My husband and I have a budget, and now that we are planning on having a child I’ve looked at some of the cost calculators. At first it really freaked my husband out. Most of the calculators throw out 5,000 to 0,000 to raise a child.
I had to point out that many of them calculate 35% of the total (35%!!!) to housing. Umm, did I plan on renting my baby his or her own apartment? These are costs that we ALREADY have! Some of the calculators include costs for rent or mortgage, phone, and utilities. What do they think I’m doing until I have a kid? Living in a box by the side of the road? 
Seriously, has anyone REALLY looked at these calculators? I find them humorous to slightly annoying (when everyone starts telling me how expensive it will be, and I have to point out what the actual costs will be, and which items I don’t have to worry about – such as day care). What do you think about them?
I’m glad people are getting second-hand stuff. We plan on getting mostly used and second hand (who really needs a brand-new outfit that will only fit for two or three months?).
I have taken into account things like all the extra bottles and accessories. We’ll be using cloth diapers mostly and disposable diapers sometimes (like getting up in the middle of the night).
As far as daycare and school I’ll be staying home and homeschooling (at least that’s the plan right now). Oregon has an awesome network for that! Even pass-me-down books so you don’t have to spend so much.
Our current car will fit two kids and us, but we’ll be saving in case it conks out in a few years. However, we buy all our cars used – my Tracker cost ,000 and my hubby’s Lincoln (which is super-nice and all-leather interior) cost ,000. Usually our cars last about 10 years, so we’ll see.
Yeah, the calculators are usually birth to 18 years or so, plus college.
Since my kid may not get a full scholarship like I did (the rules are different in this state), we plan on starting college classes early (around 15 or 16) and extending the costs out over more years. It’s easy to do that whether you’re in public school or homeschooling, depending on the program in the area. Of course, I really can’t dictate that the kid go to college, except to take classes when they’re younger like that. So we’ll see.
Most caculators say they’re in "today’s dollars." But what most people don’t remember about inflation is that your paycheck also goes up, so it’s not as bad as the costs go up as it may first seem. Just a little more expensive.
Actually, diapers aren’t so expensive when you use cloth ones. Plus, the waste they save from landfills more than makes up for it.
Personally I think they’re dumb. Apparently in the first year to have a baby it costs like $30000 according to some calculators. I use cloth diapers, breast fed and bought all my clothes second hand from a set of twins. I did cheat a bit and use disposables at night because I didn’t like getting up 3 times a night to change the cloth ones LOL. I got tons of presents including gift cards for my baby and I got lots of things second hand. I got the playpen I wanted from my mom, I used $300 we got towards a $400 stroller and carseat combo and I got the matching swing for $130 on sale. I splurged on myself and bought the matching diaper bag for $50 LOL. My high chair, bouncy chair and baby – toddler rocking chair were all second hand for about $120. Personally, we only spent about $1000 on our daughter. I still have all the stuff and I am 23 weeks pregnant with a boy due in Sept. I went out since I found out I was pregnant and started to buy clothes second hand. I only spent about $100 and I have enough clothes for the first 6 months. So far we’ve only spent likely $1200 on both children.
I think that it’s all what you’re willing to do, willing to have and if you’re materialistic in nature. Some people can be simple like us and second hand clothes don’t bother them, while others like to have everything new each time they have a baby. I personally think the most expensive things for children are REALLY good toys that will teach them, daycare (you don’t want to go cheap on it unless you know you got a good babysitter/daycare provider!) and school. Other than that I pay for a place for my husband and myself to live. If I didn’t have kids it would be the same for us. I think that some of the calculators incur the cost of buying bigger houses to have your kids living in and all the extra rooms you’ll need and the heat to keep them warm. We live in a two bedroom + 1 bedroom house and we’re snug and comfy and could likely do one or two more kids here. Hope this helps.
I’ve never used them. To me its unrealistic. If I have a couple hundred extra dollars per month, I have enough for a kid. Prices go up, but so do paychecks. Gently used items and hand-me-downs are pretty much expected in my budget. I don’t expect to be given things, but I do expect to use used things instead of buying everything new. It gets even easier to calculate with more kids. I still need diaper money, but I don’t have to buy a new wardrobe per child every 3 months. Breastfeeding helps costs too, although I chose to breastfeed for health and allergy reasons.
The cost that go up are food, clothing, and yeah, if you are in a one bedroom apartment, rent. Calculators are ridiculous, because every area and situation is different…
That being said – there are soo many hidden cost that you don’t even think about. Board books when they hit that age – and they get bored fast, new toys, the constant need for clothes, the utility bill that soars because you are doing twice the laundry, dishes, etc., and are up at all hours of the night, and keep your home just right as far as the tempature goes, diapers, wipes, replacing nipples on bottles, replacing bottles, baby food, tylenol, tissues, toiletries, etc. I’m going to have to go get a new bathseat tonight! She doesn’t like to lay back in the bath anymore – I had two already (atleast they were given to me) It’s probably best to go in a bit blind, truthfully! Otherwise, it would be daunting to the best of us.
If those calculators were even close to correct, wouldn’t child support payments be $600 a month MANDATORY per child, with no regards to the dad’s actual income?
Some people will actually have higher housing costs if they have a child, because they’ll need a bigger house. If you’re living in a studio or 1-bedroom apartment, you’re probably going to have higher housing expenses after your child is born. My husband and I shared an old Toyota Corolla before kids and took public transportation a lot. Now with four kids we have a Camry and a minivan or there’d just be no way to fit the kids and get them to school and my husband to work. I doubt new car is in the calculator, but things like that do come up….
But clearly they’re useful only to the extent that you look through them and see what is and is not relevant to your own life. They’re just a tool, nothing more, and better overinclusive (and you can do a little subtraction) than leave something important out that you then forget to budget for. It certainly makes more sense to budget than not. It also makes sense to find the budgeting tool that’s most relevant to your unique situation.
Here’s one thing… It’s not saying that you need 6 figures per YEAR… It’s saying kids from birth to 18 years old.
Most calculators are geared for the people who are starting out from scratch in a small place with no hand-me-downs and geared towards the convenience of formula, of course, but of course, no calculator is 100% accurate; you can have the most rudimentary things and save, or you can raise the kid with a silver spoon in its mouth and come out more lavish than the calculator!
I found a calculator that you can cut out the mortgage of, and it still shows about $130,000, which if you cut it all down equally (just an example; this amount is an uneven fluctuation), it’s $7,222.22 per year, and $601.85 per month. And this calculator didn’t say whether it’s considering inflation!
First couple years, of course, would be more: Diapers (unless you don’t mind cloth diapers that you have to wash human waste out of), food (a 4-month-old can’t share your T-bone steak at the table), clothing, toys (children cry when they’re bored… That’s one mystery to go) etc. Then as s/he grows, keep in mind daycare and pre-school aren’t on the dollar of our taxes… Then, even the epitome of a Romanian gymnast with 1% body fat will outgrow their clothes, then there’s school supplies— I could be here all day brewing up different expenses!