Tips on baby expenses

[sweeps]

SmartMoney article

[jodi]

Absolutely ridiculous. $15000 for one year??? Granted, I had good health insurance...and generous relative and friends at the shower...but still.
$100 co-pay for delivery
$10/week for diapers from Wal-Mart = $520
$4.50 every several weeks for wipes = $234
Breastmilk = free
Formula (6 months) at $6 per can = $216
Baby food - 2-3 months, then I switched to table food, so the cost was minimal = maybe $100
Clothes - even assuming I bought two outfits per week, I never payed more than $.50 per item of clothing (secondhand) = $104
Crib = $50 secondhand (you can check out safety recalls before buying)
Car seat (2), strollers (2) - were gifts, but still cost less than $200 all together
Total: $1524
I'm sure I am missing a lot, like toys, but even still - I sure I didn't spend more than $2000. Kids need love and attention - not top-of-the-line name-brand clothes and toys!

[34saving]

I checked out the survey where that number came from . . . it was horribly inaccurate if you ask me. They gave the kid housing and transportation expenses equal to his/her share of the family. (So if a 2 people had 1 child the child got 1/3 of their housing and transportation expenses.) They also based all of the numbers off of ?1992? expenses and then used the CPI to adjust them to 2006 figures. The problem with that? You can't tell me that medical expenses (and daycare?) have inflated at the same rate as the consumer price index. The weird things about that survey go on and on . . .

[Russell]

Haven't added up all our other expenses but we're paying $10k/yr for the day care for our DD, she's almost 2yrs now.

[Bluezy]

I can imagine what my CJ cost, but I didn't keep track. My prenatal care and delivery were paid for. Medication for CJ were taken care of until 12/2005. Nappies were at least $20-$30 a week with training naps within the last 6 months (he turned two in January).

Food...Yikes! My CJ has always eaten well so I'd say that his soy formula ran $40 per week, mixing it with breastmilk. Now preferring fish and chicken with mised veggies, we do about $250 per week in food for the both of us.

[alanaj]

Kids are so expensive, it's a wonder anyone has them. I have 4, by the way....expensive little buggers. I love 'em, but geez they're expensive!