Having a baby
What you are entitled to, and what the first year actually costs once the income changes.
Ends with: A list of what you can claim, and a realistic figure for the year.
The pram gets all the attention and it is the small part. What actually changes a household budget is the income that stops, and the entitlements that partly replace it are the ones people apply for late, apply for wrongly, or never find at all.
So this pathway starts with the real cost, which is the gear and the setup plus the difference between what the household earned before and what it earns during parental leave. That second number is the one that decides everything else, and it is the one nobody puts in a baby budget checklist.
Then it works through everything you can claim, one step at a time, because Work and Income and Inland Revenue each administer part of this and neither will mention the other's. Paid parental leave, which has a work test and a weekly cap and should be applied for before the birth rather than after. Working for Families, which most families with children qualify for something from. Best Start for the early years. Twenty Hours ECE, the childcare subsidy and FamilyBoost, which interact and abate at different rates so the net cost of childcare is rarely what the centre quotes you.
The last steps are the decisions a dependent creates rather than the costs. This is usually the first point in someone's life where life insurance is genuinely worth what it costs, because somebody now relies on your income. It is also the point to write a will, and the reason is guardianship rather than money: without one, nobody has been named to raise your children. The final step, teaching them about money, costs nothing at all and outlasts everything above it.
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What the first year actually costs
Pram, car seat, cot, nappies, and the income that stops. The gear is the small part; the lost earnings are the large one.
Work out your own: Cost of a Baby Calculator 9 min read -
Paid parental leave
Twenty six weeks of government paid leave if you meet the work test, capped at a weekly maximum. Apply before the birth rather than after.
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Working for Families
Family tax credit and in-work tax credit, abated as income rises. Most families with children qualify for something and a lot never check.
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The years after the first
The first year gets the attention and the following seventeen cost more. Knowing the shape of it changes decisions you make now.
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Childcare, and what help exists
Twenty Hours ECE, the childcare subsidy and FamilyBoost all exist and interact. The net cost after all three is rarely what the centre quotes.
Work out your own: Childcare Cost Calculator 9 min read -
Money between two people
One income becomes one and a half, then two again. Deciding how accounts work before the leave starts avoids a conversation at the worst possible time.
8 min read -
How much cover you need now
A dependent changes the answer completely. This is the first point in most people's lives where life insurance is genuinely worth its cost.
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What the cover actually does
Term, level and stepped premiums, and what is excluded. Buy the amount you need rather than the amount that fits a round number.
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A will, and who looks after them
The reason to write one now is guardianship, not money. Without a will nobody has been named to raise your children if you both die.
8 min read -
Starting something for them
Eighteen years is long enough for compounding to do the work. Small and regular beats a lump sum you keep meaning to make.
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Teaching them about money
Pocket money, a first bank account, and the habits that come from watching you rather than being told. The cheapest thing in this pathway and the most durable.
7 min read
When to stop and get someone else
Work and Income and Inland Revenue both administer parts of this and neither will tell you what the other offers, so check both. A will naming guardians should be drawn up properly rather than from a template, and an insurance adviser is worth talking to at the point cover starts mattering rather than after.
This pathway is information, not financial advice. Rates, thresholds and rules change; every guide carries the date it was last reviewed.
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