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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:09:27 AM EDT
My wife and I were on the computer trying to see how much we would spend on the first year of our baby's life.
Not counting the medical bill for the delivery, I came up with $18,000 for the first 12 months while my wife came up with $16,000. This includes diapers, formula, clothes, baby sitter, nanny, etc. Hate to see the numbers for 18 years 
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:10:54 AM EDT
[#1]
We didnt spend nearly that much, my wife stay home so the babysitter is out,
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:11:41 AM EDT
[#2]
If you raise them "free range" in the back yard, I've heard it's cheaper.  |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:12:50 AM EDT
[#3]
And that's just one of the reasons that the birthrate of Western nations has been declining precipitously.
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:13:05 AM EDT
[#4]
That's why you should hope for twins or triplets.
Keep one and sell the others to help fund the cost of rasing your new baby! |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:13:26 AM EDT
[#5]
It's all worth the first time you hear "Love you daddy"
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:13:33 AM EDT
[#6]
You'll make that up in slave labor... you've got them until the're 18..
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:14:42 AM EDT
[#7]
Nanny? I think only really rich people have nannies.
Ask around amongst your relatives who have already had kids. They each probably have a box or three of baby stuff in the attic that's just gathering dust. You'd be surprised what you can get for free. Obviously, you'll stillhave to pay for diapers and food and such, but you might just find that your aunt still has a good bassinet in her basement, etc. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:15:25 AM EDT
[#8]
The cost of diapers and formula alone is brutal. I'm glad we are at the point where we don't have to use formula, and he doesn't use nearly as many diapers as before (but as he needs bigger diapers, we get fewer for a given amount of money).
Can't wait 'til he goes away to college... 
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:27:03 AM EDT
[#9]
A big +1. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:39:47 AM EDT
[#10]
My two kids cost practically nothing.
Secrets? The wife is home where she belongs; raising the kids. Breast feeding is free. Toys and furniture can be obtained for practically nothing at thrift stores and from friends. Clothes are mostly hand me downs. Some of the clothes, I had wore thirty years previously. Medical care is provided by the U.S. Navy; free of charge. The only thing we spend money on is disposable diapers. They are not that expensive. Added to all of this, my wife and I still have time to homeschool our kids. Before they were ready for that, she still had enough time to be a nanny for someone else's kids. Someone that had a recent article written about them in Soldier of Fortune, interestingly enough. My advice is that you decide now if you want to be either parents or careerists. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:41:48 AM EDT
[#11]
I read in MONEY magazine that is is roughly $187k from conception to 18 years old on average.
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:41:48 AM EDT
[#12]
Preach it. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:47:42 AM EDT
[#13]
Well that right there is a big one that most parents don't have. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:51:36 AM EDT
[#14]
The 1st year is the cheap year! It just gets more expensive as they get older!
Nanny?? whats that? Its not in my vocabulary! |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 9:55:17 AM EDT
[#15]
You assume that the childbirth will be normal. My second son showed up two months early and spent a month in neonatal ICU. Bill from hospital: about 80K. Careflight for the wife: about 8k (which is not covered by insurance). If male, insurance doesn't cover circumcision. You assume also that your child will have no allergies, such as milk or normal formula or even breastmilk. Price ProSobee or some of the other soy based formulas. Most professional daycares charge upwards of $150/week for infant care. What if she has twins? Recalculate. Caveat. I wouldn't change a thing. People who are parents cannot place value on their kids. If you categorize having kids like a car purchase, you aren't ready. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:06:11 AM EDT
[#16]
I wouldn't mind it if my wife and I had that financial burden...
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:07:58 AM EDT
[#17]
$600 a month with part time day care and medical expenses.
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:13:43 AM EDT
[#18]
Two biggest expenses are nanny at $720/mo and health insurance at $280/mo.
Thank God he has no medical problems. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:15:10 AM EDT
[#19]
You make it all back when you sell them don't you?
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:19:39 AM EDT
[#20]
Mucho a-buncho!
