Budgeting for the 1st year with twins?

OK, I realize this is going to vary WIDELY depending on what part of the country you live in, whether or not you're a bargain-shopper, how much you get as hand-me-downs, gifts, whether you FF or BF, CD or sposie, etc., but for twins, what would you estimate spending total in the first year? (Not including any medical expenses.)

My general plans are to bargain-shop/shop consignment sales, etc., as much as I have time for; not really sure what I'll get as gifts but I know at least several dozen people have expressed interest in coming to my shower. It doesn't sound like I'll get a lot of hand-me-downs (since our siblings and close friends all either have babies now or have already given their baby stuff away) but we've been promised some, especially boys' clothing. (We're having at least 1 boy.) I'm planning to BF for the first 6-9 months if that works out (and rent a hospital-grade pump, not sure yet if insurance will cover it), and am torn between CDing and using disposables. Leaning toward using disposables till they're big enough for Bum Genius 3.0, trying out the variety pack from Jillian's Drawers for $10, and then probably (unless I like something in the variety pack better) buy about 20 of those.

If you have found a realistic baby budgeting tool online that might help, or other resources you could direct me to, please let me know. (I'm guessing there's not one specifically for twins, and I know you can't necessarily just multiply by two.)

DH just started a new job and we're trying to work out a budget and figure out how long I can SAH full-time, so any estimates or tips you can give me would be much appreciated!

 

I planned to BF but my body wouldn't cooperate. We ended up spending about $500.00 a month on formula (we were on expensive stuff) and about 50-60 per month on diapers/wipes we really didn't have any other major expenses the first year (we got tons of clothing through 12 months).

 

You might be amazed at how generous people are with donating clothing/toys/ect once they hear about you having twins. I worked at an elementary school and I was shocked at how many people offered clothing and swings/bouncers ect. I even got a crib! I was sooooo thankful and once I am done using all of my baby stuff (depending on if we want to have more) I want to pass the generosity onto someone else by donating baby items.

Sams Club is amazing! We buy all of our formula/wipes there and it tells you on the can what it is similar to...they have a gentle brand of formula too. They are like $20.00 for TWICE the amount of formula you can get at the store or even Walmart. I thought the White Cloud brand of diapers from Walmart worked and were cheaper than most others. I also got onto the huggies/pampers/formula companies websites and registered for coupons.....and I made a lot of my own baby food-just steam veggies/puree and put in ice cube trays and freeze then dump in ziploc bags and take out a couple and you have just the right amount for a meal. Unsweetened applesauce in the BIG jar is what I bought for them to eat too.

Check with your pedi about getting a free case of formula because you are having twins your doc will have to sign a paper and then all you have to do is send it in but takes awhile to get in the mail..... Good luck

 

I agree - people rallied out of the woodwork (so to speak - LOL) when they heard we were having twins (especially since they were both girls - after 4 boys)... I got over 1,500 diapers, 30+ cans of formula (I FF -- and it's about $200/month), we were given a crib, and sooooooooo many clothes (new and used) and haven't really had to spend any $$ on them...yet (although I have hit some great sales and bought more cute outfits -- but they weren't really a necessity )

 

On the other hand, you may not get anything. For us, we didn't get anything "extra" or anyone donating anything. I wasn't counting on having to formula feed, but I had to. So that was an unexpected added expense. We didn't really budget, so I think it's great you are doing that!

 

