There’s nothing like ringing in the new year with a new baby. But along with the predictions about what the child will look like, who they’ll become and what they’ll achieve, pre-planning parents might want to add another category to the forecast: Will this bundle of joy cost a bundle of cash?
Providing the basics–food, shelter, clothing, health care–for your baby could set you back more than $230,000 over the next 17 years. That’s based on average annual per-child expenses paid by middle-income households making between about $40,000 and $68,000 a year, according to the Department of Agriculture’s annual Expenditures on Children by Families report.
Families making more spend more. Households earning an average $100,000 a year will part with $338,370 to bring up baby–the price of a nice condo in the city.
And these figures don’t include big-ticket outlays such as college tuition. They also represent spending up to age 17. The Department of Agriculture cites a Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Co. survey that found 47 percent of parents in their 50s still support children who are older than 21.
“I didn’t think I was spending that much,” said Mary Teresa Fortuna-Kuser, mother of a 1-year-old in Studio City, Calif. “But I’m doing my taxes and I’m categorizing, and it’s really quite staggering.”
She said she and her husband spent $400 baby-proofing their condo, about $500 on essential baby gear, and set up a college tuition account, to which they contribute $150 a month. But there are many other minor expenses that add up.
Preschool applications are $60 per school. Mommy and Me classes can cost $15 to $30 a pop.
“The prospect of having another child is daunting,” Fortuna-Kuser said.
But luckily, the biggest expenses are paid out gradually, day-in, year-out, so it’s easy to forget exactly how much it’s costing.
“Everybody knows a child is going to cost money,” said Monica Lengyel, a mother in Studio City.
Part of that strategy is finding things to do that are fun and free: free library reading sessions or group park days.
“You can spend, but do it wisely. You have to pick and choose,” she said. “There are a lot of hidden expenses … but you just make it work.”
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Edited by Lara Weber ([email protected]) and alBerto Trevino ([email protected])