Child Care
-
Kids Are Expensive: Be Prepared for the Costs
It’s exciting when you decide you’re ready to start a family, however it can also be incredibly stressful when you begin to consider the financial costs and obligations to have a child. Recent research reports have estimated it costs about $200,000 to raise a child until they’re 18 years old.
With that in mind, it is not to say to plan on how many children you want solely bases on your financial situation. Every family is different when it comes to the number of children they’d like to have. However, it is information that can be considered when planning on additional family members.
Rather than letting the costs and financial obligations of having children stress you out, you can still be excited when you are prepared and make a plan to minimize the stress. When you have children, the last thing you want to do is let the costs put you in severe debt, so you want to budget accordingly and don’t make serious financial sacrifices that will cost you later in life (e.g. retirement).
After you have your first child, it is a good idea to start shopping for a life insurance policy. When your family begins to grow, you definitely want to make sure you and your spouse both have life insurance.
It’s really nothing to get too stressed about right away, because the earlier years are less expensive and you can begin preparing. Don’t let college savings be a burden on you, as there is always the option for student loans when the time comes. If you’re fortunate enough to afford a college savings, that’s wonderful, but don’t let tuition bills bite you later.