6 Months In
How much does a baby cost if you’re frugal? It’s really easy to spend a fortune, but we found it hard to find examples of those who are more careful with their money.
The Big Issue
Money can be up there with the biggest worries for new parents. Baby costs are often cited as a reason why couples decide not to have children.
This is understandable considering the commercialisation of anything baby-related. There are endless gadgets and fashion statements out there for new parents. Clever marketing teams are tasked with guilt-tripping you into buying their products. You’re led to believe that if you don’t buy the latest gadgets your baby will be left behind!
Falling for this ethos, many of our peers greeted the news of our impending baby with statements like:
Say goodbye to all of your money then!
As we’re a frugal pair, we wanted to disprove these predictions of our financial downfall! We were determined to make sure Baby Way didn’t drain our accounts, while also making sure he didn’t miss out.
In reality, a baby needs very little. Most of their basic needs can be met for very little cost, or even free.
So How Did We Get On?
As our little man has just turned 6 months, we thought it would be a good benchmark to assess our baby costs so far. If you’re considering having kids yourself, we hope this can be a really useful guide for how much to allow.
Below is the table with all costs incurred to date.
We’ve been very lucky with family and friends gifting/loaning many items to us. We appreciate not everybody will be in this position, so we’ve included a column for what we would have spent otherwise!
| Category | Cost to Us | Notes | Cost Without Help | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baby Clothes | £0 | Lots as gifts, mostly second hand | £30 | Facebook marketplace is awash with bargains |
| Pregnancy Vitamin Tablets | £8 | £8 | ||
| Antenatal Class | £80 | Hypno-birthing | £80 | |
| Cot | £80 | Aldi bed-side crib | £80 | |
| Nappies | £100 | Second hand reusable nappies | £100 | |
| Pram | £0 | Free!! | £0 | See explanation below |
| Car Seat | £0 | Free from a friend | £200 | See explanation below |
| Bambalino Stretchy Wrap | £5 | Baby carrier for £5 off Facebook! | £5 | |
| Books | £27 | Various books, bought second hand | £27 | |
| Baby Scan Photo | £5 | £5 | ||
| Baby Bath | £5 | Second hand | £5 | |
| Yoga | £21 | £21 | ||
| Reusable Post-partum Pads | £25 | £25 | ||
| Baby Bed Sheets | £30 | £30 | ||
| Second Hand Baby Sleeping Bags | £20 | £20 | ||
| Yoga/Birthing Ball | £13 | £13 | ||
| Second Hand Baby Clothes | £25 | £25 | ||
| Breastfeeding Cream | £17 | £17 | ||
| Breastfeeding Bras | £3 | We used an M&S voucher! | £33 | |
| Perineal Ice Packs | £19 | Pain relief! | £19 | |
| Tablets/Vitamins | £100 | We went a bit far here - could have been much cheaper! | £100 | |
| Baby Thank You Cards | £26 | £26 | ||
| Baby Classes | £180 | Various classes/courses both online and in person | £180 | |
| Birth Certificates | £22 | £22 | ||
| Baby Carrier | £11 | £11 | ||
| Baby Cups | £14 | £14 | ||
| High Chair | £0 | Christmas present | £45 | From Aldi |
| Finger Puppets | £9 | £9 | ||
| Cheeky Wipes | £15 | For weaning | £15 | |
| Weaning Bibs | £32 | £32 | ||
| Total | £892 | £1,197 |
So how much does a baby cost? As you can see, we’ve spent a total of £892 in the first 6 months. We wanted to explain a few of the big spends/savings below.
Clothes
There’s really no need to buy any new baby clothes. There are so many bundles of second hand ones available online. One of our friends bought us loads on Facebook marketplace for a total of about £30. Most of them are barely worn because babies outgrow them so quickly!
We also received some as gifts when he was born. We’re intending to sell all of them on when we’re finished with them so might even make some money back!
After that, we bought a few more things ourselves, totalling £25.
Pram
We managed to get a pram for free. It was from Mr Way’s parents and was the one he used when he was a baby 30 years ago!!
However, if we hadn’t got this pram for free, we genuinely wouldn’t have bought one. This is one of the big costs for most couples, with some of our peers spending over £1,000 on a fancy bling pram!
We have only used the pram we received once. And that was just to try it out!
Every time we go out with Baby Way, we use a sling to carry him. Not only is this easier for us, but it’s also better for him. Babies are much happier when they’re closer to their parents and slings can be a really great bonding experience.
