Cost of children, say it's not true!

BostonB

ash23 wrote: »

...

Having said that, I've just the one so there are no hand me downs in our house. I'd imagine subsequent children would be slightly cheaper to raise.

That would depend if the clothes survive, are the siblings the same sex, or are the same size at that time of year. For example you might need summer clothes when its the winters that fit.

ash23

BostonB wrote: »

That would depend if the clothes survive, are the siblings the same sex, or are the same size at that time of year. For example you might need summer clothes when its the winters that fit.

Agree, I was more talking about school uniforms, equiptment (bikes etc) and often you'd get a creche discount for the second one. Plus discounts for some school costs (going on my own school) and extra curricular activities (again, going on my own experiences).
You can also buy one thing for both , for example a games console/new game. And some of the fixed costs will be the same in terms of household costs.

It's not a lot cheaper but some costs can be lessened for the second and subsequent children. i'm the youngest in our large family so I know all the tricks for hand me downs

BostonB

Food costs increase though. I bring home a 6 pack of apples and get laughed at.

ash23

BostonB wrote: »

Food costs increase though. I bring home a 6 pack of apples and get laughed at.

Oh of course.
I just meant that if it costs 200k to raise the first one, it might only cost 185k to raise the second one

cynder

ash23 wrote: »

Oh of course.
I just meant that if it costs 200k to raise the first one, it might only cost 185k to raise the second one

My boys have only 17 months between them, i normally have to buy 2 of everything, holidays get dearer when you add a 3 child, you have a lot more gp bills if one gets something the whole house gets it and all at differnt times so no doubling up on the doctor. Also depends if the second + children are healthy or have dissabilities.

Bottom line is kids are as expensive as you make them, buy them stuff from pennys or buy them brand name clothes!

dan_d

I wasn't aware people put a price on kids or the having of them.

Bottom line for me is that any future kids will be expensive. Dunnes all the way, hand on as many clothes as possible (coz that's how I and my sisters and cousins were brought up, and it went on til the late 90's or more), one dinner for all every evening (eat it or starve!!!), ditto breakfast and lunch, and as many extra activities as we can afford.

What there won't be is designer clothing, a car at the age of 17 (Unless they can afford it themselves), copious amounts of pocket money and over-expensive, multiple holidays

School uniforms will just have to be paid for out a fund started in sept each year with a bit added to it every week. They're a necessary evil, end of. If it saves on extra washing and cleaning of clothes every day, then it's probably worth it in the long run.

I'm sure this is all pie in the sky, me not being a parent, but hey. One thing we won't do is have a kid until we're in secure enough jobs to support one.

LegacyUser

Secure enough jobs, what are those these days?

I know what you mean, I would never plow along regardless of whether I could afford it and hope for the best, it's too important.

I agree with the saving a little bit every week. My parents did this before free college fees came in so we all had a few grand behind us when we left school and security for loans.

f9710145

My boys are 5 and 3 and haven't cost that much so far.
Year 1 was pretty cheap - babygros and vesys in dunnes/penneys. Nappies in Lidl. Formula. Got a cheap enough cot, got a 'last year's model' buggy with car seat in the sale (about €70 5 years ago, used it for no 2, kept it for possible no 3). No changing table, no nappy bin, no baby bath for first one, did invest the whole €6 for no 2. Didn't use baby monitors. Had a room with built in wardrobe.
Then €900 a month for childcare between 9mth and 2yrs when we had no 2. Went back to a 4 day week and grannies did a bit of minding so paid €1000 for childcare between them until I was made redundant, about 2yrs. Since no 2 was also a boy and born at the same time of year we had to buy almost no new clothing and all the equipment was reused.
Since no2 turned 2 we haven't been on a sun hol, we ferry to britain and either stay with cousins or bring a tent. They're a bit wild so this suits us all better than a boring sun hol.
Christmas and birthdays are not extravagant events. Nice clothing is bought a year or 2 in advance in the sales in debenhams, Next, M&S, etc. and the rest in dunnes/penneys. Now my 5yo only wants to live in €4 track bottoms and tshirts so that's grand. For school he got 1 crested jumper (€25), bought a spare in M&S, uncrested, for £2stg (sickening) but they have to have the crest for next year. Bought 2 shirts, 2 trousers for about €15 in dunnes. School tie was €3 and school tracksuit (wears it in 2 days a week) was €30. Jumper will do next year too and if it's ok then no 2 will wear it after, only one pair of trousers has been worn and one shirt so less expense for no 2. Shoes were in tk maxx for €24. Think one month children's allowance covers school gear, inc the €50 for books. Bag and lunchbox were €10.
We are in the process of trying to move to a bigger house (in 3 bed) but are downgrading the area very slightly (1.5 miles) for a 4 bed with 2 extra reception rooms and garden 3 times as big, for a whole €10k more than our current one. And will be walking distance to school so no transport costs from primary.

