How much do babies cost per month?
[mme_highlight] Having a baby will deprive you of at least $600 to 1200 or more per month depending on the local where you live in and the choices you make. Baby cribs, baskets, walkers and stroller additionally cost hundreds of dollars. Make sure to buy quality product first time to avoid spending money on the same products.[mme_highlight]
According to the records of the American Pregnancy Association, over 6 million women became pregnant in 2012. Pregnancy and childbirth is, indeed, a time to celebrate, but it is also recommended to take some time out to assess the probable cost in order to minimize the difficulties after childbirth. According to a survey conducted by the popular parenting site babycenter.com, the average monthly cost in the first year of baby is a minimum of $1000.
The results of census.gov data of 2011 suggest that the total number of pre-school children in United States is 20,404,000 out of which, almost 61% attend regular childcare facilities, corresponding to almost 12,499,000 children. Data also suggested that among the 42% of children who are raised by relatives, almost 17% are raised by fathers (who stay home to take care of kids), which corresponds to 3623,000 kids raised by father and 723,000 pre-school kids are raised by stay-at-home mothers. Approximately 33% of children are raised either by grandparents or older siblings.
What does increase overall cost?
There are a number of factors that determine the cost of a baby per month. A few basic baby topics are:
- After childbirth, one parent must stay at home in order to take care of the baby, which is a significant cut in the household income.
- The cost of utility bills increases many folds when one parent is staying at home to care for the baby.
- Healthcare for the baby cost is an additional and heavy cost (even if you have health insurance). The frequent visits to pediatricians for vaccination, check-up and other expenses can reach large amounts.
- Although breastfeeding is apparently cheaper than bottle- feeding, the cost of breast pumps and other lactation –aids can make breastfeeding equally expensive to bottle-feeding.
- Baby cribs, baskets, walkers and stroller additionally cost hundreds of dollars. Make sure to buy quality product first time to avoid spending money on the same products.
- Baby pampers and nappies can cost an additional $100 to $300 as suggested by mothercare.com website.
What factors may influence your monthly baby-care cost?
The monthly baby cost is dependent on factors like financial planning on part of parents, the monthly household income and nature of arrangements made by parents. Cost estimation is necessary for financial planning before the arrival of a baby; this exercise will help plan a budget and allocating the funds. In fact, you have to make arrangements and decisions beforehand concerning the daycare of baby. If you and your partner work full time, the decision must take into account:
- If a nanny will be hired to take care of the baby when both parents are at work;
- If you will utilize the services of a daycare center;
- If you or your partner will take a break from work until your baby reaches school enrollment age.
Regardless of these decisions, keep in mind that having a baby will deprive you of at least $600 to 1200 or more per month depending on the local where you live in and the choices you make. According to Tax Investment website Investopedia, the minimal cost of hiring a nanny or childcare services outside of home averages over 10,000 per year.
According to the results of census.gov data of 2011, 24% mothers pay cash-income to childcare services that correspond to $135/ week. If you have 2 or more kids, the cost increases even more. On average, mothers generally spend an average of $179/ week with their under 5 year old child, which corresponds to $7020 to $9030 for childcare services alone.
Some options to reduce baby-care cost
- You can decrease the cost to a great deal by seeking help from the grandparents of the child;
- Most workplace offer baby-care services to the employees free of cost or with minimal cost.
Other factors to include in the calculus include:
- Your financial savings;
- The help and support you have from your family: in most cases, baby cribs, strollers and other baby-care products are received as gifts in baby- showers.
- If one parent can work from home (or online) to generate some revenue. According to the results of census.gov data of 2011, approximately 1985,000 (or 29.2%) of all unemployed or home bound mothers work from home in order to support household expenses.
How can parents reduce the costs?
You can reduce the cost by putting into practice some common sense measures like:
- Do not waste a lot of money in buying cribs according to the age of baby. It is better to buy a good-sized crib the very first time to save the unnecessary cost and pain of searching, buying and replacing old cribs.
- Babies grow at a very rapid pace. Many parents waste money in buying a lot of clothes at a time when babies is growing quickly, and thus constantly changing size.
- Ideally you can either sell the clothes online or in a garage sale (or if you are planning another pregnancy, keep the clothes safe in a trunk).
- You can also take advantage of flexible spending accounts (FSA) that allow parents to save up to $ 1400 annually by setting aside pre-tax money of as much as $5000 for optimal childcare.
- Always buy baby-care products in bulk from wholesale stores (that can help you in saving as much as 10 to 15% of your overall cost per month).
Summary and Recommendations
- Count on spending $600 to $1200 per month or more with your baby.
- Some situations among the most frequent expenses with a baby are: when a parent stops working to stay at home, child daycare center cost, breastfeeding related products cost, healthcare, baby cribs, baskets, nappies, etc.
- Some solutions that can be advanced are: work from home, get help from your family to raise the child and to offer products, prefer daycare facilities if your workplace has one, use financial savings.
- In order to save money: you must not buy many clothes of a certain size, because the baby is growing fast; sell the used clothes in a garage sale or online or save it for your next child; get information on flexible spending accounts.
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