Raising a toddler is expensive. Here’s one Maryland family’s budget.

Niko, 3, jetted around a play area on a recent day wearing a Spider-Man shirt, sweatpants and sneakers — all hand-me-downs.

Secondhand outfits are a nifty money-saving measure, but they’re just a drop in the ocean of expenses for a family with a young child. There are medical bills, diapers, childcare and much more than a toy-truckload of other accumulating costs.

Parents take all sorts of approaches to make their new financial reality work. Each situation is different. To illustrate how one couple does it — especially as city voters will weigh whether to greenlight the creation of a so-far-undefined “baby fund” at the ballot box Tuesday — The Banner spent time with Niko’s parents, Amy and Kofi Gumbs, entrepreneurs in their mid-30s who live in Upper Fells Point.

They agreed to share their monthly budget.

As entrepreneurs, the Gumbses’ income varies. Amy takes home about $4,800 a month as a self-employed fitness trainer. Kofi recently launched a business venture, so he doesn’t have a reliable income yet. To pay monthly bills for now, they dip into substantial savings, which they’ve intentionally accumulated as part of an early-retirement strategy.

The Gumbses spent more shortly after Niko was born in 2023 than they do today. But the increased costs weren’t just for baby supplies. They also forked over for time-saving products and services, such as ready-to-eat meals and housecleaning.

“In my mind, I was like, ‘I’m taking off work for 2 months, I’m gonna have so much time to do stuff. Surely I can make dinner,’” Amy said. The demands of an infant quickly hit. “I don’t think I made dinner for the first four or five months.”

Amy regularly turned down clients to accommodate a new schedule to look after Niko. The Gumbses later participated in a nanny share. That fell through around the time that Kofi, who worked in tech, left his job, so he then stayed home with Niko.

Childcare prices drop slightly at age 2, which is when Niko began attending daycare three days a week.

“Basically, we were weighing the pros and cons of him going to daycare and my mental sanity, and the cost of all of those things,” Amy said.

They made other changes, too. Between charging stops and baby stops, taking their Tesla on a road trip was no longer practical. They sold it and bought a Honda CR-V.

Amy and Kofi follow a version of a lifestyle movement called “Financial Independence, Retire Early,” known as FIRE, in which people build copious savings early in life. The Gumbses favor “Coast FIRE,” a scaled-back version. The aim is to accumulate a sizable nest egg and, rather than fully retire, pursue less demanding (and less lucrative) jobs or passion projects.

To that end, Kofi opened a creative clubhouse in late September called Hubert’s, located in Fells Point. It’s a “third space” where paying members can pursue art or hobbies in a communal environment.

The Gumbses hope that their business ventures eventually cover their monthly expenses — while their savings continue to grow.

After Niko was born, he spent time in a neonatal intensive care unit, which would have cost $70,000 without insurance. They were on Kofi’s employer’s insurance at the time, making those costs manageable. Now, they are both on Medicaid, which is free, and there are other costs they don’t have that others might, such as student loans or interest on credit card debt. With helpful family members in the area, they rarely hire babysitters.

Amy hosted an event at Hubert’s last week to discuss and demystify upcoming ballot questions. Of the nine measures, the one she remains most conflicted about is the “baby fund.”

“In general, I am in favor of helping support families during a time where their expenses increase,” she said, “but I think the vagueness of the wording on the ballot is hard to get excited about.”

As the Gumbses spoke with The Banner recently, Niko busied himself at a play kitchen. He then hurried over to deliver a bowl of toy food.

Making meals at home. That’s another practical way to balance a budget.