Here’s How Much Baby’s Second Year Cost (Plus a GIVEAWAY!)

Happy New Year’s everyone! Cheers to 2021 and I hope it is filled with resilience, gratitude, intentionality, simplicity, grit, and presence.

Before jumping in, we wanted to announce that we will be organizing a Team Declutter Challenge during the month of February as well as hosting our second annual Team Social Media Digital Detox Challenge during the month of April!

The Declutter Challenge

The February challenge is based off the #LessIsNow challenge from the new Less Is Now documentary from The Minimalists which just came out on January 1.  If you haven’t seen the film yet, you can find it on Netflix.  Here’s how it works:

• Each day you (and your partner/family) will find items to either remove, donate, or sell from your home.
• On the first day of the month, select one item.
• On the second day, two items.
• Third day, three items.
• All the way to the last day of the month, February 28th, where you will select 28 items.

That’s a total a 406 items – but who’s counting.  Yes, I am very intimidated by this challenge myself and to be honest I don’t know if I’ll be able to rid our home of 406 items.  But here’s hoping!

The beauty is there is no winning or losing in this.  Even if you “only” find say 50 or 100 items to declutter, that’s WAY better than nothing!  The purpose is to become more mindful of what’s in your home and how much more inviting and calming your home will feel with less shit in there.

At the end of the challenge, send us a picture of ALL the items you piled up to remove from your home and we will post the pictures in a future post.  For those who want to partake in this challenge let us know and we will send you some questions once the month is over to see how it went to include in that post as well!

The Social Media Detox

We are big proponents of stepping away from our social media accounts to recharge and reassess what it is that truly brings us happiness – deep connections with people in real life.  (This does not mean stepping away from phones, computers, emails completely – just your time sucking mostly-mindless accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.) I won’t belabor this on this post in particular, but if you’re interested in learning more, check out these previous posts we’ve written on this topic:

• January’s Challenge: Social Media Detox
• Social Media Detox Group Challenge
• Social Media Detox Challenge Results

If this is something you’d be interested in, please contact us if you’d like to join in the 2021 party!  We’d love to get over 50 people on board this year.

It may sound daunting, but trust me, your life will be just fine without social media for a month – in fact, it likely will be much better!  It’s hard to imagine it for most folks, but trust us and the other members who joined in last year, we know from actual experience.

We even had folks who “needed” social media for their businesses take part last year.  They simply removed their personal social media accounts for the month to ensure they were only focusing on their business needs and not getting sucked into the mindless trap on their personal accounts.

Emails to the team will begin in early March to help prep for April’s detox so please get in touch with us asap so you can get the full experience of the group challenge.  If you’re still on the fence, go watch The Social Dilemma on Netflix (or at least watch the preview) and check out anything from Tristan Harris and maybe then you’ll see the light 😉

For both of these challenges, we ask for nothing in return.  No subscriptions required.  No spam emails coming your way.  We just want to see you improve your life.

Ok, let’s dig in to some baby costs!  And we also have a giveaway in this post too!  Lots going on this week ha.

---

For anyone following along, this is our third post outlining details of baby-related items and costs we’ve encountered.  If you missed the first two posts, you can check them out here:

• Our Baby Item Tips For New Parents
• Here’s How Much Baby’s First Year Cost

We’re now going to dig into the costs during our baby’s second year.

Some caveats:

• We live in Canada where healthcare costs for doctor and ER visits are free.  Vision is also free for kids under 18.
• We live in Canada which offers 12-18 months of parental leave.  Nic took the full 18 months to never return so we do not have childcare costs to account for. During this 18 month leave, she received ~$21,000 from the government.
• Our daughter took to breastfeeding and we never had to purchase or use any formula.  She started weaning off breast milk around 14 months old and was completely weaned off at 18 months (while Nic was in the hospital beating off meningitis).

The Breakdown:

