I still remember before I became a Mum speaking to friend’s who were starting a family and them telling me that they had received mixed advice on when to have a baby. Some people would say “you need to save up before you start a family” whereas others would say “if you wait until you can afford it, you’ll never have a family”.
Making small changes
Starting a family is no small decision, everyone knows that it won’t come cheap but just as you make allowances for when you want that new dress, that holiday or a new car, you make allowances and changes to your lifestyle to enable you to have that longed-for family. Well I know that’s what we did for sure.
Start shopping early
Even before Lillie was born we began buying packs of nappies and wipes in the weekly shop to give ourselves a stash to get us started. We bought a few neutral items of clothing since we didn’t know whether she was a boy or a girl and we shopped around to find a pram, cot and all the nursery equipment at the best prices whilst still finding something we loved.
Life changes
Being pregnant meant that I wasn’t drinking, though we would still go out with friends and hit the clubs on an evening out. Once she arrived though, all thoughts of socialising went out of the window since we were so in love with our new little bundle. Having a night out just didn’t feature in our thoughts and so that made for savings.
The average cost is . . .
All that said though, there were certainly times that we have stopped and asked ourselves how much money we have spent on raising each of our Beans, from buying baby equipment, toys and clothes to nappies, wipes, creams and skincare, milk formula and baby food, then for the working parent there’s childcare to factor in too. There’s so much to think about, the answer could be quite scary.
Are you ready to see the results? Busy Bees Nursery Leeds carried our research into the average cost of a baby’s first year which I am going to share with you now . . .