We absolutely recommend baby wearing and would suggest anyone having a baby should give it a go. If you want any tips please get in touch!
We don’t just use the sling to go out and about. Baby Way loves it and we often wear it around the house. This means we can be ‘hands free’ and get chores done. He usually ends up falling asleep in it – bonus!
We have a few baby carriers, but the one we use the most is the Bambalino stretchy wrap. It’s basically a long piece of fabric which you tie around your torso! We managed to find it for only £5 on Facebook Marketplace and we love it. In fact, if we could go back, we would only buy this one!
Car Seat
Car seats are a tricky one. The general advice is to avoid buying second hand. This is because you can’t tell whether the seat has been in an accident and is therefore unsafe. However, we were lucky to have friends who were getting rid of one. This did us both a favour, as they wouldn’t have been able to sell it anyway!
The seat we received was a Maxi-Cosi Pebble, with an Iso-fix base.
If we hadn’t received this, we would probably have bought something like this. It costs £200 but should last all the way up until they’re 12!
This cost shows how beneficial it is to get one from a trusted friend! It’s well worth asking around to see if someone you know and trust is getting rid.
Bed-side Crib
For the first 6 months we wanted to use a bed-side crib. We wanted Baby Way right next to us so Miss Way could soothe him when he wakes in the night. This worked really well and he loved his crib. He has just about out-grown it now and is in the process of moving into a full size cot (still next to our bed). The bed-side crib was perfect for the first 6 months though.
Ours came from Aldi and was a cheaper version of the branded ones. It was £80 compared to over £150 for a branded version!
High Chair
We recently moved on to weaning. This means giving the baby proper food rather than just milk!
For this, we wanted a high chair so Baby Way could sit at the table with us. Many people go for the IKEA Antilop which is a really good budget option. However, we wanted something wooden. We also wanted one which would last longer. From our research, we really wanted a Stokke Tripp Trapp. They grow with the child and can be used until they’re a teenager. But they are ridiculously expensive and we couldn’t justify it.
Thankfully, on one of our weekly shops, Mr Way spotted a cheap version in Aldi! Even better, Miss Way’s parents decided to buy us the high chair for Christmas! Our high chair for our baby cost £45 from Aldi and is brilliant so far.
Furniture
Many people end up buying loads of furniture for their baby, including changing tables, feeding chair etc. They kit out a nursery to the highest standard, to the tune of £1,000s.
Our secret? We haven’t even got a nursery! Baby Way sleeps in our bedroom so doesn’t need his own room. We’re intending to keep it this way for at least the next few years.
We also didn’t find a changing table necessary at all. We simply have a changing mat laid on the floor, which slides under the bed when not in use.
Summary
The main point here is that your baby doesn’t NEED anything flash. It would be very easy to go out and buy new versions of everything, but there’s really no need. Your baby won’t know any different!
Most of our purchases were second hand from Facebook marketplace. We also intend to re-sell most of our stuff once we’re finished with it. This will effectively reduce our baby costs even further as we’ll make some of it back!
Don’t get caught up in the marketing frenzy with all the fancy new gadgets your baby MUST HAVE! Just stick to the basics and give them what they truly need.
We also benefitted from asking for a few of the items as gifts from family members for birthday/Christmas. This helped keep the cost even lower!
What About Lost Income?
Of course, the real cost to us has been the fact Miss Way is on maternity leave. We calculated the cost of that in our Baby Impact Assessment so we won’t go into it here and will just stick to the direct costs.
Everyone is in a different situation when it comes to parental leave, so it would really open a can of worms. For example, we know people who get 6 months off on full pay!
Secret Weapon
Having spent £892 in 6 months, we think we’re doing quite well to minimise our baby cost. The impact on our own overall spending has been minimal. As you can see in our 2020 Financial Review we’re still doing really well towards our FIRE goals.
However, it gets even better!
In the UK, we can claim Child Benefit. As he’s our first child, we’re entitled to £21.05 per week!
In his first 6 months, this means he has earnt us £553!
Taking this into account, the total cost for 6 months has actually only been £339. A bargain!
How much does a baby cost? Not very much!!
This is really cool. I hear ‘babies are EXPENSIVE’ so often in the mainstream media, but it’s just not true! Well done on keeping your costs reasonable, this article should be really widely read so people understand that all these high costs are optional.