Mom of 3 is stunned after realizing how much she spends each year raising them
Raising a child is a wonderful experience, but is also a big economic responsibility. Raising a child involves significant expenses: in addition to basic needs such as food and shelter, there are other expenses that accumulate over time, such as school uniforms and holidays.
The cost of raising a child varies according to the profession and geographical location of the parents and young Dana, a mother of three from the United States, decided to look in detail at her family's expenses and share the data on social media.
via Tyla
"I realized how much my kids cost per year and the final figure shocked me. It will probably shock you too," Dana commented. "This analysis of my expenses is an important factor in explaining why people choose to have children or not, and when and how many children to have. So I believe transparency can help others. Money is taboo and many people don't talk about it", she added.
To give some context, Dana explained that her children are still young, ranging in age from three to nine. "On extracurricular activities, I spend $18,000 dollars a year," Dana explained, adding that this includes dance activities for her two daughters and soccer clinics for her son. The girls attend public school, while her son attends kindergarten, which costs $600 a month for 10 months of the year.
Dana estimates that she spends between $1,500 and $1,800 dollars a year on her children's vacations and about $500 on their birthdays. As for clothes, uniforms and shoes, she's gives a rough estimate of at least $3,000 a year, or about $1,000 for each child (although she confided she's not too sure about this). On food, however, Dana estimates that she spends another $1,200 a year per child (not including herself and her husband), for a sub-total of $14,400. In grand total, the annual cost of raising her three children comes to an estimated $47,475 dollars!
Although - as Dana herself admitted - this figure somewhat is subjective and does not represent the minimum necessary to keep kids happy and healthy, it highlights how raising children can represent a considerable expense that requires careful and responsible planning.
Have you estimated the annual cost of raising your kids?
