I once had a friend whose motto was, “Relationships are hard, and kids are expensive.” Everyone hears about and knows that kids are expensive. But when? How? Is there anything I can do to plan for baby expenses?
Both of my children are still very young, so I can’t speak to what’s going to happen in the future. (I envision college being the worst hit to our budget, but that’s far enough away that we can plan accordingly.) I’m talking babies and toddlers. When are small children the most expensive?
When Is it the Worst?
In my opinion, 8–12 months are when babies are the most expensive. Here’s why. You will get a ton of baby supplies, baby clothes, diapers, and wipes from your initial baby showers. (With our first child, we didn’t have to buy diapers until she was at least 4 months old.) If you have another child, a lot of those big items will just be used again (i.e. diaper pails, cribs, baby strollers, car seats, etc…) If you are nursing, then you either don’t have to buy formula and bottle supplies at all or at least not very much. Not only that, but many jobs offer maternity leave. You aren’t paying for childcare yet. You are at home. In the beginning, it’s not that bad financially—you’ll be surprised.
Costs Increase at the 5-6 Month Mark
Around 5–6 months old, your baby will start eating baby food. They will increase their baby food intake to regular meals between 6–8 months. (So that includes baby breakfast, baby lunch, baby dinner, and lots of Puffs for snacks every week. If you don’t know what Puffs are—you will. Kids love them.) In addition, you have probably exhausted your baby shower supply of diapers and wipes. You are now buying those every other week. (For us, we used one brand for daytime, and a different brand for night-time.)
Personally, I weaned both of my daughters between 8 and 9 months of age. That meant we were buying a double package of formula every week on top of our baby food, diapers, and wipes. (Formula is NOT cheap. Aside from breast milk being the healthiest thing for your baby to drink, it is also the easiest on your budget. It’s free!)
In addition, your maternity leave has probably ended by this point. You are paying for a babysitter or daycare each week. (Also NOT cheap.)
Growing Like Weeds
Finally, babies progress through clothes very, very quickly in their first year of life. In fact, my second daughter was only in 6-month clothes for one month before she jumped up to 9 month clothes. (She’s off the charts in height and weight—in a completely healthy way! My hubby and I are very tall people; 6’0” and 6’4” respectively.) Luckily she has been wearing big sister’s hand-me-downs, so we’ve saved a ton of money on clothes with her.
Here’s the quick breakdown for your wallet in this time of your baby’s life:
-Weekly: Baby breakfast, baby lunch, baby dinner, formula, and daycare/babysitting.
-Biweekly: Diapers and wipes
-Monthly: Sensitive laundry detergent. Did I mention that babies shouldn’t use regular laundry detergent on their sensitive skin? Also: baby lotion and baby soap.
-A 9-month wardrobe then a 12-month wardrobe (Let’s plan for $250 per wardrobe at least.) Plus a whole new round of bigger car seats. Babies often outgrow infant car seats in a year.
I’ve found the 8–12 month period to be the most expensive for both our daughters. At this age, babies are just bad for the budget. It gets infinitely better once you can replace formula with milk at age 1, and your baby starts eating some adult food on a regular basis.
And you can hope potty training comes early!
Q: When did you think your baby was the most expensive? What are your tips for surviving with your wallet intact?