So while they certainly aren't cheap, so far we've spent only a bare fraction of the estimate for those first 5 years.

...and they can sing for a car...

Moonbeam

There are 2 years between my 2 girls and the eldest is 2 so no experience of school yet.
They cost us in 2 ways..All the stuff for the baby cost less then 1k,fancy buggy/pram,2nd buggy for creche,car seat,isofix base,cot,bouncer,playmat,bottles,sterilisers,sling so on that front I don't think children are too expensive.
I needed/choose to buy a double buggy for the 2nd and a different fancy sling,she needed nothing else.

What does "cost" us a fortune is 800pm part time creche,me changing from a 5 day to a 3 day week in work,the mortgage for a 2nd house.

I bulk buy nappies on sale,her formula is on precription so does cost us at least 100 euro pm.

I have to say I don't really notice the lost money because I am too busy with my girls and the money that would have been saved jsut gets spent now!

It will get fun when I go back to work though,creche for 2...

cynder

My first cost 2k before she was even born, my second guy cost aroundt eh same and the 3rd guy in fact cost more because we had to get a double buggy and it was winter it was 1k for the Jane twin two travel system/foot-muffs alone. Kids are as expensive as you make them. Could have easily got a graco twin buggy for 150€ but its wasnt as nice or as comfy as the Jane. The Jane was that nice it got stolen 2 weeks after the baby was born (thankfully we had insurance and went and got another one)

angelfire9

I have no idea how much our eldest has cost us its not something I think about to be honest
If she needs clothes or shoes or whatever she'll get them
She is the eldest of all her cousins so we had to get everything from scratch
Having said that I was given her cot and her graco travel system as presents when I was pregnant and 10 years (and 4 cousins later) they are back in my house for Aisling

As the first grandchild we got LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of clothes & presents for her and babies grow out of stuff so fast some of the stuff we got for her was passed on to my first niece with the tags still on!

With Aisling we got at least 6 big black bags of clothes from 0-12 months from friends & family who were finished with their stuff and I have a friend who is due her first in September and she will be getting alot of Aisling's stuff passed on to her (baby car seat, swing chair, clothes (if she has a girl) etc etc)

Babies and kids can be expensive but there are always options and ways to save money
For our eldest her school tracksuit is always bought a size too big and because its baggy anyway no one takes any notice and it does her 2 years provided she doesn't act the maggot
She only wears it one day a week to school and wears the ordinary uniform the rest of the time (which is bought in Dunnes and therefore much cheaper to replace)
School books can be bought second hand so footwear is the only major expense

To be honest money is only a small factor for us when having kids
Sleep deprivation and teething are far bigger issues

Mr. Presentable

To be honest, those reports are cobblers.

They are written to be sensational, priced as expensively as possible.

How can someone spend 60k in less than eight years on creche and school? Is it a gold - plated creche, an ivory school? The child is surely not in creche once it starts school.

A grand for a buggy? Are ye mad?

I take particular issue with the figure in the OP for childcare. Mind your own children! c€75,000 :eek: Does you 16 year old need baby sitting?

And yes, I have a child of my own so I know the figures are nonsense. We do not buy special food for her so she eats from our family spend - of course it costs a little more than if it were just ourselves, but not much.

So, OP, as someone else said, you can spend as much as you can, or spend as much as you need.

cynder

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

A grand for a buggy? Are ye mad?

.

No, it was a good buggy! we would rather spend the money we have on the kids, then in the pub! you could count the amount of times we out out to the pub in a year on our hands... less than 10 times a year.

In 2 more years will we never need a babysitter again our eldest wiill be old enough to look after the younger ones.... Might be able to go to the cinema more than once a year then:D

ash23

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

How can someone spend 60k in less than eight years on creche and school? Is it a gold - plated creche, an ivory school? The child is surely not in creche once it starts school.

I take particular issue with the figure in the OP for childcare. Mind your own children! c€75,000 :eek: Does you 16 year old need baby sitting?

Year 0 to 3 @ 850 per month = €30600
Year 4 to 5.5 @ 650 per month = €11700
Years 5.5 to 12 @ 325 for 9 months (school) and 650 for 3 months (holidays) = 31687

Total childcare from birth to 12 years is just under 74k.

As for "mind your own children"....eh, i work. Full time therefore even though mychild is in school, she requires care after school, holidays, mid terms, half days etc etc etc..........

Oh and thats not even factoring in the costs associated with school.

