According to sky, research has shown that it now costs £222,000 to raise a child to the age of 21.
http://news.sky.com/story/1042120/cost-of-raising-a-child-soars-to-222000
In that case, it would cost my husband (and a little from me!) around a million pounds to raise our 4 sons.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it is expensive having children. We haven’t had a foreign holiday in years. We don’t go on nights out, and we do spend time with family as a way of socialising.
However, I’m a self confessed frugal queen and well known for planning ahead.
It was expensive when we were preparing for Jack, our eldest, but family assisted by buying cot, pram etc and though I did choose the pricier end of the market, it was deliberate. And all 4 boys have used the same equipment.
And while these days you’re less likely to find me buying clothes for the youngest 2 from next or mamas and papas, the clothes I bought from there over the years are still going strong and are handed down from brother to brother.
In fact my 3 youngest were all wearing hand me down pyjamas last night!
In recent years though, I have discovered that George at Asda does a good range of ‘scrapping about the house’ clothes. The older 2 are more likely to wear out their clothes before they grow out of them.
And uniform basics (trousers/socks) are good from there too. I have tall but slim children, and haven’t found anywhere else that stocks trousers with adjustable waistbands.
It’s not just clothes that are expensive though. Food costs are rising anyway, without the appetites of my family taken into consideration.
For years now, I’ve shopped on a monthly basis for the bulk of our food.
It does mean some hefty planning of meals, but it does mean a smaller food bill each month.
I don’t buy sweets, snacks and treats on a weekly basis which I know would add a lot to our bill.
I also buy the cheap budget range for those kinds of things.
The children don’t care if they get Tyrrells crisps or Asda own brand. They just want a bag of crisps! And they know that when it’s gone from the cupboard its gone and won’t be restocked til the next month (aren’t I mean!)
And there is nothing wrong with buying a tin of own brand corned beef instead of prince’s posh stuff!
We have our milk delivered and I always have eggs, flour etc in the house and it’s amazing what you can make from nothing if it gets to the end of the month and I’ve lost my inspiration!
And other than stocking up on fresh veg, most of our food comes on the monthly food order, costing around £450 for 6 of us (and yes, that includes nappies and loo roll!)
Okay so it will be some years until we get on an aeroplane for our holiday, but in fact, would you take 4 children on a plane, 1 of whom is a toddler and 1 of whom is a 4 year old? No, me neither.
So while I don’t doubt that it will cost a phenomenal amount of money to raise our family, hopefully it won’t be at the £1 million mark…
4 Boys' Mother 