Financial Impact of Having Twins

One of the first things I thought when we found out we were having twins was: “how am I going to pay for all of this?”

If you haven’t already, you will experience this same concern.

I wish I could tell you the exact amount you’ll spend on your twins. Unfortunately, every twin pregnancy, birth, and household is different. To help you plan without knowing your circumstances, this list will focus on areas where you’ll need to pay.

If you live in the United States, or other countries where you must pay your own medical expenses, the first several categories will apply:

Prenatal Care

A twin pregnancy will result in more trips to the doctor. You’ll have significantly more visits to the obstetrician. Perhaps you’ll be visiting a specialist in multiple birth pregnancies. You’ll get extra ultrasounds as the pregnancy progresses.

All of these doctor visits add up financially. Depending on how your health insurance is structured, you’ll likely have out of pocket expenses all along the way.

Delivery Costs

Baby deliveries aren’t cheap. When you combine two births at once, things get even more expensive. Add in twin delivery via c-section, which is more frequent with twin births, and the costs really start to climb. Expect at least $10,000 in delivery costs for a vaginal birth. Over $30,000 for a c-section.

Infant Care

The aforementioned prices are a minimum. Complications and baby care right after delivery will multiply your medical expenses. If your babies spend any amount of time in the NICU, expect heavy expenses. A family friend’s twins spent nearly two months in the NICU. Expenses from their stay topped half a million dollars.

Durable Goods

Larger one-time expenses for twins include those items that will help your twins for several months.

Budget for cribs, strollers, booster seats, bottles, breast pumps, swings, a rocking chair, nursery room furniture, etc.

Ongoing Expenses

Twins go through diapers at a rapid pace. Plan for diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream, baby shampoo/soap, clothing, laundry detergent, etc. Anything that is used every day will be used up more quickly.

Feeding

If you will be feeding your twins formula, try and get some free or discounted formula. Everything associated with feeding also needs to be purchased (bottles, cleaners, storage bags if you’ll be freezing/refrigerating milk, etc.).

Older Twin Expenses

As your twins get older, their expenses mature and start to mimic those of a singleton child, just multiplied by two.

In the long term, think about paying your twins allowance, saving for college, and paying for future weddings.

During the early months of twins, these future events and expenses aren’t a concern. You are too occupied with day-to-day survival.

Twins Aren’t Cheap … But They Are Worth It

If you summed up all the expenses you’ll have with your twins, it might be depressing. Just remember, we don’t have kids because they are cheap.

Having twins is an amazing experience and one that will bless your life for years to come. Plan and budget the best you can and then hold on for a wild adventure!

Picture by GoonSquadSarah