|
Weekly/Monthly Baby Expenses This is a list that a friend made who was trying to figure out how much to budget for her newborn: This is what I figured after talking with new moms about their baby budgets. $30 wk for formula if you end up using it. Increase this number if you will use the premixed stuff or those nifty premeasured tubes they just came out with. Figure about $10 a month for breastfeeding supplies for yourself - nursing pads, creams etc (which you may or may not need for the first month or two) Breastfeeding is definitely a huge money saver! $10-$15 wk for diapers - this will go down as the child gets older - add about $3 - $5 per week for disposable wipes depending on where you shop/what brand etc... Of course, you can also save some money if you choose to use cloth diapers. There have been major advances made in cloth diapering. No more safety pins. Be sure you have a washer and dryer that work efficiently. Refills - depending on what nursery items you purchased, you'll need refills for some of them. Ex: Diaper Genie, most humidifier filters, etc. Baby Food - if using jar food, plan on $1.50 to $3 per day if you don't hit a sale. This will increase dramatically as they get older (if you don't feed pieces of your food, they will hit you for $1.30 + for a Gerber graduates meal - ouch!) If your making your own, it will be pennies per day for the first year. I registered for a baby food processor and had a blast making baby food. It was easy and I froze the leftovers in OXO brand ice cube trays because they come with a cover. You can read more about it in Super Baby Food. Cereals are pretty inexpensive and you don't use them for that long (boxes here are under $2 and will last for a few weeks depending on eating habits) Clothing - I'm assuming about $30 - $50 a month for the first 6 months, to fill in the gaps of what was purchased for me (extra onesies, hats, socks, must have outfits etc) After that, I'm assuming about $50 to $75 per month for clothing, and purchases for the months ahead (shopping the sale racks). Check out local consignment shops or Childrens' Consignment fundraisers. There are several in our area, and several of the clothes look like they were never worn. Toys - about $20 per month not counting holidays (you don't need much of anything the first few months, but once they get movin, you'll be toy shopping left and right! - granted I already filled a toy box with those "Awwwww - I gotta have it toys that I see while out shopping...sigh...) Yard sales are a wonderful place to buy gently used toys. Another good option is to check out FreeCycle.org. Sign up for your local list, there are always people giving away their kids old toys. A little cleanser and some elbow grease can make those used toys new again. And I must plug the Mr. Clean magic erasers. They are wonderful for cleaning used toys with scuffs or a textured surface! Also - don't forget about books and videos! I use the library, but our local dollar store has a huge book section with TONS of great books for infants/toddlers etc... Misc- Don't forget that things like batteries and convenience items will add up - it cost me about $20 in batteries just to load up my bouncers, swings and toys already! It might be a good idea to invest in rechargeable batteries. You'll be spending extra money on developing or printing pictures, as well as any portraits - and don't forget about things like tapes for your video camera! Snapfish.com has prepaid photo developing now. You can save a lot of money by buying prepaid points up front. Prints are as low as 15¢ each. Don't worry, if you have a digital camera you will use them! Try Snapfish – Get your first 20 prints from you digital camera FREE! Plus, low price of 19c per print. Also, if you plan on using a sitter for nights out, you'll need to budget money for that also! Happy Budgeting!!
|
