The parenthood bill: This is how much the first year could cost

livemint.com:

MUMBAI: While parenthood is a very special feeling, it demands a lot of financial adjustments. However meticulously one plans, there are always surprises when one becomes a parent.

Mint spoke to some young families to find out how they deal with the various costs associated with parenthood.

Google Llc employee Aman Narang and his wife Isha Aggarwal are parents to a 14-month-old son. While now in Gurugram, the couple was in Bengaluru during their son's birth. The couple had an interesting start to spending on baby care as their parents were based in North India (Delhi and Haryana).

“Initially, for support, we used to fly down our parents to Bengaluru," Narang said.

Credit card points helped the family save money on these frequent and often last-minute flight bookings, as the couple didn’t have any close relatives in Bengaluru for support. “I used points on my Axis Magnus credit card to book 12-13 flight tickets during that initial period of five months. If not for the card, we would've spent close to ₹1 lakh on just getting our parents to fly down here. We shelled out just ₹15,000, charged as processing fees, on this unexpected expense," he said.

“There were also some last-minute cancellations, but as these tickets were booked on points, a small point-based penalty was charged, but most of the points were credited back to the account," he added.

Also Read: Diapers, doctors, schooling: know the costs of raising a child in India

After their son turned five months old, the couple got external help. “We hired a domestic help cum nanny when we moved to Gurugram for a monthly salary of ₹20,000, who gives us 10-11 hours a day," Isha said.

The couple moved to Gurugram to be close to their parents, Aman’s job offer and Isha's