Looking to raise your kids financially stable, but not sure where to start?
I think, the cost of education for children can be daunting, especially if you're a parent who's already struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. So, how much does it cost to raise a kid?
The short answer: It depends on what kind of education you're looking for and what resources you have available to you. And the longer answer? If you're looking for free or low-cost options, it can be as little as $20,000 per year. If you want to go all out and put your kid through college, it could be upwards of $200,000 each year. I just can’t imagine this amount in my bank account.
It's no secret that raising a kid is expensive. But how much do you really have to shell out to keep your child in clothes, food, and education?
How much does it cost to raise a child?
According to Kiplinger, the average cost of raising a kid from birth through age 17 is $233,610. That's a lot of money! And it's only getting more expensive as time goes on. In fact, the cost of raising a child has risen by about 2% each year for the past two decades. If we assume that number continues to increase at roughly the same rate, then by 2030 it will be closer to $345,000 per kid!But where does all this money go? Well, let's start with daycare. If you need full-time daycare for your son or daughter (and many families do), you'll pay an average of $10,000 per year for childcare during infancy and toddlerhood—and up to $16k for older children who attend preschool or kindergarten. Then there are also additional costs after school: private school tuition can cost $15k per year on average, while public school tuition averages around $11k per year nationwide (although those numbers vary widely depending on where you live). And then there are clothes!
The biggest factor is whether or not you have many children. If there are two or more kids in your household, then the cost of raising each one increases dramatically. The cost per child decreases as the number of children decreases, but even if you have just one kid, it's still going to be more expensive than if there were no kids at all!
Another factor is where you live. If your family lives in an urban area like mine with a high cost of living and high taxes, then raising a child will obviously be more expensive than if they lived in a rural area with lower costs and lower taxes.
Finally, another thing that affects the cost of raising children is whether or not they attend public school or private school during their childhood years (or both).