• Diapers & Wipes: $360
  • 1,550 Size 3
  • That’s an average of 4.2 diapers per day during the second year (this grosses me out thinking about this).  We found Pampers Swaddlers worked the best for our little one as her skin is sensitive.  The total cost for all of these diapers was $257.  On average, we spent $0.17 per diaper during this second year.
  • In addition to the size 3 diapers, we also purchased swim diapers and some size 3-4 T pull-ups to hold on to for potting training time for a total cost of $63.
  • As for wipes, we prefer Costco Kirkland baby wipes.  We purchased two $20 boxes of 900 wipes from Costco during her second year. 
• Medicines/hygiene: $119 (all new)
  • Camilia (teething relief – those damn teeth!), kids ibuprofen, bubble bath, baby Vic’s, nasal saline, Nose Frieda (third one sheeh – forgot to pack with us to FL), and lotion.  If your kid seems to breeze past teething, you likely will spend much less in this category.
• Random things: $355
  • bubbles ($3, new), stuffed puppy for sleeping x2 ($8, new, bought a second just in case something happened to the main one!), play-doh ($5, new), random items in Florida ($30, new), stickers ($2, new), chalk ($2, new), glow sticks ($2, new), slumber pod ($150, new – bought on sale, hefty price tag but since our daughter is a terrible sleeper this has been worth it to us whenever we’re sleeping outside our home at a hotel or with friends & family), monitor ($100, new – bought on sale, the one we received when she was born did not last), grow clock ($10, second hand – used for a few days as it didn’t work for her)
  • Birthday ($10, new) – wooden train set for her 2nd birthday.  We also baked homemade cupcakes and brought them down to the river to enjoy.  We also have some RCMP friends who arranged to have a few vehicles come to our house with lights and sirens.  She brings up this memory A LOT!
  • Christmas gifts ($30, new) – books, no mess coloring kit with stamps, activity kit with popsicle sticks, pom-poms, feathers, googly eyes, etc. to make crafts with.
  • Easter gifts ($3, new) – play-doh and stickers that we turned into a scavenger hunt
  • Halloween costume ($0, second hand) – The most adorable duck costume.  She still asks to wear “duck duck” and now it’s a tight fit.
• Clothes: $52
  • Purchased clothes for a total cost of $92
    • Most of these items were larger sizes (4-5 T) on clearance as we are pretty much set with freebies through size 3 T.  Other 2 T items include some sleepers ($12), MEC muddy buddy ($5, second hand), and Kombi mitts ($5, second hand).
  • Sold more clothing items for $40
• Activities: $555
  • Indoor turf ($5), gymnastics ($0, 1x/week, free for kids under 2), annual zoo pass ($150, for 2 adults, kids under 3 free, parking included), sports center family monthly pass ($99/month December – March, total of $400, this includes swimming, skating, curling, indoor turf, climbing wall, etc. plus other activities for us adults such as yoga, spin, gym, etc.), science center ($0, thanks to free passes from our local Parent Link Center), library ($0, books and story time class 2x/week), toddler in tow class ($0, weekly at the Parent Link Center), indoor playground ($0, Parent Link Center), pictures with Santa ($0, donated non-perishable food we had at home).
• Things we received for free as gifts or for free from random other moms in our community on Varage Sale: $0
  • Gifts from friends & family for Christmas and her birthday
    • step-up kitchen helper (handmade holiday present from Nic and grandpa! This is such a lifesaver for our backs and Finn loves being able to help and assist in the kitchen), build and take apart dinosaur (thank you auntie, Finn loves this), magna tiles magnetic blocks (thank you uncle Finn loves to make “pepper shakers” and “cups” out of them to put pepper in our “soup”), foam puzzles, knee hockey sticks and balls, Elmo stuffie & blankie (thank you grandma, she sleeps with this blanket every night), sandcastle pails (thank you auntie), double doodle board (great for the car), play-doh kits, rubber ducks (thank you uncle).
  • Free items (mainly from random other moms via the Varage Sale app),
    • hockey skates, hockey helmet, bike helmet, walking tricycle, scooter, tricycle, kids bike with training wheels, doodle board, coloring books, crayons, markers, puzzles, clothes, shoes, rain boots, winter boots, toque, mitts, gloves.
• Items we sold: -$25
  • sleep sack ($10), Jolly Jumper ($5), books ($10)

How Much Did We Spend?

Drum roll pleaseeeeeee

We spent a grand total of $1,416 during our little lady’s second year.  That comes out to $118 per month. Not too shabby considering a large chunk of this was the sports center pass which we used daily in the winter months for 4 months straight.  Without that splurge, we’re looking at $85/month.

We also contributed $2,500 towards her RESP education fund to get the full 20% match ($500) from the government so a total of $3,000 was invested into her future education this year for a grand total of $6,000 invested so far.

She’s also an eating machine and by the end of her second year, we were likely spending $75/month on food-related costs.  Here’s her typical day:

• breakfast #1 right after brushing her teeth (cinnamon bread)
• breakfast #2 with Mom and Momma (typically eggs and potatoes, milk and granola, toast with peanut butter, or kodiak cakes pancakes)
• morning walk snack (freeze-dried strawberries & bananas, yogurt pretzel, raisins, baked cracker snacks, fruit)
• lunch (whatever we’re eating, typically soup and sandwich)
• after nap snack (fruit, cheese, deli meat)
• afternoon walk snack (dried seaweed, Lara bar)
• supper (whatever we’re eating)
• after supper yogurt or smoothie
• bathtub prunes

I’m pretty sure she eats more than me.

So if we also include the $2,500 RESP contribution and ~$50/month on food from 1-1.5 and then ~$75/month from 1.5-2 ((50*6)+(75*6)=$750) we’re looking at a total of $4,666 out of our pockets in her second year.  Of course, the RESP is elective and we recognize our privilege of being able to contribute this $2,500 towards her education each year.

There you have it!  Short and sweet as we really didn’t spend that much 😉

Those with parents, are you as crazy as us and keep track of all of your baby-related expenses?  Would you say you spent more or less than $1,416 on baby-related expenses (not including education and food) during their second year?  What was your largest baby-related purchase?  How have your child-related costs changed compared to their first few years?

