From $0 to $22,000: 11 women on exactly how much they saved before having a baby.

We know you can't always plan when you have a new baby, but as and when they arrive, you will need a few new essentials – think pram, cot and car seat as the bare minimum.

Depending on if you want designer goods, or are happy with hand-me-downs and second-hand bargains, these products cost very little or quite a lot.

We asked 11 women to find out exactly how much they saved before having a family, and what they planned to spend it on. Here's what they had to say. 

1. Elizabeth saved $10,000.

"We went to a financial planner who projected our likely spending for when we eventually had kids (we went about two years before our first was born). 

"The advice we got was that we’d be $5,000 in the red the year we had a baby, so we saved up a ‘rainy day fund’ of around $10,000. Thanks to very generous friends and family with gifts, as well as getting second-hand items, we never actually needed to dip into our baby savings after all. But it was good knowing it was there in case the washing machine broke or something like that."

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2. Natalie had no savings.

"We weren't able to put anything aside as we were renovating, and to be honest we didn't even see that we needed to. I don't think babies have to be expensive. There are a lot of high-quality second-hand items. We bought a big thing each month with our pay and small things were limited to essentials. We haven't really needed savings."

3. Em saved $10,000.

"I listened to Mamamia's Hello, Bump podcast which recommended having about $10,000 put aside which I did. I had planned to use it for big-ticket stuff like a pram but was fortunate that family members wanted to pay for those as gifts. I used a chunk of the savings for my obstetric management fee which was a couple of thousand (I went private), as well as my $500 excess for the hospital birth/stay. The rest of the money sat in a savings account and was used for any larger purchases for the baby, and also topped up for the birth of the next bub two years later. The account still exists and is still added to and any bigger expenses for the kids get taken out of there."

4. Laura saved $200 for each baby.

"Each side of the family bought one big-ticket item – the cot and pram – and then we just bought things every month or by using Afterpay. The second time around once I went back to work, I set up a bank account to save for the private obstetrician fees. Each fortnight a set amount went in. I also listened to the Hello, Bump podcast and set up two savings accounts for my children from when they were about six months old.  

"I put $200 in to start it and now I transfer about $31.00 a fortnight into both accounts. And all money given as gifts to the kids go in these accounts. The second time around I also looked for good quality items on Facebook marketplace and bought them and sold as soon as I was done. In most cases, they sold for a similar price."

5. Rach saved $19,000.

"I have an employer who has great maternity leave scheme, so I was covered with pay from my employer, leave and the government for 10 months. My husband and I calculated to continue our expenses and allow us to live comfortably, we would need an extra $12,000, which we did through joint savings. I also saved an extra $7,000 of my own so we could go on nice holidays (between lockdowns), enjoy daily coffees and go to twice weekly mum n' bubs classes, plus keep up with healthcare appointments (physio, counsellor). 

"We did a few renovations before baby came, but didn’t spend too much on baby items as so many were generous gifts. I was amazed how quickly I needed the extra savings, as my maternity leave pay was below my usual salary."

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6. Fiona saved $22,000.

"After all the nursery and baby stuff was purchased (maybe $8,000) we kept $22,000 saved. I managed to take a whole 12 months off work and still get paid the entire time (combo of half pay maternity leave from work and the government pay). We ended up spending most of that by the time I went back to work. We had to spend a reasonable chunk of that on an overseas holiday for a family wedding. So without that expense, we would have probably still had $5-6,000 left over.

"I definitely could have done the 12 months with fewer savings, but having that extra money meant I didn’t have to stress about going back to work early and could catch up with other friends on maternity leave and have a breakfast date without financial stress. One thing I didn’t think about prior to having the baby was the extra dollars I ended up having to spend on new clothes and shoes to accommodate breastfeeding and my now one-size bigger feet – one of the crappy things no one mentions about being pregnant!"

7. Chantel had no savings, but reduced expenses.

"Our first was a surprise baby, and we were not in a great financial position. My husband (partner at the time) was made redundant from his job and he could not find work in his field. So the only savings I had was the annual leave I got paid out when I left my full-time job to have the baby. 

"Between baby shower gifts, gifts from my family and second-hand items, we only really had to buy the car seat and nappies. My husband did a labourer job to earn money and when bub was four weeks old, he finally got a job using his ridiculous amount of qualifications. 

"I still went back to work full time when bub was seven months old so we could get ahead financially. With our next two children as we were in a better financial position and my husband's income had increased significantly, meaning I could take 12 months off with our second and third baby and then return to work part-time. We never specifically saved before either baby just reduced our expenses and re-did our budget. Having three girls also helps with not having to buy so many new items."

8. Sara saved $7,000.

"I am a control freak so I wanted savings 'just in case'. My employer doesn’t offer paid maternity leave and, although we could survive on my husband's income, things were a bit tight financially. 

"Once my parental leave payments finished, I wanted to still have my own 'pocket money' without having to dip into the single income stream too much. I think I ended up saving around $7,000 as I wanted to have 12 months off work, and not have to rush back because of financial reasons."

9. Shauna saved $5,000.

"I worked out how much approximately I'd need once the 18 weeks of paid leave finished to get me through the rest of the 12 months. Each pregnancy was different based on our household expenses and my husband's wage at the time but I'd save a minimum of $5,000 with each baby. My tax returns saved a big chunk of it for us which helped too. 

"Baby purchases like the cot were all purchased while I was still earning an income and not out of the savings. Life happens though, and I still didn't make it to the 12-month mark before needing to go back to work for either of my kids. 

"Buying second hand from Facebook marketplace or at Kmart/Big W saves a heap of money rather than having to go through traditional baby stores."

10. Lucille has saved a few hundred dollars.

"Rather than spending the money on baby stuff, I am actually saving to put money towards healing for me, for example, on postnatal physio, pilates and a pelvic floor assessment as I want to go back to running after the birth. I will also need specialist appointments for gestational diabetes after birth. I am fortunate enough to have private health insurance and baby hand-me-downs.

"Currently, I am looking at pregnancy support-wear such as compression gear like shorts which cost anywhere from $50-$150 (thank goodness for hand-me-downs and sales)."

11. Kate saved $4,000.

"We didn't save specifically for baby, we just lay-by'd the car seat and then I would scroll Facebook marketplace for bargains. I made a list of what we definitely needed; pram, cot etc. and then listed our 'nice to haves', so I didn't buy heaps of unnecessary items. It's a good idea to wait until you have a baby shower because people often give cash or gift cards, and you don't double up on things people are going to give you. Bulk buying particular-sized baby clothes on eBay is handy too. We found out very early so there was plenty of time to stock up slowly.

"In terms of earnings, I saved up four weeks of annual leave (worth around $4,000), but my workplace didn't offer any paid mat leave so I got the paid parental leave from the government. I also doubled my super contribution for the six months I am having off work, so I didn't fall behind."

How much did you save preparing for your new baby? Let us know in the comments!

More articles on the topic:

Parents share exactly how much they spent preparing for a new baby

'Food, food and more food.' 30 women on the things that helped the most after having a baby.

"We both felt lost." What it's really like going home from the hospital before your baby.

'The truth is, I didn't love the baby phase. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.'

Laura Jackel is Mamamia's Family Writer. For links to her articles and to see photos (mostly of her outfits), follow her on Instagram and  TikTok.

Feature Image: Getty.