Budgeting for Baby

arynras · August 2014

So my boyfriend and I have always kept our finances separate because it just works better for us that way. We want to open our first joint checking account and use it for all things baby...daycare, diapers, clothes, formula, food, toys, nursery furniture, etc. Our problem is that, this being our first baby, we have NO idea how much money we should be putting into the account each month. We know daycare will run us about 1,000 every month but besides that we are clueless on how much we will spend on everything else. We both bring home about 3,000 a month on average. Of course, once all the other bills are paid we usually only have a few hundred each left for spending cash...so my question is...how much should we be putting into the joint account each month? I know y'all can't give me an exact amount but an estimate would greatly help...especially from STMs who have done this before!

SerenityAE · August 2014

Joint account for baby needs is something I hadn't thought of! I might have to do that.

I make next to nothing so my boyfriend is *supposed* to be responsible for the finances but when I ask him about it he just says "I have it" and I've learned that response means he doesn't have it. Asking to see his account makes him mad so maybe a joint account would kind of be a compromise.

We've budgeted $1200 for baby gear/nursery furniture before his arrival and know how much daycare and insurance will run us per month. Diapers, formula, daily needs; we haven't got that figured up yet. I've tried and gotten confused- I could never do anything math related.

RayRay007 · August 2014

Honestly I found that after all the big things were purchased - crib, car seat, pump, etc - and all of the basics bought for the first time like toiletries, health and personal care products (thermometer, brush, washes and lotions, etc.) - the monthly cost of a baby excluding daycare was minimal. I bf'd, so the only thing I bought from time to time was a few clothes (maybe $100 every few months in the first year?), and restocking personal care items - $20 here and there. Maybe I'm just forgetting something all together, but the upkeep with a baby who is bf'd and then on home-made baby food isn't that much. I guess there was also a gate we bought once she was mobile (~$100) and a new car seat once I was done with the bucket (~250). Except for those few big item, I'd say the cost of a baby, excluding formula and daycare, is maybe $100 a month.

ETA: we CD'd - so that was one big investment of $500+, but then no monthly cost thereafter.

lionyloo32 · August 2014

There really are so many variables that can affect your budget. Breastfeeding vs Formula feeding. Cloth vs Disposable diapers. Buying baby food vs. making your own. Receiving second hand clothes vs. buying the latest and greatest name brands (same goes for gear).

The best thing to do is research all your options, decide what you would LIKE to do, and then set a budget based on that. But, just as in other areas of life, have a contingency fund in case your preferences don't work out (i.e. can't breastfeed and baby needs expensive formula).

soulcupcake · August 2014

RayRay007 said:

Honestly I found that after all the big things were purchased - crib, car seat, pump, etc - and all of the basics bought for the first time like toiletries, health and personal care products (thermometer, brush, washes and lotions, etc.) - the monthly cost of a baby excluding daycare was minimal. I bf'd, so the only thing I bought from time to time was a few clothes (maybe $100 every few months in the first year?), and restocking personal care items - $20 here and there. Maybe I'm just forgetting something all together, but the upkeep with a baby who is bf'd and then on home-made baby food isn't that much. I guess there was also a gate we bought once she was mobile (~$100) and a new car seat once I was done with the bucket (~250). Except for those few big item, I'd say the cost of a baby, excluding formula and daycare, is maybe $100 a month.

ETA: we CD'd - so that was one big investment of $500+, but then no monthly cost thereafter.

This.

The bulk of the purchases, at least for me, have been all of the 'before baby arrives' stuff. All of mine were breastfed and I cloth diapered. I purchased some new outfits/clothes every 3-6 months during the first year. The biggest expense between all of them were the cloth diapers. I spent over $1500 over the course of cloth diapering three kids from birth to toilet training (I was addicted to fluff). But in terms of monthly expenses, I really don't recall any. I did rent a hospital grade pump for a few months with my youngest. Then I purchased a Medela PIS.

kimba1976 · August 2014

Another option....maybe you can get a joint credit card and use it exclusively for all baby-related expenses. Then split it and pay it off each month? That way you can also earn points or discounts depending on the type of card you get.

lionyloo32 · August 2014

@RayRay007 this is totally off OP's topic, but which CD's did/do you use? I'm starting off with prefolds and Thirsties covers as well as some Charlie Banana (with washable inserts and then disposable inserts as an option). FTM.

arynras · August 2014

kimba1976 said:
Another option....maybe you can get a joint credit card and use it exclusively for all baby-related expenses. Then split it and pay it off each month? That way you can also earn points or discounts depending on the type of card you get.

Ahhh I wish I would have thought of this before we opened the joint account! The only thing is that daycare has to be paid with checks.

RayRay007 · August 2014

lionyloo32 said:

@RayRay007 this is totally off OP's topic, but which CD's did/do you use? I'm starting off with prefolds and Thirsties covers as well as some Charlie Banana (with washable inserts and then disposable inserts as an option). FTM.

For the NB stage I used kissaluvs fitteds and thirsties covers. I liked the fitteds because they had good elastic and gussets at the legs and back and kept in runny NB poop. Then FB (fuzzibunz) pockets, but they changed manufacturers and they aren't as good as they used to be. I have bought a few BG (bum genius) AIOs to try this time. I will have to buy more with twins on the way but thought I'd start out with trying just a couple.

lionyloo32 · August 2014

Thanks @RayRay007. I think I'm going to try a couple different options too before stocking up on the one I like best. I'll definitely get a couple fitteds for the early stage!

