The Baby Budget Bonanza

It just hurts your credit card in the short, medium and long term.

- Hein Kaiser

When baby comes budget goes. It's a universal truth. Expecting parents have deep pockets of irrationality because, somehow, our brains are shortcircuited; no matter how sensible you spend otherwise.

Penny wise, pound foolish, baby crazy. I've been there, it's scary, and then a few years down the line the realisation dawns: babies don't care about Pinterest-perfect nurseries or where you bought their blankie. Only you do.

Baby number one is usually the most wallet challenging. That's probably part of the reason the HEALT + nine months leading up to welcoming your first child into the world is so unforgettable.

And most of the purchases were unnecessary, over the top and the consequence of clever marketing and salespeople that know exactly which buttons to press. And you'd think that by baby number two common sense would prevail. But not so much.

When we expected our first son, the shopping was intense.

And some big ticket items purchased then still hang around in storage now, unused, while others, like the multi-purpose cot set, serve as storage spaces for stuff.