How much does a baby cost per month?

Before the baby arrives, you’ll need to make allowances for a few essential things in preparation for when you bring them home. These could include:

• Cot or moses basket – average cost is £129.50
• Car seat – average cost is between £100 – £150
• Pram – prices can vary from £100 to £2,000
• Baby monitor – the average is £49.61 for an audio baby monitor, expect to pay £70 for a video monitor
• Breast pump – If you are considering breastfeeding your baby, a breast pump could be considered an essential purchase, pre-birth. According to Which? a manual breast pump can be bought for around £15, while electric designs can cost anything from £60 to £250+

Research suggests that a baby’s first month is likely to cost you around £500 beyond your planned spending – that’s a lot of nappies, clothing and furniture that you hadn’t anticipated needing! On average, £23.52 will be spent on nappies, £243 on clothing, £53.51 will go towards feeding equipment and £183.51 may be spent on toys and furniture. So, the more you can buy ahead of time to take advantage of special offers and spread the cost, the less your baby’s arrival will catch you financially off guard.

As you settle into a routine, the monthly cost of raising your child will lower to around £333, if we use the results from the Cost of a Child report. Here, we’ve broken down the most common monthly expenses.

• According to RBS, the average cost of clothing for a child in the first 0-12 months adds up to £40 a month.
• Food for a baby in that first year averages out to £20 per week – amounting to £1,043.55 over the year.
• Nappies will be a significant expense at first, but reduce to around £20 a month – £260.89 over 12 months.
• Toys add up to £45 per month.

When you have a child, or are planning for a new arrival, it’s important to know that there are some items that, if you’re going to buy them, you must buy brand new. These include:

• Cot mattress – A brand new cot mattress needn’t be expensive, but it is important that it hasn’t been used before. A second-hand cot mattress may not offer a newborn baby the support it needs. In some rare cases, a second-hand cot mattress can lead to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
• Car seat – It’s crucial that your baby’s car seat at least meets and hopefully exceeds all safety requirements. A second-hand car seat may have weakened over time, affecting how supportive it will be for your child. This means less vital protection should you be unfortunate enough to have an accident.
• Breast pump – Breast pumps can be very expensive, so it’s understandable that you might look for a second-hand one since it’s an item you may not be using for long. However, even with the best will in the world, it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to completely sterilise a pre-used breast pump, so for both your own and your baby’s safety, buy a brand new one.

There is still plenty of opportunity to save where you can, and at the end of the day, how much you spend is up to you. There are ways to save money and still give your little one the very best start in life. Here are a few to consider:

• Choose own brand – Sticking with own brands for consumables can cut costs significantly: at the time of writing*, you can grab 24 newborn nappies from Aldi for 85p compared to the same amount for £4.00 if you choose Pampers. That’s a saving of £3.15 if you go with Aldi.
• Accept hand-me-downs or buy second-hand – Being happy to take on hand-me-down clothes, toys and even furniture or a pram from friends and family with older children can be a great money-saver. If you don’t know anybody able to give you hand-me-downs, then checking out local buying and selling sites, charity shops and even eBay or Pre-loved, can be a useful way to find what you need at minimum cost. Babies grow so fast, they’ll only get a few wears out of each outfit before it’s too small, so you’ll likely find that the clothes you receive are virtually new. Then, when your baby has outgrown them too, you can pass them on or sell them to someone else.
• Shop around – Don’t just buy from the first shop you find something in. Shop around and compare prices online – the market for baby products is competitive so you may find somewhere else selling exactly the same thing for cheaper.
• Ask yourself if you really need something – A self-rocking cot is nice, but is it essential? Buy the things you really need first, then carefully consider if the rest is worth spending money on.
• Consider alternatives to traditional types of nappy – Reusable nappies are proving popular with parents looking for a solution that is eco-friendly and cost-effective. Data from Nottinghamshire County Council suggests that you could save £200 a year by choosing reusable nappies. Some councils in the UK are now even giving away vouchers to parents to purchase a set of reusable nappies.

Small savings like these may not sound like much on their own, but combined and over time can be a huge help and allow you to cut the cost of caring for your child without compromising on the quality of care they get from you.