And no, no ivy league anything here. just a normal creche. Normal creche fees.

Ayla

ash23 wrote: »

Total childcare from birth to 12 years is just under 74k.

As for "mind your own children"....eh, i work. Full time therefore even though mychild is in school, she requires care after school, holidays, mid terms, half days etc etc etc..........

That has single-handedly confirmed to me that my husband & I are doing the right thing in sacrificing professional aspirations in order to care for our children. Although we've known it all along - we've always placed higher priority to our parental responsibilities than the need to have a career path - there is no way we'd be able to afford €74000 for childcare.

This is why I work part-time during the day & my husband works for minimum wage working evenings/nights in a convenience shop. Neither job is "going anywhere" but it means that one of us is always home with the kids (and means that we don't fork out a second mortgage for creche costs).

Having kids is very personal, and how the challenges of doing so are dealt with is very personal, but there *are* ways of cutting costs.

cynder

ash23 wrote: »

Total childcare from birth to 12 years is just under 74k.

.

Thats just for 1 child!

Moonbeam

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

To be honest, those reports are cobblers.

They are written to be sensational, priced as expensively as possible.

How can someone spend 60k in less than eight years on creche and school? Is it a gold - plated creche, an ivory school? The child is surely not in creche once it starts school.

A grand for a buggy? Are ye mad?

I take particular issue with the figure in the OP for childcare. Mind your own children! c€75,000 :eek: Does you 16 year old need baby sitting?

And yes, I have a child of my own so I know the figures are nonsense. We do not buy special food for her so she eats from our family spend - of course it costs a little more than if it were just ourselves, but not much.

So, OP, as someone else said, you can spend as much as you can, or spend as much as you need.

1100pm for creche fees adds up fast.
A grand for a buggy seems pretty normal,in Ireland buggies and stuff can be very expensive.A full quinny travel system here would add up to nearly that and nearly everyone seems to have quinnys.
Ours also would have been just over a grand here but I bought it in the uk.
If children have special food needs it adds up too.

Ayla

I was in Mothercare awhile back & was gob-smacked at the price of buggies. We've never bought one & I can't imagine paying that much on one thing!

Our eldest is now 4.6 yrs and the youngest is 19 months and we've never used a buggy (other than a little umbrella-type one that cost about €30). It's been slings until they can walk, then they walk.

Mr. Presentable

Ayla wrote: »

I was in Mothercare awhile back & was gob-smacked at the price of buggies. We've never bought one & I can't imagine paying that much on one thing!

Our eldest is now 4.6 yrs and the youngest is 19 months and we've never used a buggy (other than a little umbrella-type one that cost about €30). It's been slings until they can walk, then they walk.

This is it. Our buggy was a c€50 foldy. People are mental to be paying what Mothercare are guilting them into thinking they should.

ash23

Ayla wrote: »

That has single-handedly confirmed to me that my husband & I are doing the right thing in sacrificing professional aspirations in order to care for our children. Although we've known it all along - we've always placed higher priority to our parental responsibilities than the need to have a career path - there is no way we'd be able to afford €74000 for childcare.

This is why I work part-time during the day & my husband works for minimum wage working evenings/nights in a convenience shop. Neither job is "going anywhere" but it means that one of us is always home with the kids (and means that we don't fork out a second mortgage for creche costs).

Having kids is very personal, and how the challenges of doing so are dealt with is very personal, but there *are* ways of cutting costs.

It's not always about career aspirations. I place no importance on my career. I am a single parent and my choices are work and use childcare or live off state benefits. it must be great to be able to avoid childcare but it's not always an option. As for not being able to afford to pay 74k in childcare, it's 6k per year on average so most wages will cover the cost of childcare with surplus for bills etc.
It adds up but it's do-able.

Cat Melodeon

I can't believe the creche fees some of you are paying. Are you sure you're not being ripped off? Would it not be cheaper to hire a childminder when you have more than 1? €1100 a month is insane. I know I'm down the country but if my lad was in his lovely new-built creche full-time 5 days a week it would be about a third of that. We're lucky he's only in 2 days a week for now (my brother minds him some days), but no way could I afford to work if it cost what you are being charged. I'd be investigating alternative arrangements - your creches mustn't be getting their rents reviewed.

ash23

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

I can't believe the creche fees some of you are paying. Are you sure you're not being ripped off? Would it not be cheaper to hire a childminder when you have more than 1? €1100 a month is insane. I know I'm down the country but if my lad was in his lovely new-built creche full-time 5 days a week it would be about a third of that. We're lucky he's only in 2 days a week for now (my brother minds him some days), but no way could I afford to work if it cost what you are being charged. I'd be investigating alternative arrangements - your creches mustn't be getting their rents reviewed.

