How expensive is a child?
The USDA estimates that the cost of raising a child (including college and factoring lost wages for a stay at home mom or dad) is somewhere in the vicinity of 1.6 million (with an M) dollars. And that’s US dollars, in case you were wondering.
The actual cost, is closer to 190,000 over 18 years. But that doesn’t include the college, or the lost “stay at home” wages. Still, I don’t have an extra 200 G’s just laying around and I doubt you do.
It’s a scary proposition to consider, especially if you already live pay check to pay check. You might be tempted to hide in a corner, hoping that the problems will go away, but that wouldn’t be the dad thing to do.
Assuming you’re still in the expecting portion of parenthood, you have some time to get a handle on your financial situation. You might even keep a budget already, if so, good for you. If not, now’s the time to start. Seriously. I’m not even kidding.
There is no way to calculate just how many “surprise” expenses are going to come your way once the baby is born. But the quicker you know how much money is coming in and how much is going out (on things that are quantifiable, like say rent and utilities) the sooner you’ll know how much you’ll have for everything else. Here’s a really basic budget calculator to get you started.
Ideally, you’d start considering the cost of having a child before you and your mate actually get pregnant. But if you’re reading this, then that probably isn’t the case. In fact, maybe your child is already here and you have no idea where all the money is going. Basically, you start at the same spot and track your expenses. Pull out the last few months of every bill to get a good estimate of what each one costs. Now prioritize. Things like the electricity and water have to get paid, but that cable can go.
I know what you’re thinking; it’s only 30 dollars a month. 30 dollars isn’t an extravagant amount, but that same 30 dollars might buy you formula for the whole month. Now I like wrestling as much as the next guy (probably less, actually) but if the choice is between feeding and clothing my daughter and watching guys in tights fly around a ring…well there really isn’t a choice to make.
And that’s the most basic thing about being a father. You sacrifice so that you can give to your child. Really, in many ways, it isn’t like you’re sacrificing at all. You might not have cable anymore, but you have a child, and no television program can compete with that.
