I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way.
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day!
Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite!
What do you get for your $160,140???
Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
Glimpses of God every day.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles,and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never have to grow up.
You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off a bike, removing a splinter, filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.
You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so . . . one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
OK, I liked the touchy-feely parts, too, but this line had me rolling.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I'm going to go hug my kids right now.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
I've already shelled out thousands of dollars on my kid(s) and they haven't even been conceived yet. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
"$741.38 a month"
Bah. Sophie's daycare alone costs $200 a week.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
*nod*
We paid $250, but that was for two kids, and full day.
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
That's so odd -- I was just considering taking Sophie out of daycare one day a week now that I'll be going part time and that's what I'd save (not exactly, but pretty darn close)!
Children really are wonderful. *bubble*
Yeah, hon, but what other costs do we really have right now? Not too many, so you figure $850 a month.
[ January 11, 2005, 01:19 PM: Message edited by: Christy ]
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
"Yeah, hon, but what other costs do we really have right now? Not too many, so you figure $850 a month."
Okay, sure. But do kids get significantly cheaper as they age?
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
No. Especially not girls.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote: Bah. Sophie's daycare alone costs $200 a week.
I babysat two kids for a week one summer and got paid that much! That's expensive for just one!
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
I wont go any lower than a buck fifty, take it or leave it.
Hobbes Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
quote:That doesn't even touch college tuition.
College tuition? Um. . . that's what summer jobs are for, my friend.
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
Yes, if anyone would like to adopt me I'm a bargain at $100,000.00.
Posted by Trisha the Severe Hottie (Member # 6000) on :
Tom- depends on how much you brush their teeth. <--- shelling out $360 just for the anaesthsia on my son this week.
I try to take a deep breath and tell myself it's the cost of me not having a job with benefits.
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
quote: If he doesn't like the taste of broccoli, perhaps the taste of the back of your hand is appropriate.
Hobbes, after this statement from my broccoli thread, you will never be allowed to care for my child.
Well, maybe, if you could go down to $125.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Yes, it actually does get cheaper when they are older. We pay about $250 a month for our son's health insurance, and he gets $5 a week for allowance and we spend about $40 a week for food for him. Figure about $400 for Birthday and Christmas presents, $400 for clothes and school supplies, and $200 for miscellaneous junk, and another $300 for unexpected things, $500 for medication and doctors. And gosh, that's only about $620 a month.
Of course, with a girl, those clothing expenses will be much higher.
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
quote: Hobbes, after this statement from my broccoli thread, you will never be allowed to care for my child.
Well, maybe, if you could go down to $125.
Brilliant.
FYI - I currently eat broccoli, so... you know. You might want to consider trading out for the low low price of $100k.
Think about it.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Toddlers and pre-schoolers can live on PB&J and hotdogs.
B'leeve it.
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
quote: But do kids get significantly cheaper as they age?
| Babies can be really, really cheap. They don't care if they're stylish. Baby Gap outfits are not for babies, they're for relatives. The only thing you really need to buy new is a carseat.
It's when they get older and start lessons (which always end up costing more than the monthly tuition), get cavities, broken arms, need glasses..... Not to mention that they are longer content with some old boxes to play with.
quote:No. Especially not girls.
Yep...I would love to know why, even at the resale store, I pay $2 more for a pair of girl's shoes.
Posted by Tink (Member # 7267) on :
My two sons have set me back quite a bit of money, but for the most part, it's not their fault - I'm the one doing the impulsive spending! (;
That was cool. I do love that I can go places now with my kids (like the ball pit at fast food restaurants!) that I wasn't allowed to before. And finger painting and playing hide-and-seek (which my youngest is doing right now) and getting handed dandelions with pride several times a day and being told "I wuv you, Momma" . . . yeah, the price is definitely worth it!!!
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
quote: A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
*bah*
The hand is covered in jam not jelly.
<-- Imogen, Australianising the world, one step at a time.
**
We had a five month old baby girl called Betty come visit today (with her Daddy, our friend). It made me re-realise how much I am looking forwad to Tony and my kids - which we are not ready for yet, but will be coming. Oh, baby smell! Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Posted by Lisha-princess (Member # 6966) on :
I love kids.
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
*sniff*
Shucks - that was sweet.
*Regards checkbook with jaundiced eye. Shrugs and decides "savings" was never a for real thing anyway . . . *
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
2 Anecdotes: -A friend of mine asked her father how much children cost. He said that children seem to take all of the money you have no matter how much that is. -I wanted to go to Interlocken, an arts high school. It is 30,000 a year or so. I was talking to my father about it. I was about 13. I said that I probably would cost around 30,000 if I was home so it shouldn't be a problem. He laughed and said that I was an expensive habit, but not that expensive.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Oh my... I'm gonna be such a bad dad some day... I can see it now:
"Daddy, lets do some finger painting!"
"Not right now munchkin, why don't you go play some Doom 3?"
[ January 13, 2005, 09:31 PM: Message edited by: Alcon ]
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
You know, I was afraid of this, myself, but I've found that I have developed an inexhaustible interest in doing incredibly boring things with my daughter. You may find that fingerpainting becomes more interesting than Doom 3 -- which is scary in itself, I admit.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
quote:Oh my... I'm gonna be such a bad dad some day... I can see it now:
"Daddy, lets do some finger painting!"
"Not right now munchkin, why don't you go play some Doom 3?"
You're right, only a horrible, unworthy father would allow their children to play soon to be outdated game like Doom 3.
Posted by Jestak (Member # 5952) on :
Fertility drugs and treatments are extremely expensive. Be thankful if you have no problem conceiving, like we did for our 2 boys. Now we can't get pregnant for anything. The fertility drugs my wife takes, gives her symptoms of morning sickness for months, even though she isn't pregnant.
The "go play doom 3..." is the truth. The other day my 5 year old asked for some carrots and I told him to grab a cookie instead.
Posted by Vadon (Member # 4561) on :
What're you talking about?
You mean I'm going to be a horrible father for having my kids play such fun learning games as...
"Commander Keen Obie's Basic Spelling Tricks Putt Putt and Lenny's Music Tunes?"
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I dunno . . . our finances have gotten easier (in some ways) since the girls left preschool and entered public school.
-o-
You know what, though? I still hate arts and crafts. No fingerpainting for me.
>_<
Posted by Alucard... (Member # 4924) on :
quote: You may find that fingerpainting becomes more interesting than Doom 3 -- which is scary in itself, I admit.
Just wait, Tom. My son is getting old enough where his friends come over for some 4 player Halo 2 and we frag each other and overdose on soda and popcorn till 2AM. Good stuff indeed.
I must also get in a jab that even though my wife and I work full time, my parents just recently retired and watch our kids for free when we are both working. We are very, very lucky, especially after doing daycare and babysitters! Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
quote: You know what, though? I still hate arts and crafts. No fingerpainting for me.
I hate hate hate them too. I am the only mom I know who does not give her kids unfettered access to art supplies. Seriously, art projects are torture for me.
Posted by jebus202 (Member # 2524) on :
quote:Yes, if anyone would like to adopt me I'm a bargain at $100,000.00.
Damn.
Could you go as low as say; a couple of hundred euro?
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<--- shelling out $360 just for the anaesthsia on my son this week.![[Kiss]](graemlins/kiss.gif)
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