i took all the hand me downs i could get and have enough clothes til theyre 1, probably longer since theyre 4 months old and just now out of NB size.we finally got signed up for WIC this month, but we were spending about $200/month. dipes we were spending $100/month (luvs) but im in the process of switching to cloth. halle has a decent stash, it cost me $130 and i got 2 diaper covers, 12 prefolds, 3 bum genius, 5 fuzzibuns, and 2 pocket change. the bum genius are nice but the prefolds and cover really arent that bad for the cost. i dont even pin or snappi, just lay it in there. we dont pay utilities, so i dont know how much it increases. diaperswappers.com is awesome and has a for sale/trade forum. i got the 5 fuzzi buns for $40, retail would have been $70ish. there is also the diaper chatter section where people will list sales, and reviews. i got the pocket change dipe (which i had never heard of but people compared to bum genius), buy one get one, so i got 2 brand new one size dipes for $20. if you want bum genius, if you go to diapers.com and buy 3 bum genius one size, you can enter amerbaby4 and get $10 off, plus free shipping (i paid $43 i think for all my BG). earthbaby is another coupon code. all in all, if you look around there are ways to save. ebay and craigslist are great for buying/selling. im about to list some stuff they dont like, and i bought my snap-n-go off there, as well as a rainforest jumper, and an exersaucer. they are $65 each and i got them for $35 total. they wont be able to use the for quite some time, but it was on craigslist, and the lady had twins, and they were cheap! well i gg switch babies and feed the 2nd one! happy budgeting!

 

Best of luck with the BF. I was absolutely commited to BF, too. However, after a month of more problems than I care to remember I came to my senses and did was was right for us and switched to FF and have never looked back. I wasn't prepared for the expense of it though - especially with a baby with colic caused by lactose issues which requires the $$$$ formula.

- Formula ~ 225/mo (with one kid on super expensive stuff, the other on Sams club gentle which is an amazing deal). Less earlier on, a little more as they begin to consume more.
- Food ~ 22/mo (jars or make your own) This is a guesstimate based on what we eat now and the text book answer on how much they should be eating as they get older - we are just now really getting into solid foods. It's way cheaper to make your own if you have the time. And it doesn't come into play unitl you are at least 4mo, although some people (like us) don't start until 6mo.
- Diapers ~ 100/mo (we use Pampers Swaddlers, and now cruisers. Cloth would probably be cheaper, just not for me & daycare absolutely wouldn't do it.)
- Clothes ~ 25/mo (we have on average 8 outfits in each size range for each of them + 4/5 sets of PJs each) I am a bargain shopper here and find most of their stuff at Ross, Marshalls, or Walmart or Target on sale. I generally get name brand stuff - Carters, Osh Kosh, etc. for ~ $3.50 an outfit (we love the once piece jumpers). Sams is another great place that carries lots of Carters around here for < $5.

One time things like nursery furniture, bottles, car seats, stroller, toys, etc. vary so much on what you buy. Obviously buying 2nd hand can save you a ton of money. The only thing I would be adamant about buying brand new is car seats.

We were very lucky. I had two showers with over 100 people and received over $3000 worth of stuff from very generous friends and co-workers. We were also offered lots of hand me downs (cribs, etc. - most of which I declined, just because I wanted things to match - personal preference and we could afford it). But if you are looking to save some money, you would be amazed at what people will offer.

In my experience people came out of the woodwork to offer things when they heard we were having twins. Some of it is because of who we are, and who our friends are, some of it was just a twin thing - random generosity.

 

It's a tough one. My best advice to save money is to get what you can on freecycle and craigslist. You can get clothes dirt cheap on Ebay too (just watch out for the shipping cost, I usually pay less than $2 per clothes combining sell price and shipping). There are tons of newborn/0-3 months lots that go for nothing there. I got lots of toys there also, probably spent $100 for enough toys for their first year (although I'm still going to buy more... lol). The only things I bought new are furniture, car seats, high chairs and exersaucer/jumperoo.

If you're going to use formula... check the store brands. They're just as good as the named Brands and 40% cheaper. Same for diapers. BJs, Costco and Target have good diapers for pretty good prices (almost 50% less than named Brands).

If you don't already, get a wholesale club membership. Even if you're not going to buy diapers (even Pampers and Huggies are much cheaper there), you'll save on pretty much everything else. They even have brand clothes for 30% cheaper.

For us, I think it's about $50 in diapers a month, $150 in formula, probably $20 in clothes... We haven't started solids yet so it's hard to tell...

 

We keep a budget to track what we've spent and our grocery bill has gone up $200 a month (includes baby food and diapers) and our "baby stuff" column is usually in the 200-300 range (clothes, toys, baby food and diapers/wipes). We were really lucky to get a couple of exersaucers from friends and lots of baby clothes. I hit Kohls at the end of last summer and stocked up. I always check their clearance b/c most stuff get to be $4 or less.

