Baby budget

One can't help feel the pressure of the economic downturn after watching the news and reading Newsweek articles. Having been a loan officer before starting grad school, I made sure that we purchased a home that we could afford on Eddy's salary alone. Also, both Eddy and I are frugal with our spending. When it comes to Alex, though, as many parents probably understand, we tend to spend ridiculous amounts of money on things that our son doesn't really need. So, I am taking it upon myself, as difficult as it is for me, to purchase only the things Alex really needs.

I buy Alex a few outfits a month (okay more than a few) because I just can't help how freakin cute he's gonna look. That mentality just needs to stop...I know it...you know it! More clothes for Alex = less clothes for mommy and daddy. I haven't purchased a new outfit since I can't even remember...now that's a sacrifice I make staying at home to raise my son, but sometimes a girl just wants to shop!

After tracking our spending in July by dividing everything into categories, I realized that a ridiculous amount of our budget goes toward Alex, including necessities and extras. For those who don't have kids, here's how it breaks down:

Diapers: $80-120/month (more expensive when babies are younger)
Formula (at the time he was on formula): $90-120/month (again, more expensive when the babies are younger)
Baby food (at the time he was on baby food): $50/month
Clothes: $75
Toys: $100
Doctor's appt (copays, meds etc...we had a sick month): $155

Kinda ridiculous, huh? Yeah, I know. This budget doesn't show the $300 increase we saw in our insurance premium for adding a child to the mix...yeah...fun times!

Now that Alex is older, we still purchase about the same in diapers, but we no longer use formula. Organic whole milk runs us about $27/month, but now that he's eating stricly table food, our grocery bill has gone up significantly to account for snacks, healthy food, frozen veggies, etc.

Having a child is expensive! If you have one, and you have money saving tips, please share. If you don't, thank your parents again for providing for you. :-) I somtimes want to go back and slap some sense into my middle school self for wanting name brand clothes and only the coolest most expensive Doc Martens and Nikes. Does anyone have a chancla?