Cost to raise a child

[imoldernu]

Many websites, many different calculations. Based on this Wiki article which is based on studies by the US Dept of Agriculture, the total cost of raising one child to age 18 (and NOT counting college), may be as much as:

$389,600
Hmmm... an extra $1,555,400 would come in handy today.

Cost of raising a child - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[REWahoo]

If you have to ask you can't afford it...

[Hamlet]

I think a lot of these calculations depend an awful lot on each person's individual situation. They usually allocate some percentage of the housing and vehicle costs to the child, which sometimes makes sense and sometimes doesn't.

If you are a couple that already owns a 3-bedroom house, it really doesn't add to your housing cost to have a child. Likewise, if you have a small SUV as your vehicle already, it doesn't add to your vehicle costs to have a child.

On the other hand, if you own a house that is too small to add a child to, the cost to have a child can be substantial, if it means selling your existing house and buying a bigger one.

My daughter is now 21 months old, and the major expense for us has been daycare.

[NYEXPAT]

As cost's are lower here and SSI will pick up $218,000.00 (non inflation adjusted) of the cost, I view it as a wash. Hopefully the young missus will want to play tonight!

[W2R]

When my ex and I first started thinking about having a baby, I asked other mothers that I knew about the costs. They all said, "It costs whatever you want to spend".

I think that was pretty wise advice. A kid doesn't eat much food, can wear hand-me-downs if need be, and the amount of toys, educational expenses, music lessons, and so on, are all a matter of what you as a parent decide you want to spend on the kid. Thing is, most of us really do want to give our kids the best we possibly can.

[imoldernu]

I guess what I thought interesting about the site, was the analysis by income bracket, by expense category.
Figure in four years college... room, board and tuition at another $100,000/child, and pretty soon the CPK (cost per kid) is nearing a half million dollars.

So... if you were just starting out...

But little kids are so cute, and such a lot of fun.