Check out www.babycheapskate.com often. They give updates on sales and formula/diaper deals nationwide. Also check out consignment shops for toys and craigslist.com and eBay.

If you are a near a big hospital (maybe even attached to a university) it's worth looking into their research programs. My boys qualified for a Similac Formula Study and we got 3 months of free formula. It saved us a ton of money (and we got over $150 in gift cards to Walmart which we used for baby stuff). I wasn't able to breastfeed as I barely had enough for one baby. They were also doing a blood pressure study and you got diapers for allowing them to take your babies blood pressure twice a day (while they were in the NICU).

I wish you the best of luck! There are a lot of deals out there, you just have to work for some of them.

 

Yeah for us $300 is probably a good guess, but probably $400 if you factor in all the big expenses that we got at first (crib, dresser, car seats etc).

 

Gosh, I got everything at my shower, and I mean everything (crib, mattresses, car seats, ...) Plus more clothing that I could possibly ever use, even if I changed them 3 times a day.

I pumped and fed EBM, had to start supplementing with formula at 3 months, and I weaned at 6 months. I used Costco brand formula at that point and spent $125/month, and I'd say around $75/month on diapers/wipes.

There were a few other expenses, the biggie being childcare.

 

I had 3 showers and at 2 of them everyone brought a package of diapers in addition to gifts. My girls are 5 1/2 months and I just now hard to start buying diapers because we used all thru size 2. When they get to 3's though, we have a few boxes of the bigger sizes.

My girls were on the hypoallergenic formula so for the first 4 months we spent a little over $400 a month on formula. If they don't have to be on that the cost would be cut in 1/2.

Sam's Club is awesome! I know someone already mentioned that but we also get our wipes and formula from there. We also bought diapers there but now they are out of 1-2 and that's what they had in the Pampers Swaddlers (we love those diapers because they are so soft!)

I've hardly had to buy any clothing because between the showers and grandparents alone they have plenty. Both sets of grandparents buy stuff for them every time they go shopping.

I have learned one thing from my first pregnancy (and with twins) - when I'm invited to showers I'm giving the practical stuff like diapers, gift cards, etc because that's the stuff parents really need. The cutesy clothing is nice but alot of times babies can't wear everything they get.

 

Congrats!

We probably spend $500 per month on formula and baby food (also planned to BF, also thwarted by own body--and the reality of having twins) and about half that on diapers. I try not to go overboard on clothes because they outgrow so fast. And I try to bargain shop as I can for clothes. Sent DS to daycare today in the ugliest outfit I've ever seen; but it was $2.99. Poor kid. Even DH shook his head, and he's no fashion plate. I only take pics in their cute clothes.

If you haven't already, check to see if your community has a local Moms of Multiples chapter. Ours has awesome resale events; plus you can get connected with other multiple moms who are usually really generous with donating or lending gear--especially toys and stuff they'll outgrow like bouncies and swings.

Craigslist is great for strollers. I know a lot of people have found cribs and other furniture that way as well.

One thing we way underbudgeted was doctor visits. DH had set up his flexible spending account based on what we thought we would spend. Yeah. We ran through that in about 4 months--chalk it up to being first time parents (paranoid) and to our boys being in daycare.

Good luck!!!

 

This is SO helpful! Thanks to everyone who responded!

And I am joining my local Mothers of Twins club and really looking forward to their September consignment sale on 9/6. Conveniently, it's the day after our 20-week ultrasound where we hope to confirm the sexes of both babies. (And make sure they're both doing OK!)

 

I just found this site, which is very interesting and might help you in your quest to find out how much to budget.

http://www.babycenter.com/babyCostCalculator.htm

 

My SO had read somewhere that an average amount of diapers used during the first year with twins is 5000

I do know that we got 1400 total from all my baby showers and we used them all within the first three months.

We go through about 2 cans of formula a week the first 6 months at $12 a can.

Now we can stretch is a bit because they are eating solids now, but now we have to buy solid foods.

When you think about it, it really does boggle the mind

 

I'm not living in the U.s. but here are some of my cost saving tips.....

