Managing finances (and life!) on one income after baby

New parenthood is a bewildering time, not least because babies cost a lot. It doesn’t take long to realise that the bundle of joy that’s filled your heart to bursting is equally adept at draining your wallet.

Never fear, here are some tips for savvy dads seeking simple savings in suddenly single-income families.

NB: this is NOT financial advice and you should consider your own personal financial situation and consider professional advice from your own financial advisor.

1. Pick the low-hanging fruit

Your first steps should be the basics: budget carefully (with a written summation of outgoings), deep-six Foxtel (and any other superfluous costs), and see where you stand. Buying in bulk, using grocery price comparison apps such as Frugl, WiseList, or SmartCart, and finally weighing up those ‘lazy tax’ monthly outgoings (phone and internet, power providers, credit cards, even mortgage rate) can save you hundreds. As can savvy everyday consumption. Avo-on-toast isn’t the reason you don’t own a 17-bedroom penthouse, but if you can swap two daily coffees for office-provided pods you’ll pocket around $45 a week.

2. Prepping

Buying in bulk is handy, but if you’ve got the storage space for that, you may also have the freezer capacity to take it to the next level. Organised parents occasionally make the news in quirky stories where they whip up and freeze three months of family dinners in a weekend, like Brisbane mum Rebekah Freeman. Cooking a colossal bolognaise sauce and freezing a fortnight’s worth of individual portions might not have been the debauched rock’n’roll thrill-ride you always imagined your Sunday nights might become. But it’s a lot more fun than being sprung looting the work fridge for the heels of someone else’s’ mouldy Soy & Linseed loaf on Wednesday lunchtime.

3. Do it yourself

Look, there’s no need to go over the top here. Cobbling up your own shampoo using household items and aloe vera stalks is overkill, and it’s going to take a lot of $1 bottles of home brand conditioner to buy one of those Volkswagen Beetle-sized top-of-the-line strollers. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t corners you can trim.

A site like Handyman.net.au provides expert tips on everything from growing veg to mixing (very effective) homemade cleaning products to DIY home improvements. iFixit describes itself, accurately, as “a global community of people helping each other to repair [mostly electronic] things”, and they’re full of straightforward advice, altruistic assistance, and cheap kits for everything from replacing iPhone batteries to fixing snowmobiles. There’s something there for most of us, even if as a new dad from Darwin you’re perhaps not doing a great deal of snowmobiling at the moment.

4. Make sure you’re claiming your cash

Australia’s parental leave scheme isn’t great by comparison to many global competitors, but the good news is that it’s set to expand for children born from 1 July 2023. Check www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/parental-leave-pay to see what’s available to you. While many fathers have previously not claimed their entitlements—and the process can be a slightly more complicated if you work for yourself, for example—it’s worthwhile doing if you’re eligible.

5. Investigate your childcare options

Childcare is notoriously expensive for a reason. Despite a personal income of over $200,000 per annum, working mother Melanie Claire says that one of the reasons her family left Sydney’s Northern Beaches for the NSW midnorth coast was long daycare costs of $165 a day for each of her two children under four. “1,650 a week is over $85K a year—after tax,” she says. “At least the subsidy helped a little. Now we’ve moved it’s closer to $80 a day.” See how much you’re eligible for at servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-much-child-care-subsidy-you-can-get. Community preschools and council-run daycare centres can be significantly cheaper, if you’re lucky enough to have that option.

What may help more? Proximity to your mum and dad. According to the government two in five Australian grandparents with a grandchild aged under 13 years provide some childcare. You could also discuss flexible hours with your employer—perhaps condensing five regular workdays into four extended days.

6. Do stuff that’s free

Well, obviously. But getting out of the house with your child is great for bonding and just as good for your metal health (particularly if you’re the stay-at-home parent, who may find community parent’s groups a godsend). As your baby grows you can progress from long walks with bub in the stroller or baby harness, to dedicated child’s areas at the local library (which are warm, free, and good for meeting other parents), to parks, playgrounds and beach days with a packed lunch.

7. Sell your old gear, buy someone else’s

A 2019 Second Hand Economy Report by Gumtree Australia found that the average Australian household had $5,300 worth of sellable unwanted or unused items cluttering its cupboards and sheds. With the Australian Institute of Family Studies estimating the cost of a first child at between $3,000 and $13,000 in its debut year, you can both buy used items like cots, change tables, and rocking chairs for feeding, while also selling off stuff you’re unlikely to reuse, like snowmobiles. (Note: be careful when assessing second hand child car seats, which should be under 10 years old must never have been in a car involved in a serious crash.) Buy, swap, sell groups, garage sales, and op shops can be a goldmine for preloved but still-good items at a fraction of their RRP when new.

The stuff you find might not match the carefully interior decorated décor you’d established pre-child, but everything will soon have a light sheen of breast milk or baby formula on it anyway.

Give yourself a break. You’re going strong, despite no-sleep, poop explosions, and an intermittent diet of hastily defrosted freezer items, you’re nailing this. Money helps, no doubt—and learning frugal (or at least efficient) habits at this stage can reap dividends for the next two decades. But the best thing you’re giving your baby is love.

Written for Huggies by Ben Smithurst. Jan 2023. Ben is a father of two, dad blogger, and journalist from Sydney. You can find more of his work at directadvicefordads.com.au.

Reviewed by Jane Barry, midwife and child health nurse Feb 2023.