At what age do you think that your child started to become more of an “expense”?
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At 9 months when I had to go back to work and this is due to childcare costs. This is the main reason why we probably won’t be able to have another before I am too old, we couldn’t afford the full time childcare costs for 2 children. Which is unfortunate as we are on high salaries. The only option would be for me to give up my job which would seriously impact our quality of life in the longer term to lose that salary xx
The costs are going down for ours at the moment as they get older but that's mostly due to childcare costs. When both were at nursery four days a week we were spending £3k a month for a bit due to the overlap 🫣
5-6. When school starts. My baby was literally nearly free to raise, very low maintenance. No diapers no wipes no formula needed, no medicines or health concerns thankfully. I used cloth for both and he was BF. Toys and clothes he was given a shitload for Bday and Xmas (or money) and more money from elders for Chinese New Year. He’s now 5 and in swimming, Muay Thai karate. All those outings, entry for places like zoos and museums (which a yearly pass we have for both) and playcentres. His private school uniform and books is gonna cost around $500-$600, not including school fees which is like $4k/year.. My girls did 4 types of dance for like, 12yrs since 3yrs. And tutoring. Guitar. Lots of curricular activities. So from 4-5 is the most expensive for us.
The killer when they are younger is childcare and loss of income. Things get easier when they start school however then they do things like swimming lessons and activities. You can’t necessarily get away with second hand clothes and toys as they get older. They want things like games consoles ect.
6 months when she started weaning, she loves fruits and cheese 😂
We were spending extra on them before being born. 🤷🏻♀️ Now, more expensive it seems like it is going to be beyond 3 and when they join school with all what comes with it. But it will vary per family. Childcare is the biggest expense. Once they go to school will you remain a SAHM? Otherwise childcare costs continue. For the rest it is up to you... Extracurricular activities, entertainment, trendy toys, clothing.
When they find their love for berries, it's becomes an expense 🙈
@Heather Starwberries are so easy to grow and don’t take up a lot of space! Started doing it this summer and I didn’t haven’t pay £4 a week for a punnet!!
A week? We have to buy several punnets of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries per week for our two boys. It's incredible how much they eat!
A week! The rate we go through strawberries, they wouldn't grow quickly enough for us.
We were gifted a lot of newborn stuff / 0-3 and also toys. We had some 6 months bits but not much and the toys he’s starting to out grow now or really not interested wouldn’t buy v-tech etc toys though to be honest because they’re too expensive and they don’t last very long. I’d say when he got to 6 months I noticed the dent in my bank account more it seems he’s growing really quickly and needing the next size up in clothes within a matter of weeks!! Xx