Will, Kate: here are 5 ways to save money as parents of three after the birth of the royal baby
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There’s a new royal baby! You probably haven’t noticed; it’s all been very low key.
But with the arrival of the as-yet-unnamed prince (unnamed at time of writing but I really hope I’m right and they call him something traditional, like Æthelweard) the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge join the Number Three Club.
It’s an exclusive club filled with exhausted-looking parents. After all, the chances of a full night’s sleep drop by around a third with each baby you have. But membership is also incredibly expensive.
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Three is the magic number
According to research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research the cost of raising a child to 21 has now reached £230,000.
Of course, that falls a bit with each new child as you need to buy less new stuff for each, but a typical parent of three can probably expect to spend a good chunk of half a million before their youngest hits 21.
Fortunately for Will and Kate, I am already a mum of three, I’m monumentally tight-fisted and I’ve decided to share what I’ve learned.
After all, Prince William quit his job as a helicopter pilot last year so money must be tight.
So, here are my top tips for coping with the cost of three or more kids.
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1. Give up on hotels. Now.
Holidays are going to get a lot more expensive when you have three kids and two adults, especially once your youngest is out of a cot.
Being a family of five can mean that hotels demand you book two or more rooms; if you book a lodge or caravan they often demand you hire one that has space for five adults and refuse to let your kids top-and-tail.
In short, it can easily cost more per person than when you’re a family of four. We get round this by avoiding hotels as much as possible.
We use AirBnB or similar rental websites and the savings are incredible. Last year we booked an entire flat in Edinburgh for a weekend for far less than a hotel room.
And when we decided to invite another relative and their three kids, the flat owner only charged us an extra £30.
Plus we could cook in the flat so we saved all the money we would have spent eating out.
If you do want to book a hotel and holiday then it can be worth ringing to see if you can all stay in one room.
Booking websites usually have a strict computer-says-no rule but get a human on the line and you can often come to a different agreement.
2. Almost everything can be second-hand
(Image: REUTERS)
Your first-born may have had everything brand new but your second child survived in hand-me-downs and your third baby will inherit clothes and accessories that have been twice round the block.
So if your second and third children are going to be using second-hand stuff then why not your firstborn too?
I regularly shop for toys, kit and clothing on local Facebook selling groups. In fact, I often buy second-hand designer outfits for less than the cost of new supermarket clothes.
I’ll only buy new safety equipment, like car seats, but other than that second hand can be a bargain.
3. Stockpile birthday presents
Look, when you have three kids you will spend most of the rest of your life at other children’s birthday parties.
Sorry, but that’s your life now; each child will be invited to several parties a month, meaning every weekend will be spent attending at least one party.
Try to view it as a hobby, only with soft play or bowling instead of golf.
But these parties can get really expensive as you have to buy a present each time for the birthday boy or girl. This is where re-gifting is your friend.
When your child has a birthday party you will end up with 15+ presents just from the kids you invite.
That’s a lot of extra toys to fit into a house that already has three children and three children’s-worth of stuff in it.
So here’s a tip: save those presents. Let your child open them, let them keep the ones they seem genuinely excited about (I’m not a monster) but carefully slide the ones they don’t really care about out of sight and into a cupboard. Instant pile of presents for the next parties you attend.
Just make sure you keep a list of who gave what so you don’t accidentally re-gift that bath sponge set back to the child who gave it to yours.
4. Go to museums (every. single. weekend)
Do you know how much it cost me to get three children and two adults into the zoo last week? More than £70! And the toddler was free so it’s only going to get more expensive in a year.
That is why I like to spend most of our days out at museums and art galleries – not because I am wholesome and educational but because I am incredibly cheapskate.
Museums and galleries are mostly free. As long as I take a packed lunch with us then we can have a whole day out for just the cost of parking.
Since Will and Kate actually have a home in London (well, a palace), they can even hit up some of the country’s top museums without having to fork out for a hotel.
5. If you’re buying the happy family a present
(Image: DAILY MIRROR)
Perhaps you’re reading this because you need to buy a newbie threebie family a present soon. So here’s a plea on their behalf.
By the time a couple have their third baby they have everything they need. They have every baby toy, every outfit and every accessory they will ever need. Ever. Plus a lot of stuff they don’t need.
In fact, their house is probably so full of children’s stuff that they’re worried they will have to build an extra room just for the new baby’s belongings.
So unless you’re planning to buy their baby something it will keep for ever or sell to fund their 18th birthday party – think Faberge Egg – then you really don’t need to.
What the parents almost certainly want is some hands-on practical help. The best thing you could buy for them is a takeaway or, better still, a few hours from a cleaner.
Maybe the Queen and Charles can club together and buy them both.