What They Don’t Tell You About the Cost of Raising a Child

The average cost of raising a child to the age of 18 is $234,900 ($13K/yr). Unless, that is, your family makes more than $102,870 a year, then the average cost is $389,670 ($21.5K/yr). There are several things from the recent report from the USDA that need to be addressed:

This is how much money it costs to raise a child in 2012. Don't spend it all in one place, kid.

1. $13K a year is a lot less than I thought it would be. Seriously, that’s $1,000 a month. If you didn’t have kids you’d spend that much money on booze and fancy restaurants and all you’d have to show for it is a bunch of hangovers and some sweet pictures of food for your Facebook page.

2. You CAN make too much money. If you are close to making $102,870 year, make sure you make less than that. Based on the averages, it’ll cost you $8,500 a year to raise your kid if you go over $103,000, so unless you’re making $112K/yr it’s really not worth all that extra effort. Sometimes it pays to be middle class.

3. Real estate is a bad investment. Housing went from 31% of our monthly incomes in 1960 to 30% of our monthly incomes in 2011. This is further proof that real estate isn’t as great an investment as our parents taught us. Sure real estate prices are going up, but we’re not spending any more money on it. The price increase on real estate is simply inflation. You might as well invest in bread and baloney slices – they’re increasing at the same rate of inflation and you don’t have to take a 30-year loan to buy some.

4. Your kid can’t afford those Girbaud jeans. The cost of health care for kids doubled and the cost of clothing was cut in half since 1960. Basically, kids these days might not get that fancy pair of jeans that the Socs were wearing, but they live longer to enjoy their hand-me-downs.

5. Barack Obama agrees with you. The USDA mentions that the “considerable” cost of raising children “may be outweighed by the benefits of children.” So the government says it’s worth it? Hilarious.

Well, there you have it. You are going to need $235K to afford the cost of raising a kid to the age of 18. Don’t worry, though, the government says it’s worth it.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for hitting “like” on this post if you appreciate it. Also, make sure you check out the amazing company, Bavia, that makes this new dad to be blog possible. I’m a huge believer in Bavia’s services, and the fact that it’s the best baby shower gift you can possibly give. You even get $15 off any service by mentioning this blog (promo code: TinyHuman). Order at Bavia.com or by calling 952.698.7400.