If you have 2 boys be aware they might be born with a size difference or grow to have a size difference.

Watch your utilities with extra laundry, extra lights on with company and late nights, etc.

Try to buy toys that suit say 6 months - 36 months so a wide age range. or say birth - 12 months You could put these items on your registry. For example there is a hippo that eats blocks... well the blocks can be played with until they are of age to be standing to push the hippo. Or an exercauser that turns into a toddler play area.

If you are near an IKea they have cheap cheap cheap high chairs that are the BOMB. easy to clean. Like 30.00 !!

Tell everyone you are pregnant, I was surprised by the number of presents I got from people who met me once or who had never met me even.

Ask for some larger sized clothes. I ended up with a real variety of sizes.

Shop in a Good will in the nice part of town

If you have to buy something ask if they have a twin discount.... talk to the manager.

Look at every company Johnston & johnston, Heinz, Gerber, etc. and sign up for all and any baby programs. I signed up for one in Canada and got a free tin of formula. I've switched back and forth from various formulas and NEVER had any problems. (we don't have any allergies)

Does any drug stores have a baby program ? Online coupons ?

Some outfits are so comfortable and easy to wear during the day and they are ok to sleep in at night if you don't get around to changing them --- I'm thinking of those cotton Carter outfits.

Put a hot water bottle in their bed (then remove) before they get into bed. Great for winter months. Not in for too long and check for temp.

Microwave sterilizers are fine.. no need for electric one.

Go to several twin group meetings and get to know the woman, often they will lend you things or give it to you. Twin moms are the best.

Hope this helped....

 

something that we did once we found out i was pregnant was start doing an automatic savings plan - i think i was putting away 300/mo and hubby about 500/mo - it was easier than i thought since it was automatic - never saw it, never thought about it. in the end we saved about 7k. we saved because we needed the security of knowing that i could stay home for a few mos unpaid without things beeing super tight. in the end it was never used because my boss paid me for 3 mos home and then i went back to work. but boy did it come in handy when my car died and we needed a new one. it felt soooo good to buy a car with cash - i hate car payments. but - i digress - i felt that the babies didnt add too much expense until they went into daycare ($1600/mo - home based daycare). we used to go out alot - but once the girls were born we didnt anymore so those first three months money was coming in and not going out very quickly. the cloth vs disposable diaper debate was one we thought about but environmentally its pretty much a wash (no pun intended) and cost wise its the same as the local diaper service and i wasnt willing to consider doing them my self - at 20 diapers/day in the begining - that is way to much poop sitting around the house. i bf full time the first three months and part time once i went back to work but had to wean at 6 mos due to dwindling supply at that point we switched to generic formula - $12/ can vs $26 - so about 5-6 cans per month($72). now they are on food and i buy some but try to make alot my self and freeze - big time money saver - also then you can introduce diff vegetables, my girls love beets, cauliflower and summer squash - usually $1 for two tubs - but when i make myself about $1 for 6 when i do peas, $3 for 8 when i do caulilower so depends on vegetables prices - bit mostly much cheaper. the way we budgeted was to calculate all the standard house expenses plus daycare and estimated an extra$200 or so per week for food and baby stuff and we set up direct transfer to a joint acct ad automatic payment for most of our bills. that way we always know the money is there because either of us spend out of that acct and we usualy end up with a little leftover every month which builds up to a nice cushion. oh also we got tons of handmedowns and gifts which i didnt expect. people come out of the woodwork for twins - i also started to acost twin moms on the street to get tips and whatnot - which resultin in one case in alot of handmedowns - if you live near baltimore, i'd be happy to send some your way. i also pretty much only shop the sale rack, online shopping is also a gr8 option. hope that helps - good luck

 

QUOTE(Fireweed in AK @ Aug 28 2008, 05:38 PM) [snapback]952388[/snapback]
I just found this site, which is very interesting and might help you in your quest to find out how much to budget.

http://www.babycenter.com/babyCostCalculator.htm


That is really nice, although you can't adjust the cost of diapers, and I didn't dare looking at the rest... but when I showed the page to dh he told me to close it right now :lol: