Letâs look at it by category. The numbers for the situation most similar to ours seem to be the ones in âTable 2. Estimated annual expenditures on a child by husband-wife families, urban Northeast, 2012â on page 27. Looking at age 0-2 and average pre-tax income of $38,920 I read:
Housing
study: $3,620
j+j+l: $0
Our baby is small enough that sheâs in the same room as us, so we havenât increased our housing expenses. At some point, though, weâll probably move some place larger and then sheâll have her own room. That will probably cost something like $6k/âyear ($500/âmonth).
Food
study: $1,270
j+j+l: $500
Lily spent most of this year exclusively breastfeeding, and we estimated that Julia is eating $500/âyear more in food. Sheâs now also eating a small amount of what weâre eating, but not enough to notice. Many people in the study are probably using formula which is surprisingly expensive.
Transportation
study: $1,130
j+j+l: $0
We donât have a car, and take our baby on the bus and subway with us in a front carrier. Trips to doctors appointments etc are covered by our public transit passes, which weâd have regardless.
Clothing
study: $740
j+j+l: $150
Julia enjoys looking around at thirft shops, and found a lot of baby clothes there. We also got some clothes as hand-me-downs, and if you didnât have access to these it would be more expensive. On the other hand, weâll be able to pass these clothes along to other babies as ours outgrows them, and we have about three times more clothes than we really need.
Health care
study: $580
j+j+l: $3,150
We switched to a more expensive health plan that would cover more, and we were adding another person to our health plan. This would be much more expensive if my employer didnât cover most of our health insurance. This also includes various other expenses, like copays, diapers, and baby bottles (for pumped milk). I included our whole âgearâ category here, even though some of it would fit better under âmiscâ.
Child care
study: $3,250
j+j+l: $1,600
We havenât used daycare much (details) but in our area the going rate is about $290/âweek ($15k/âyear).
Misc:
study: $440
j+j+l: $0
I included this in other categories.
We saved $3k on housing and $1k each on food, transportation, and childcare. We did spend a bit more in other places, though.
Letâs look at it by category. The numbers for the situation most similar to ours seem to be the ones in âTable 2. Estimated annual expenditures on a child by husband-wife families, urban Northeast, 2012â on page 27. Looking at age 0-2 and average pre-tax income of $38,920 I read:
Housing
study: $3,620
j+j+l: $0
Our baby is small enough that sheâs in the same room as us, so we havenât increased our housing expenses. At some point, though, weâll probably move some place larger and then sheâll have her own room. That will probably cost something like $6k/âyear ($500/âmonth).
Food
study: $1,270
j+j+l: $500
Lily spent most of this year exclusively breastfeeding, and we estimated that Julia is eating $500/âyear more in food. Sheâs now also eating a small amount of what weâre eating, but not enough to notice. Many people in the study are probably using formula which is surprisingly expensive.
Transportation
study: $1,130
j+j+l: $0
We donât have a car, and take our baby on the bus and subway with us in a front carrier. Trips to doctors appointments etc are covered by our public transit passes, which weâd have regardless.
Clothing
study: $740
j+j+l: $150
Julia enjoys looking around at thirft shops, and found a lot of baby clothes there. We also got some clothes as hand-me-downs, and if you didnât have access to these it would be more expensive. On the other hand, weâll be able to pass these clothes along to other babies as ours outgrows them, and we have about three times more clothes than we really need.
Health care
study: $580
j+j+l: $3,150
We switched to a more expensive health plan that would cover more, and we were adding another person to our health plan. This would be much more expensive if my employer didnât cover most of our health insurance. This also includes various other expenses, like copays, diapers, and baby bottles (for pumped milk). I included our whole âgearâ category here, even though some of it would fit better under âmiscâ.
Child care
study: $3,250
j+j+l: $1,600
We havenât used daycare much (details) but in our area the going rate is about $290/âweek ($15k/âyear).
Misc:
study: $440
j+j+l: $0
I included this in other categories.
We saved $3k on housing and $1k each on food, transportation, and childcare. We did spend a bit more in other places, though.