 | How Much Does It Really Cost To Raise a Child? Editor's Note: This article was originally featured on the LargerFamilies.com blog. I was so impressed by the analysis that I inquired if we could reprint it. Graciously, the webmaster and the author agreed. |
| According to a calculator at Bankrate.com, it will cost you $190,000 to raise a child to age 18. Multipy that number by the number of children I have (8) and you get the insane figure of a MILLION AND A HALF dollars to raise my family to adulthood. Hoobaby. NO wonder people assume that my hubby must make bucket loads of money. I found that number so outtasight crazy that I spent some time looking at it carefully. Here are the numbers it cites.
Remember, the numbers in bold are PER CHILD per year. Childcare: $2/yr/child I am a homemaker, so no day care. The rare babysitter is usually grandma or, more recently, an older sibling. Weve probably paid a sitter 20 times total. At $15 a time, thats $300 total for all 8 children, or divided, $2/child/year. Groceries: $840/yr/child I cook most food from scratch and we eat lots of food from our garden. The garden alone probably saves us $100 a month on groceries, year round. We pay $700/mo for groceries for 10 people. That $700 breaks down to $70 per person per month, or $840/yr per child. Clothing: $200/yr/child I shop at thrift shops, yard sales and dept store clearance racks. I also happily accept hand-me-downs and pass down our clothes from child to child. (And the kids always look well dressed, thankyouverymuch!) Gift giving: $200/yr/child I shop carefully for Christmas and do homemade or clearance items for gifts for kids birthday parties, etc. Bigger home: $900/yr/child We built our current home when we had only 3 kids and with 5 bedrooms it is still adequate. The difference between our first home and our current home was $130,000 including interest. Dividing that cost over 18 years gives you $900/yr/child. Bigger car: $139/yr/child We paid $20,000 for our current van, which we hope to make last during the largest years of our family. Already our oldest is off at college. Most likely by the time the bigger vehicle is retired, our family will have shrunk enough to fit into a more affordable standard sized car. Education: $60/yr/child We homeschool, visit our local library for many resources, and use reusable textbooks for most subjects past 3rd grade. Recreation: $150/yr/child Kids do 1-2 extracurricular activities per year each, such as baseball, swimming, piano and choir. We go to dollar movies. We go to the water park on the free day sponsored by hubbys work. We camp at state parks. Fun does not have to break the bank or involve large black mouse ears. Additional insurance: $75/yr/child Family plan at hubbys work charges $50 extra per month to cover the family, no matter how big. Health care: $200/yr/child We have excellent health and dental insurance. Preventative care is free. The maximum family out-of-pocket is $2000 per year. Misc: $100/yr/child Because Im sure Im forgetting something. TOTAL EXPENSES 1 child for 1 year: $2866 1 child for 18 yrs : $51,588 As you can see, this total of almost $52,000 to raise one child to age 18 is a far cry from the expert estimate of $190,000. I think what many people forget, finance-wise with a large family is that we do not need to rebuy everything for each new child. A minivan that works for 2 will also work for 5. Baby strollers and cribs and bunk beds can all be reused. Ditto for clothes. Yeah, you will probably have to buy a bigger house, but not for every. single. child. Granted, the numbers for a family as big as mine STILL sound a little staggering. To raise 8 children for 18 years, even on 'Marys Economy Plan', will be around $413,000 total. However, divide $413,000 by 18 years, and it averages to a mere $23,000 per year. And that doesnt even take into consideration that a large family does not have the whole clan at home at once. My hubby and I had a decade of parenting four or fewer kids at the beginning, exactly ONE year of parenting the full 8 children all at once, and most likely we have at least another decade of 4 or fewer children in the home still in our future. All this goes to show that if you are willing to be frugal, you do not have to be RICH to have a big family. And let me tell ya, my kids are very worth a little frugality. **Mary is the mother of 8 children ranging in age from 1 to 18, including 2 from Korea and 2 from Ethiopia. You can find her regularly at Owlhaven.** Site and content 2006 - Lotsofkids.com |
When parents self-induce added pressure to incurr every cost to meet that $190,000 it takes to raise a child, I say it costs even more than that. How much does a family counselor or child psychologist cost? How about the difference in cost of clothing for the parents who both work? The time that my wife tried working, her new wardrobe and childcare and housekeeper and more meals on the run all added up to a net loss of income. So living frugally incurrs a simplicity that provides more fertile opportunity for living joyful and happy lives.
However, in reading through the comments, Jamie's attack on homeschooling is infuriating. His rant centers on a belief that homeschooled children do not recieve a proper education. Somebody failed Philosophy 101. One tenet of the argument is that parents as teachers are uneducated. Another is that public education is a proper education and ample opportunity. Lastly, that all textbook changes are critical.
I liken this linear and narrow thought pattern to that of the cable commercials where the guy with cable gets beat up and laying in a ditch, living with stray animals, or sells his hair in Vegas. The commericials are ha ha funny, but sad in that a lot of people reason exactly the same way the commercials do.
Also physics, regular biology, marine biology, and Chemistry books haven't had more than superficial changes in 10-15 years. So you would only have to buy ap biology books every 4-5 years.
Aso, you could send your kids to public school, then it'd be free. Then your numbers could be even lower.
Many homeschool groups have free or low cost sports groups.
There are online programs and co-op groups that will offer higher level courses, I took an ap biology course back in 8th grade at a local church, it was probably slightly more expensive than she claimed but far lower than private school.
Many people don't have the time or opportunity to garden, like those living in apartments, small yards, or those who live in colder environments. That's $1200 a year you wouldn't have been able to save if you were in one of those situations.
You home school your kids? I honestly consider that abuse. You're denying them the right to a proper education and ample opportunity - there's no way you know advanced calculus, chemistry, biology, and curriculum in law, english, have access to instrumental or music programs that your kids could have been exposed to. Not to mention that all science text books are updated once every few years, so your kids are definitely missing out.
What about putting your kids in sports? Cell phones? Day care is not that cheap.
I refuse to believe this. You spend more money on gift giving than your children's education. I'll believe it the minute I see your credit card balance, your husbands salary, and the receipts and living conditions of all the kids. There are some figures suggesting 5 times more than what you've presented. Though those are probably inflated, I'm certain you're either lying or delusional.
Also housing is very expensive in big cities. Here in Toronto a decent house reasonably close to downtown costs $500000+. Otherwise you have to commute 1+ hour each way to work (e.g. Oshawa or Hamilton) which is time consuming and expensive (gas and GO train passes are expensive). Many people live in high density housing (condos) here because single family houses are very expensive here. Fitting 1 kid in a typical 2 bedroom Toronto condo is easy, 2 kids is doable but difficult, 3 is impossible and you need a house.
Your mileage may very, having a big family is much easier if you are lucky to have a high income and live/work in a small city with low housing prices (easier said than done...)