Lydie spends 310 euros on her 4 children: “My finances are a real worry”

Every week, in our meeting “When we love, we count”, parents open their accounts and share with us how much one or more children costs them, monthly.

This week it is Lydie who participates in the exercise and details the budget of her blended family, with 4 children who do not all live under the same roof.

Lydie’s income, with four alternating children

• First name : Lydia

• Age : 39 years old

• Work : SEO freelance web editor

• Total household net budget: from €2,300 to €3,800 per month (depending on missions)

• Number of children: 1 full time, 1 in shared custody, 2 adults

• Living space: a house in the Hauts de France

Lydie lives with her partner and their family is reunited. Her youngest son, aged 5, lives with them, while the other three are present only intermittently. The budget for this testimony will be based mainly on the cost of the 5 year old son, the other three will be present more rarely: the 17 year old comes on every holiday, the 21 year old comes to spend a few weekends with Lydie and her partner, and the 24 year old comes once or twice a year to visit them.

We have a 160m2 terraced house with a large 2,000m2 garden in the Hauts de France countryside. We wanted the tranquility of the countryside, but not too far from the Paris region, where I was still working as an employee before the pregnancy. We both grew up in the city, we didn’t want this for our children.

The couple’s income is uncertain and varies from 2,300 to 3,800 euros per month, depending on Lydie’s freelance missions. For this testimony we will rely on an average of €3000 per month.

€150 will be taken from this sum to pay maintenance for the 17-year-old child. In total, Lydie and her partner therefore have an average of €2850 Monthly wage.

Every month the couple repays 600 euros on the mortgage and spends 250 euros on water, electricity and wood bills for the stove, in addition to condominium expenses. €50 fiber subscriptions from SFR and Netflix.

Childcare costs for 4 children, 3 of whom are away from home

After explaining her total income, Lydie details the amount she spent on providing childcare equipment for her daughter:

Given the large age difference between the youngest and the youngest (12 years difference), everything was bought, new or second hand. It must have easily approached 1,000 euros.

For birth gifts, Lydie was deliberately not helped:

They didn’t help me lower my budget with gifts, and that was a choice.

Hygiene side, siblings no longer consume special baby products. Lydie estimates that her monthly budget for her four children amounts to €20 per month, on average.

Level HealthLydie indicates she has a budget of €10 per month :

Allergies are widespread, we rob the shelves of nasal sprays and tissues.

Food expenses for Lydie and her four children

As for purchasing food for her children, Lydie explains that her budget varies depending on the occupancy rate of the house by all the children, but she estimates her budget, for the children only, at €200 per month :

My budget depends on the presence or absence of adults, who are big eaters. It can range from €200 per month to €400.

For the rest of the races, Lydie details her organization:

I do my shopping at Leclerc. I favor practicality and prices. For fruit and vegetables I go to a family-run farm.

Lydie doesn’t let her children convince her to go into supermarkets, because they are reasonable:

I only order from Drive to avoid buying impulses (mine especially!), but I ask if the children have any particular wishes and they are generally granted, because they are reasonable.

Expenses for clothes and toys for 4 children, 3 of which are away from home

As for the clothing budget for her four children, Lydie buys new and used items, depending on the products:

I use Vinted a lot, it allows me to make a balance between what I sell and what I buy. My daughter is a real daredevil so I don’t spend a lot of money on new things. Only underwear, coats and shoes are purchased new. The older ones sometimes ask for new shoes, we get them new ones.

The balance sheet was smoothed during the year clothes of children is estimated at €20 per month.

As for toys and games, Lydie estimates the expense €15 per month. As for books, Lydie has a budget of €15 monthly, as well as €15 budget for a Minimondes subscription for her 5-year-old daughter and a subscription to English lessons.

There is no budget for free time:

We are fortunate and unfortunate to live in the countryside, so there is nothing extraordinary about the activity. We do everything ourselves in our large garden (pool, path, archery, etc.)

The budget for children

Lydie’s children are never looked after outside, so she has no expense item for this part and she explains her reasons:

The older ones stay with their mother, and with me when they are with us. I left my job to become self-employed so I could fully care for my daughter. My parents only take care of her on Wednesdays (and on public holiday afternoons).

Because she has no childcare, Lydie receives no state aid:

I pat myself on the back, give my parents some homemade cake and off we go again! (LAUGH)

Plus, Lydie doesn’t need a babysitter occasionally. If he has to take care of his daughter, he asks his parents for help:

My parents would kill me if I didn’t let their granddaughter babysit them.

When it comes to her children’s education, Lydie spends €15 home insurance which also includes school.

Lydie breaks down which budgets could be reduced in her opinion:

I will move away from the traditional “petrol” and “racing”, because I think it’s the same for everyone. I wish I could stop myself from robbing stores like Action and Noz to buy “useless but nice things”!

Lydie describes her latest madness to us in detail:

There hasn’t been a final break, but some madness is planned for the next holiday: two days in a zoo with a night in huts in the heart of the area of ​​wolves, bears and deer.

Pocket money and the transmission of the value of money

Lydie talks about the relationship with money in their family, what was passed down to her and her current relationship with her children.

My mother was a big spender and my father was domineering. He had (and still has) a comfortable nest egg and regularly indulges in small pleasures despite having a rather anxious relationship with money.

I’m more like my dad, but to the extreme because my finances are a real concern (and even more so since I’m a freelancer). I always want to have money saved and rarely dare to touch it.

For her, the topic of money is not a taboo and she talks about it with her children:

It is even essential to talk about it to understand its value. For the older ones it’s fine, but for the younger one it’s essential, especially because she’s really spoiled.

Lydie tries to teach the value of money to her children, especially her granddaughter:

I explained to my daughter from an early age that you can’t have everything or keep everything and she has never had a scandal in store. She knows that for every toy that comes into her house, an old one that she no longer plays with has to be resold or given away.

Lydie does not give her children pocket money and explains her choice:

The two older ones work, but we don’t give all of them pocket money and we never have. On the other hand, they receive a small fee when they help, not with daily chores, but for “important jobs”, and we regularly buy them the little trinkets they ask for.

Lydie opened a bank account for her daughter:

My partner at the time hadn’t opened anything for his grown-ups, I wanted to open a Livret A for my daughter because my parents had done it for me, and it’s convenient to start life with a carry. He has an associated checking account, which is empty.

The amount Lydie pays into her daughter’s account has not been disclosed and is not added to the list of monthly expenses.

At the end of the month, Lydie has €1,665 left. A sum that varies depending on the initial salary received and which is used for the specific expenses of the couple and the family, as well as those specific for the children.

When all the money spent only on his children Lydie and her partner are added spend €310 monthly.

Thanks to Lydie for answering our questions!

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