Whether you agree with the Federal Government’s calculation that is costs $384,543 to raise a child until they turn 18, or go with social researcher Mark McCrindle’s more alarming figure topping $1 million, raising children costs money.

From kitting out the nursery with a cot and change table, to the first ‘big bed’, clothing, sport, childcare, presents, food, school and the list goes on and on.

The top 10 items attracting costs for bringing up a child are:

• housing

• childcare

• food

• utilities such as electricity and gas

• clothing and footwear

• household goods and services (including education)

• leisure

• personal care

• transport

• health

So how do we save for all of these items, especially if one parent leaves full-time employment to care for the child/ren?

This is something my partner and I have had to consider. We have two young boys – aged 3 and 1 – and want to provide everything we can for them; what parent doesn’t?

We have a number of ways where we save for our children’s (and our own) needs:

• we grow some of our own fruit and vegetables in our back yard

• our youngest son wears many of the clothes his brother grew out of (some of them are almost new he grew so quickly!) and we ask for clothing as gifts from their grandparents

• we put money aside into a scholarship fund to help contribute to their tertiary education

• we run one car and one of us uses public transport when the car is needed by the other parent

Like all families we have good months and bad months when it comes to money, but saving and knowing how to tighten the belt a bit when needed is what has got us through when the funds have been a bit short.

When I was asked to be involved in ANZ’s FebuSave campaign I thought it was a great chance to spread the word to help women save more – whether for themselves, their families or both – but also a good chance for me to pick up some tips myself. Please check out FebuSave and ANZ’s Be Money Confident website to see where you can find great savings tips this month.

My pledge for FebuSave is to save two per cent of what I earn in the month instead of putting it all into our join household account. What is yours? Sign up now and make your pledge.