 HH |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:20:07 AM EDT
[#21]
Our figures doesn't include the state prepaid college program for 4 years of education and 2 years of dorm. When he goes to grad school he'll have to do it himself.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about it. It took my wife and I 3 years to have this baby and we plan on having one or two more in near future. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:20:53 AM EDT
[#22]
Nanny? The most important job you and your wife will ever have is being a parent and teacher to your kids. Why would you subcontract that job to someone else? If you're going to do that, why not just subcontract out the insemination and gestation functions? If you know other families that have kids, you can trade clothes. We swap trash bags full of kids clothes with other families. It's not like they wear them out. We also get most of our kids' toys at garage sales. As pointed out above, breastfeeding is virtually free. Diapers are only about $1.25 a day per child. Edited to add: just saw your last post - congratulations!!! |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:26:24 AM EDT
[#23]
daycare = 1100/month
why- cause having the wife not work would put us in the poor house. why- cause we like actually living in a house... |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:27:21 AM EDT
[#24]
Baby sitting.........well OK everyone needs a night out once in a while. My wife nor myself have parents living and we do not live near realitives so the kids go where we go. It's not that big of a problem, you learn to live with it and as the kids get older they are typically well behaved.
Secondly............why are you worried about the cost of raising a kid if you can afford a nanny?? It's like owning a Ferrari and worrying about gas. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:27:56 AM EDT
[#25]
My Wife stayed home with the kids. That was our decision. We struggled through it. The Kids (Son and Daughter) turned our great. After raising them and paying for college it's quite a sum of money. But, I love you Mom and Dad makes everything worth it!
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:28:33 AM EDT
[#26]
$87,000
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:30:19 AM EDT
[#27]
I don't know where you guys come up with 18k....I added it up for my own curiousity and with part time day care I total $8k per year maintaining the same lifestyle we had before. Things are a little tighter around the house and we struggle to keep oil in the tank, but the equation works.
If the majority of your costs are medical....well, I don't know what else to say other than GET SOME INSURANCE!!!! To have our child, even with the complicated premature birth and month long hospital stay - only ran us $250 US Dollars. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:38:21 AM EDT
[#28]
I figured out that if you want to pay for private college tuition for your new child, assuming no scholarships, you have to lock away $75,000 in an investment account the day he or she is born.
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:38:40 AM EDT
[#29]
It take much more than having mom take care of the child all day to produce a "good" and productive kid. If it only took being around your kid all day, think how great all those kid in the ghetto would be since mom's there are usually home all day with the kid... doing nothing. My brothern sister and I grew up with both of our parents working full time jobs. We saw them in the morning and then again in the evening and on weekends and we all grew up okay. It is not the quantity of time you spend but the quality of the time you spend with children thats inportant. My greatest memories growing up are those that involve my dad and I out hunting, fishing and/or camping. Also, in the summer our family would go on two week car trips to all parts of the country.
Being a good parent also means providing for your family. It means living in good area, exposing your kids to arts and science, to teach them about different culture and food, showing them other alternatives. I want my kid to go and study in other countries, vacation in far away land, see interesting things and places. All that cost money and you have to work to make money. Do I feel guilty about having to leave my baby with a nanny for 7 hours per day while my wife and I work? Hell no! There are 24 hours per day and weekends for us to spend quality time together. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:39:56 AM EDT
[#30]
Don't use a baby sitter or nanny.
Feed the kidlet boob juice. Healthier for both kidlet and mom. If you still need money, buy 20 cloth daipers and use em. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:40:16 AM EDT
[#31]
Well said! |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:43:10 AM EDT
[#32]
I think both my wife and I calculated only $40 per month for formula.
The baby gets boob juice from mama all day and only gets formula at 2:00AM and 6:00AM feeding (when I let mom sleep and take care of feeding, changing and burping). ETA. we currently have over 250 plastic bags frozen and put away with 6-7oz of mama's boob juice for when she goes back to work. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:53:27 AM EDT
[#33]
This will be somewhat offset by the many times you will hear "I hate you!" as they get older. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 10:55:26 AM EDT
[#34]
i'd rather spend 18k on a transferable M16! they're only 12k, and that leaves $6k for ammo!
