There is also the cost of maternity copays, birth related expenses, and all of the copays for well-child and sick baby visits. If your oldest is in preschool when #2 comes, expect #2 to get sick a lot more often because of the extra exposure to germs.
Because I had kids in two different seasons, I ended up having to purchase some additional maternity clothes, and frankly my nursing bras from Meredith didn't hold up enough to be used for my second round of nursing. So that was an extra expense I hadn't planned on.
The motor in our baby swing died too shortly after Alex was born, so we ended up replacing that.
All in all though, it wasn't THAT expensive having a second child. If we have a third, we'll need to get a new infant seat, as ours expired, and depending on when we have a third, we might end up needing another crib and/or crib mattress.
Meredith, 6-1-06 and Alex, 11-5-09
all very helpful info, thanks guys! I can see the medical costs going up (not just for the birth but also for sick visits/etc even though our well-checks are free). We have a HSA and an ING account for that stuff that helped a LOT when DD was born. I'd just need to be sure to keep up the contributions on that end.
Milk is a good point. DH hates milk, but I love it and we're now buying 2 gallons a week for just DD and I. I can only imagine how much you guys drink, Kim!
I'm hoping that DD will be potty trained by the time we have #2, so the diaper cost won't be such a shock to us, HOPEFULLY.
I really want to continue to be a SAHM and if we have 2, there is really not another option until one is in "free" school like kindergarten. Though that means we won't be as well-off as I'd like when it comes to a few "luxurious extras" for a bit, I'll take it. Now that I've been at home w/ DD, I've seriously had mild panic attacks when I've considered going back to work- it upsets me that much.