My creche fees have been the same since my daughter started school 4 years ago. Not increased nor decreased. it's 15 euro per day and 30 a day for full time. She's 8. I've been looking for a minder for less than that and no joy.
It may be worth getting someone in if you've a few children but for one child, creche is generally the cheapest option. Who would work full time for €850 per month?(what I was paying when she was a baby). That's about €4.90 an hour.

BostonB

Not everyone can carry a heavy baby, or maybe they have more than one that need carrying or controlling. The weight difference between pushing something a a graco twin vs some thing with tyres is massive. Then you add shopping etc.

Ayla

BostonB wrote: »

Not everyone can carry a heavy baby, or maybe they have more than one that need carrying or controlling. The weight difference between pushing something a a graco twin vs some thing with tyres is massive. Then you add shopping etc.

My husband has a very bad back & could easily carry our 3-yr old on mountain hikes in a wrap. I carried our 1st daughter through town along with our grocery shopping (which I toted behind me in one of those granny-type wheelie trollies). I agree, it's not easy, but neither is trying to get up a flight of steps with a buggy! :eek:

Remember me

As a single mother I cant afford expensive things for my child so I would definatley not spend that much on my son. It totally depends on what you buy them / spend on them etc.
Cost cutting measures can go a long way without affecting your child, cheaper foostores (aldi / Lidl etc), second hand shops for clothes (you really can get some loely things and all you have to do is pop them in the wash at home) cheap toys such as paints (can go a long way) etc. You can raise a child on a shoe string and they can still be as happy as a child with hundreds spend on them.

BostonB

Ayla wrote: »

My husband has a very bad back & could easily carry our 3-yr old on mountain hikes in a wrap. ...

We're not talking about the same thing if you can do a mountain hike never mind with a 3yr old on your back.

cynder

Remember me wrote: »

As a single mother I cant afford expensive things for my child so I would definatley not spend that much on my son. It totally depends on what you buy them / spend on them etc.
Cost cutting measures can go a long way without affecting your child, cheaper foostores (aldi / Lidl etc), second hand shops for clothes (you really can get some loely things and all you have to do is pop them in the wash at home) cheap toys such as paints (can go a long way) etc. You can raise a child on a shoe string and they can still be as happy as a child with hundreds spend on them.

I was raised on a shoe string while my dad got drunk every night of the week. That's why my kids get decent stuff, i hate seeing that happen yet it is fairly common for adults to prioritise drink / their enjoyment over providing for their children. Cheap shoes that would cut the heals off you and skin your feet, second hand clothes, been there done that it will never happen to my kids.

I was a single mom for 3 years even though i was still with the babys dad (he was away at college), every penny i had went on her, he dad didnt give me anything as he was at college and i never asked for anything.

Ayla

BostonB wrote: »

We're not talking about the same thing if you can do a mountain hike never mind with a 3yr old on your back.

I'm not sure what you're saying here?

I mentioned the hike b/c you said that "not everyone can carry a heavy baby" - I was just pointing out that (although I know there are exceptions) many people *can* do it, they just chose not to. Obviously that's their choice, but if we're talking about ways to cut costs, paying €60 for a sling vs. €1,000 for a buggy is one way.

Ayla

grindelwald wrote: »

...it is fairly common for adults to prioritise drink / their enjoyment over providing for their children. Cheap shoes that would cut the heals off you and skin your feet, second hand clothes, been there done that it will never happen to my kids.

I personally don't know any parent who prioritises themselves over the needs of their children. There are some, I don't doubt it, but I think it's unfair to make a comment that "it's fairly common."

As far as second-hand clothes, what's wrong with them? Most of my children's clothes are preowned, and if I'm honest, so are many of my own clothes. Just b/c it's second-hand doesn't mean it's tatty, and it makes my kids appreciate new all the more when they get it.

cynder

Ayla wrote: »

I'm not sure what you're saying here?

I mentioned the hike b/c you said that "no everyone can carry a heavy baby" - I was just pointing out that (although I know there are exceptions) many people *can* do it, they just chose not to. Obviously that's their choice, but if we're talking about ways to cut costs, paying €60 for a sling vs. €1,000 for a buggy is one way.

Many people can just carry a baby they dont need to buy a sling. They could also buy a stroller for €40 in smyths. The buggy was also a twin buggy for two babies cant really have a 17month old on one hip and a new born on the other, i remember going for a walk in the woods with the then 3 year old and 1.5 year old =(3 and 2.5 stone) managed to walk 2 mile with them one on either hip never again! would i recommend it, NO.