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Posted: 3/9/2006 11:05:09 AM EDT
[#35]
i never once even considered saying that to my parents. And even if I had, my dad would have just hit me with his belt.
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Posted: 3/9/2006 11:17:12 AM EDT
[#36]
Back when I was growing up (yes, that was a while ago) if your neighbor caught you doing something bad they would catch you and give you a whooping then they would grab you by your ear and drag you to your parents who would then give you another whooping. Whooping kept us
strait. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 11:18:13 AM EDT
[#37]
I was in this boat 8-months ago when my son was born, we where both working full time good jobs, $20+ an hour. I decided I wanted my son to be raised by his mother, not a stranger, she wanted to continue working some. We agreed that he would go to day care twice a week and she could work two days a week. Luckly she is very good at what she does and they where glad to have her, some places would have let her go.
Anyways her are my expenses: Diapers $40 a month Formula $120 a month Daycare two days a week $352 Ins. $130 Clothing ect. $20 $572 monthly, however if I include my wifes loss in pay it would be $3,200 more a month. $6,864 yearly in cost $38,400 in lost pay. It is worth it and she can go back to work full time when he starts school, private catholic school. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 11:28:27 AM EDT
[#38]
Insurance plays a role in our decision to have my wife going back to work.
If she stopped working I would have to insure her and the baby under my insurance policy and that would be about $800 per mo. Since my wife is going to work full time she gets insurance for $41 per month and only another $280 for the baby in her policy. We need to keep everybody insured for obvious reasons and since we are going to have another baby in near future we will need it. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 11:29:47 AM EDT
[#39]
i'm 22, and i think i may be from the last generation that ever got its ass kicked for fucking up |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 11:35:22 AM EDT
[#40]
+1 I can't imagine an $18000 bill for the first 12 months, unless you are paying for some very expensive day care. My wife is staying at home and raising our daughter. We buy diapers, and the occasional tin of formula so that we can bottle feed at times, but what else do you need? You can buy an outfit for an infant for $3. Of course, you can go to Babys'R'Us, and they'll give you a nice list of expensive things that you "just have to have". But raising kids if one parent is staying home can be very cheap. The big bill will come in 18 years if she's accepted to an Ivy League school. We're already saving in case that happens... |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 11:36:22 AM EDT
[#41]
They cost well over a quarter of a mil by the time they finish college...maybe more???
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Posted: 3/9/2006 12:59:57 PM EDT
[#42]
Thats why we signed on for the prepaid college plan. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 1:38:56 PM EDT
[#43]
The newest American Baby mag has the cost of raising a child until until as 180,000.
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Posted: 3/9/2006 1:44:03 PM EDT
[#44]
+1 The cost of two babies so far is much less than the $ we used to spend on going out to bars, hotels, and worthless crap like jewelry and stereo systems that I used to blow money on. I have more guns and ammo than before as well. Children can either focus you or make you lose your focus. It ain't the kid that does it to you, it is you. If $ is a concern at all, quit fucking because you obviously do not have a grasp on what is really important. |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 1:44:03 PM EDT
[#45]
If you buy em nikes every month starting at the age of 2 months sure. And a gold toof
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Posted: 3/9/2006 3:09:49 PM EDT
[#46]
When I took a sociology class on the family in college, the number was $215,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18. By the end of the class, whatever agency or organization makes those estimates revised it to $230,000. That was in 1996, so adjust accordingly. Jim |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 3:18:46 PM EDT
[#47]
Ya can't just use newspaper and masking tape then hose them off in the yard as needed? www.cheapkids.com |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 3:20:32 PM EDT
[#48]
The number for 18 years is like 180,000 |
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Posted: 3/9/2006 3:46:31 PM EDT
[#49]
We got a ton of the expensive stuff from our baby shower so all we're really buying at this point is formula and diapers but my mom has us stocked up on diapers right now. I think we made out ok but she's gonna get totally spoiled by us so it IS gonna cost a fortune.
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Posted: 3/9/2006 3:53:28 PM EDT
[#50]
We feed ours dog food
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