Use A Baby Cost Calculator And Watch Your HardEarned Savings Disappear

ByBethany Ramos

moneyIf you’re planning on having a kid, you probably already know that babies are undeniably expensive. Parents constantly bitch and moan about the cost of diapers, formula, daycare, and preschool. And who would blame us? There are some places where monthly daycare costs more than your mortgage.

If you’re already a parent, there’s no going back. But you can make yourself feel even worse about your plight by using this handy-dandy first year baby cost calculator that I found online. It will help you to estimate how much you may be spending or have already spent on your little bundle of joy from months zero to 12.

TRIGGER WARNING: This may make you cry once you realize how quickly your hard-earned money has gone down the drain. Sometimes, ignorance really is bliss so that you can pretend that the cost of diapers wouldn’t have earned you a round-trip to Mexico in a beautiful all-expenses-paid resort of your choice.

I used the first year baby cost calculator, and here’s what I got:

  • Daycare: $0 (We didn’t enroll our kids in daycare until one year.)
  • Disposable diapers: $72 x 12 months
  • Feeding: $0 for breastfeeding; $40 on formula x 4 months; $30 on solid foods x 6 months.
  • Clothing: $20 x 12 months (Thank you, Walmart!)
  • College Savings: $0 (Oops!)
  • Medicine/First Aid: $100 x 12 months (This is a lowball of what we pay above insurance costs since our insurance is so terrible.)
  • Toiletries: $10 x 12 months
  • Toys/Books/Media: $10 x 12 months

Total: $2884

But this is just the first section”¦ After that, the calculator added on all of the random crap that you will have to buy for your baby’s survival, like a car seat, stroller, play yard, front carrier, diaper bag, and more. Bringing my grand total to”¦

Grand Total: $4942.

Now keep mind that this is just the first year of your baby’s life. Don’t you want to cry now? I have to qualify this by saying that I gamed the calculator quite a bit because it overpriced everything. I don’t see any reason why you would spend $100 on formula a month, when I probably spent closer to $30 per month by buying store brand. That’s just one example.

Moral of the story: Parenting ain’t cheap, but it’s less expensive than they want you to believe.

(photo: alexyndr/ Shutterstock)

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