Those without kids yet, if you’re reading this blog you likely are not part of the herd mentality and hopefully, you too can stay well under the average of $8,000-$13,000.  There is no right or wrong way to parent.  We are simply showing that the “norm” $8,000-$13,000 annually in the first few years can be challenged.  Any questions for us?  Hope this helps!

And again, if you’d like to check out the related posts on this topic, you can check them out here:

• Our Baby Item Tips For New Parents
• Here’s How Much Baby’s First Year Cost

---

Giveaway

Last but definitely not least, we have a giveaway to announce!  Last weekend we were one of the ~20 speakers in The Abundant Family Summit.  I fired through all the other sessions over the weekend while they were available for free.  And I just have to say wow so much great info there and most of the speakers had an FI approach to life so it really was a one-of-a-kind summit.  They also provided links for very helpful material to use with your kids.

I know life gets hectic and many of you likely were not able to attend.  Totally get it.

That being said – I’d like to offer one of our awesome readers a FREE All Access Pass to The Abundant Family Summit!

What does this mean?

You’ll get unlimited, on-demand access to ALL of the incredible sessions (including the two live panel discussions), a one page cheat sheet of each session, audio downloads AND multiple bonus workbooks, video trainings and PDFs.

You can learn more about the All Access Pass here.

Here are the sessions you’ll be able to access:

• Doug Nordman and Carol Pittner: “Your Child Is Ready To Learn To Manage Their Money…When They Stop Eating It.”
• Andy Hill: “How Our Family Increased Their Net Worth by $1,000,000 in 10 Years”
• Rob Phelan: “How To EASILY Help Your Kids Start a Business With Little to No Money!”
• Craig Espey – “Planning, Evaluating and Preparing for College.”
• Jacob and Michelle Wade – “Minimalism with Kids: How Tiny Living Has Changed Our Lives & Money.”
• Court – “FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE 101: How To Personalize Your FI Journey With Kids.”
• Shanté Nicole – “Helping Kids Make Cents of Money”
• Harrine Freeman – “How To Easily Manage Your Finances SO You Can Teach Your Kids!”
• Sarah Phillips – “Why an Allowance is about so much more than just Money!”
• Nicole Rule – “The 3 Accounts All Kids NEED!”
• Rocky Lalvani – “How to Hack High School and Have Your Teen Graduate with College Credits!”
• Vincent Pugliese – “How To Teach Your Child to Think Like an Entrepreneur.”
• Liz Frazier Peck – ‘Teaching your Kids the Basics of Finance.’
• Katie May – “Putting Your Health First and Avoiding Mom Burnout on a Budget.”
• Holly Reid Toodle – “Raising Money Smart Kids – 5 Money Habits Every Child Should Master”
• Amanda L. Grossman – “How to Anchor Your Child’s Entire Money Education with a Savings Goal”
• Elle Martinez – “How to Get Your Partner on Board with Becoming Debt Free”
• Nicole Rule – “How To Create BIG Money Goals as a Family.”

I truly think this summit will benefit any parent or soon to be parent out there, regardless the age of your kid(s).  If you don’t have kids, you can gift it to a loved one who does.

All you have to do is let us know that you’re interested and we will add your name to the drawing.  Simple as that.  No required sign ups, no extra emails coming your way, or that type of BS.

The cut off to enter is January 21st and we will announce the winner in our January 28th post!

Good luck!

And for those who want to get in on the action without trying to win a contest, you can use the code “FIMILY” for $20 off the current $69 price tag of the All Access Pass.  So instead of $69 you can get the pass for $49.  This coupon is valid until January 31.

Support This Blog

If you liked this article and want more content like this, please support this blog by sharing it.  Not only does it help spread the FIRE, but it lets me know what content you find beneficial.  Writing is NOT my strong suit and it honestly takes me hours to write each post so the more encouragement the better!  Engaging in the comments below keeps me motivated.  You can also support this blog by subscribing to receive emails anytime a new post is published.  Thank you FImily!

We believe in stacking up life hacks to keep your enjoyment levels to the max without depleting your bank account.  Here are some ways to further educate yourself and save thousands of dollars over your lifetime by making some simple adjustments:

• Investing Newbies: Check out our free Investing 101 Series.
• How much are you paying for your phone plan?  Canadians, learn more about Public Mobile, and see how we are paying $3/mo for our cell phone plan.
• How much are you paying for internet?  Canadians, learn more about the various Independent Service Providers out there to see who services your area so you can lower your monthly bills.
• How much are you paying for home insurance?  We were able to reduce our rates by 25% by switching over to Square One Insurance.  If you live in BC, AB, SK, MB, and ON, check out Square One for your home insurance, landlord insurance, and/or tenant insurance.  Use this link to receive an extra $15 off your quote.  (Note that you must use this link to start the process to get the $15 off even if you prefer to pay over the phone.)
• How much are you paying for your monthly utility bills?  See how you can likely save on this monthly expense.

Sharing is caring!