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| Uncommon Sense | A bouncing baby can bust your budget
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It takes wayyyy more than a garage full of Costco diapers and a crib to take care of a new baby, and the big spending isn't even for baby equipment.
By MP Dunleavey
Editor's note: Columnist M.P. Dunleavey and six other women have come together online to strip away the myths surrounding money, lay bare their assets and liberate themselves from debt. Follow the quest for financial fabulousness of these "Women in Red" every second Monday in Dunleavey's column on MSN Money.
Why does the birth of a tiny, helpless newborn suddenly cause otherwise sane adults to go crazy with money? Is it sleep deprivation? Is it the abrupt end to sex as we know it?
We may never know for sure, but it can't help that we live in a culture that encourages new parents to buy baby gear by the carload (wipe warmers, anyone?), with the subtle message that there's a direct correlation between the amount spent and their baby's future prospects at Hahvard.
Hidden costs of procreation
Anna, the expectant mom among the Women in Red, is just as wary as I am. I read somewhere that you spend about $6,000 just the first year of your childs life! she says.
Thats nuthin! According to the Department of Agriculture, the total cost of raising a child until the age of 18 is about $250,000, which doesnt include (gulp) college tuition.
But that quarter of a million is just the cost for your basic upscale baby. When you add in all the obscure, yet seductive, baby expenses, the numbers will take your breath away. Hang on to your teddy bear.
Learning how to breathe
Sure, delivery is covered by your insurance -- mostly. But what about that little ol Lamaze class? Technically, giving birth is free, but learning the right way to do it might set you back as much as $400, as Anna learned.
Breastfeeding, anyone?
Mother Natures readymade milk supply seems like a no-brainer. Its plentiful and cheap, right? Not quite, says Rebecca, a new mom and lawyer in San Francisco. The big expense I wasnt expecting was the need to see a lactation consultant two or three times, at about $80 an hour. Even more pricey: A $300 breast pump and the constant expense of bottles and pacifiers.
And dont think formula is any better. Once you stop breastfeeding, they go through it like crazy -- and its wildly expensive, Rebecca says.
Make way for baby Mozart
Back in the Paleolithic era of childrearing, circa 1968, having a kid came with a tuition-free grace period of at least five years. Now you dont want to take any chances that your child isnt getting every possible advantage, says Mark Ozer, father of a 20-month-old girl, who has been taking music classes since the tender age of 8 weeks. Shed just lie there, he admits. But that hasnt stopped Ozer and his wife (and countless other couples) from spending $200 to $400 a class for swimming, gymnastics and mommy and me yoga.
More Women in Red on MSN Money
Spreading your spending far and wide
Baby's first blockbuster
Forget the idea of taking a few Polaroids of your drooling wonder and sending them off to Gram and Gramps. Have you no conscience? Entire nanoseconds of your childs life will be lost if you dont invest immediately in a digital camera, DVD camcorder and small production studio. Im not kidding. Beth, who has a 17-month-old, says that she and her husband spent about $2,700 on new and used computer equipment, digital recording devices, software and high speed Internet access.
The high cost of sleep deprivation
A little-known aspect of parenting is how much lack of sleep will cost. Partly, its the increased latte bill. But mainly its the slew of dumb mistakes you make when your brain operates at the speed of sludge. A friend of mine says never in her life has she lost so many credit cards or pairs of sunglasses. Rebecca admits spending $300 on birth announcements while in a hormonal, sleep-deprived fog.
Green eggs and prosciutto
Big pictures, few words -- how much can it cost to stock your little ones library with a few dozen classics? Answer: At $20 or more for a hardcover, youll drop $500 before you can say Curious George. (I dont like to scrimp on this stuff, but I balk at spending $12 on a six-page book! says Rebecca.) Get that baby a library card already.
New baby, new car syndrome
You plan to keep driving around in your old Honda, until you realize . . . the babys car seat wont fit, the car doesnt have airbags and it has a knack for breaking down in the rain. See if junior can say, Cha-ching! with mommy. Beth and her husband took out a $13,000 car loan to buy a new Mazda, incurring the first car payments of their lives.
Babysitter or bandit?
Child care is a hefty burden on most parents, but few are prepared for the sticker shock of what that babysitter costs. Bryan Nadeau, a video producer in San Francisco and the father of a two-year-old, says that when he and a friend decided to splurge on theater tickets at $70 a pop, the babysitting costs were almost as high -- about $10 an hour (remember, this is San Francisco we're talking about), for six hours. Including dinner, youre talking about $250 for a night out, he says.
Junior's first fete
Jimmy Buffet played, there were ice sculptures and waitresses garbed in togas. Was it a bash thrown by a Tyco exec? Or a childs first birthday party? These days its hard to know, as many new parents will attest.
There is so much pressure on you at birthday time, says Nadeau, who started out with a few Teletubbies balloons for his sons second birthday and ended up creating an artificial grass tablecloth, a la the Teletubbies set, and paying $60 for a Teletubbies cake. A word to the wise: Pookie wont remember how much you splurged, but Mr. Visa Spongepants will.
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