Having a baby is exciting news ever for any parents in their life. It may be overwhelming, full of happiness but being expensive as well.
Your life will change, and so will your bank account.
If both of you are preparing for this big change, it’s gonna be okay without much consideration. However, not all parents on the planet are confident for their upcoming angel who starts having a new life.
Your income may stay the same — or even decline a bit if you take time off or cut back your hours when the baby comes. In the context of dire COVID pandemic that has taken away many job opportunities, the unemployment rate is increasing drastically, it might be a huge serious concern of anyone who plan to have a baby in this period.
Though saying that way, that is not a main reason to prevent you welcoming your baby coming to the world. If you are proactively figure out or discover various financial planning, you can find ways to cover the additional expenses you’ll face.
Let’s get start!
- One-time expenses
There are some types of one-time expenses that may cost you once for raising a baby and it can be reused as you are going to have another plan in the far future. They include medical bills and baby stuffs. In each category, there are a lots coming that I am going to mention it soon right now.
- Medical bills
During your pregnancy, you may need to spend money on prenatal visits, maternity essentials, prenatal classes and any medical consideration or complications. According to the updated research of Business Insider, these are the estimated costs for your birth delivery depending on your locations, health situations and health policies:
- Vaginal birth with insurance: $ 5,904.83
- Vaginal birth without insurance: $10,906.82
- C-section with insurance: $ 8,883.15
- C-section without insurance: $ 15,534.41
Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to make an accurate prediction about how much you’ll pay without reviewing your health coverage. The entire cost also depends on how long you stay at the hospital, how your baby’s health situation is? Does a baby need to stay longer in the hospital for special care or any problems that you even cannot foresee.
- Baby stuff
This cost category is also a one-time cost as you may know very well what you need to prepare for your baby. However, it can sometimes go exponentially if you have not controlled it well.
If you are the average middle-class American, you may need to be ready for approximately 12,000$ for baby’s first year.
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- Travel gears
Those are indispensable items when your baby needs to go out or get light sunny. It’s essential for them to look around and see what’s going on and happen out of their zone. You will most likely want to purchase a stroller, an infant car seat (required by law), a baby carrier, and a diaper bag. Like many of the things on this list, there is a wide range of costs that vary considerably depending on your locations and quality.
I know very well that moms may want to repurchase those items from experienced moms who have used ones. Is it worth for that? At the very least, what you need to do is buying a new infant car seat. People usually say that’s not good when your babies have to experience the things that were happened in bad ways. There is no foolproof way to ensure a used one hasn’t been compromised in a previous accident or through hard use. How about it can be happened with your baby?
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- Home needs
Home needs are what surrounding your babies at home and make sure your little princes/princesses are occupied safely. You may need to explore very carefully with a portable swing, bouncy seat, play mat, and/or jump seat. Additionally, if your finance is good enough, our parents can equip with many more home needs such as a crib and/or bassinet, crib mattress, basic bedding with blankets, changing table, small dresser, rocking chair, monitor, and a diaper pail.
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- Mom needs
Society is growing quite fast and there are more and more equipment on the market which may assist moms significantly in raising babies and breastfeeding. If you are a mom who has not gone out for working and has stayed at home all days, you can save lots for breastfeeding equipment. In that situation, some things like a breastfeeding pillow, burp cloths, or even a cape are more than enough.
Otherwise, what moms need to prepare is bottles, nipples, cleaning equipment, and a single or dual breast pump come into play and the budget goes from near zero to the $200 to $400 range. These are also helpful for moms who will be storing breast milk for use day by day.
2. On-going expenses
- Child care
Child care is usually considered the most expensive recurring cost that most parents have to face with. If you family has a stay-at-home parent, working opposite shifts from your partner, or having a grandparent or loved ones who can take care of your children for free, it would be incredible. However, life is not always easy.
Infant child care is typically the most expensive type of care. Parents can easily spend over $1,000 every month for infant care. If both of you have to work out at home all days, an in-home child care provider and a nanny may be an essential need. An in-home child care provider typically charges less than a child care center.
- Necessity
I am pretty sure that all moms have been very clear on what our babies need every day. Food, clothing, and diapers make up most of the necessities in the ongoing costs. Additionally, toys are also the indispensable item on the growing journey of your babies.
Clothes: Babies has been growing quite fast, do not buy too many clothes at the same age. It is going to cost your budget and these clothes are got away so soon, as they’ll move up in size every three months. If you’re buying new clothes, you might spend $10 to $15 per outfit, or you can buy bodysuits for under $10. You can buy packs of baby socks for about $1 per pair.
Food: If you’re using formula, refer back to nursing and feeding above. Once solids start, plan on spending around $60/month. The early food costs for children is relatively small compared to what you will see from a teenager, but it can be a bit frustrating as so little of that $60 seems to end up in their mouths.
Diapers: The cost of disposable diapers varies by size and brand. It’s worth noting that smaller diapers cost less, but younger babies tend to go through diapers more frequently than older babies. The average child will use more than 2,700 diapers in the first year alone, which can add up to more than $550 (based on an average price of $0.20 per disposable diaper). You can buy disposables for as low as $0.15 with coupons or parents can pay $1.40 per diaper to import them from Japan.
Baby wipes: You could spend about $1.50 on a single pack of wipes that will last you a week, or you could drop about $15 on a bulk package that could last a few months.
Children are a wonderful gift— it’s also sometimes an expensive one. But it’s worth, right?
The main thing to keep in mind is that averages don’t mean much when the range is as wide as it is with costs around a baby. Prepare yourself good knowledge and stable spirit to welcome your baby to the world very flawlessly and perfectly.