JCM285 · August 2014

That's a great idea!!! I am a terrible budgeted so I have no (reliable) advice, but thanks for the great idea. :-)

LaxMOM44 · August 2014

Honestly her needs are just diapers and clothes and the occasional splurge like a toy or baby and me class. I think we are fine with 200-300 a month and that includes education savings. But I live in Canada.

Beevol · August 2014

We budgeted diapers/wipes/incidental toiletries at ~$70/month - we have Amazon Mom and subscribe-and-save to diapers and wipes, without that it would be more like ~$90/month for the same brands. If you cloth diaper, you can get a starter kit for ~$150 and then I'd think ~$10/month for buying extras/detergent etc.

I breastfed so for the first 6 months her food was free (minus the initial cost of a pump, bottles, storage bags, minicooler, etc). I received two tubes of nipple cream as part of a BF supplies basket as a shower gift and I still have half a tube left but my kid had a good latch so after the first month I barely used it YMMV. As she started eating table food this has shifted and now at age 2, we budget ~$25/week extra for our grocery bill - it's usually less, but my budgeting style is to over estimate. I've heard that formula feeders go through a big can of formula (~$30) every week - so that's $120/month.

My guess is that you'd be safe estimating $200/month in diapers/wipes/toiletries/formula for the baby or $60-100/month for just the diapers/wipes/toiletries (depending on where you buy them and what brand). I seriously recommend amazon mom though, I love not having to worry about buying diapers because they come delivered to my door on the 1st of the month just as the last box is emptying.

As for clothing? I'm the wrong person to ask because I have a bunch of friends with daughters 1-2 years older than my daughter and we just get a big box of clothes from them a few times a year. I'm basically the luckiest ever. Maybe ~$100/month for clothing the first year and then down to ~$25/month after she stops growing so fast??

So, all told, if daycare is $1k/month, diapers/wipes/toiletries are $80/month (splitting the difference between the 60 I pay and the 100 I see online), and formula is $120/month, and $100/month for clothing etc - you would need $1300/month or 15,600 for the first year of life on the high end and $1010/month or $12,120 for the first year on the low (cloth diapering/BFing) end.

I don't know what type of maternity leave you get or are going to take, but make sure to also budget any time that you will not be paid as part of the cost of having a baby as well as whatever your insurance deductible is for the year for the birth (plus doula if you are getting one). Those are all part of the cost of having the baby and not just your medical care so I would think they should be joint costs.

lionyloo32 · August 2014

What a great and helpful post @Beevol!

jesscvr22 · August 2014

We are budgeting about $250/month (CD, BF, no daycare). I think that might end up being a little high, but I'd rather have it than not! Also, the bump website has a baby cost calculator somewhere (sorry, I'm on mobile so can't link to it). We used that to help us figure out what to budget!

Eora3 · August 2014

Here are my bare bones costs for new babies.

Aprox. Costs Monthly:
Disposable Diapers $43
Formula $130
Wipes $15
Diaper cream $10
Baby toiletries $30

New clothes every 3 months $100

Add daycare costs (additional diapers, wipes, and changes of clothes)

Add medical costs (copays and cost for over-the-counter meds)

Add "baby only" laundry detergent and dishsoap/dish washer detergent

AZMagnini14 · August 2014

alissendis said:

I can't be of any help with budgeting since I've never had a baby before and I live in Canada, so everything is different, haha. Just a different thought.

My husband and I have just had a joint account since about a year after we moved in together (so it's been about four years now). We don't bother keeping our own separate accounts; we just both get our paycheques deposited into the joint account. I know that my in-laws object to this idea and have NEVER operated that way, whereas my parents have always just had one account. We (DH and I) just find this MUCH simpler because we don't have to think about moving money around a lot. That said, DH and I are both very good with money and trust one another not to do anything crazy with the money. We find it easier to just have money in one place rather than separate ones (other than savings, RRSPs, etc.).

This is what we do. We deposit all but a few dollars into our joint account. We save a few dollars each for our own splurges. Girls night, poker, etc. Much simpler. My parents did it this way, In laws still have seperate accounts after 35 years or marriage. Seems like a pain in the butt.

xc1148 · August 2014

We also have separate finances, but I would recommend a separate account for baby. Also, depending on your relationship, you could divide/conquer certain bills as they come in.

@SerenityAE I work in finance so I take this stuff very seriously...you need to get a plan together! I'm very big on women being financially independent for this reason. If you are not making enough to support you and your baby, and your boyfriend is not honest with you, something needs to change. Good luck

SerenityAE · August 2014

@xc1148

Thanks!

He's honest, he tells me flat out what he spends money on, but a lot of times its things that shouldn't be a priority anymore.

I've always been huge on being financially independent, and up until now have been pretty self sufficient. I pay all my own bills and for most of my own food/household items, even though we live together I don't like asking him for money.

I am compiling for him an exact list of the prices of items we need (car seat, crib, dresser, glider, swing, etc) as well as a rough estimate of monthly diapers/formula. Then I'm going to print it up and show it to him. I think its mostly just lack of knowledge about the price of having a kid.

erien · August 2014

Medical costs is the one thing we didnt budget for. Big mistake. DS had 5 ear infections in 5 months plus his regular well checks. Each infection would require two doctor visits plus meds. Then add those random visits to the doctor because you think there's something wrong but they tell you everything is normal.

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