The Cost

Peachy Lady

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I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a
child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed
this way. It's nice, really nice!
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from
birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income
family. Talk about sticker shock!
That doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into
$8,896 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere
$24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have
children if you want to be "rich." It is just the opposite.
What do your get for your $160,140?
Naming rights,--- First, middle, and last!
Glimpses of God everyday.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles,
and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said
or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never have to grow up.
You get to fingerprint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch
lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and
Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney Land, and
wishing on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator
magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas,
hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward
letters for Father's Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage
roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter,
filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to
ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step,
first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're
lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice,
communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.
You have all the power to heal a booboo, scare away the monsters
under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground
them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will,
like you, love without counting the cost.
ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRAND KIDS!
 
Peachy Lady said:
I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a
child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed
this way. It's nice, really nice!
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from
birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income
family. Talk about sticker shock!
That doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into
$8,896 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere
$24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have
children if you want to be "rich." It is just the opposite.
What do your get for your $160,140?
Naming rights,--- First, middle, and last!
Glimpses of God everyday.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles,
and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said
or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never have to grow up.
You get to fingerprint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch
lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and
Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney Land, and
wishing on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator
magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas,
hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward
letters for Father's Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage
roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter,
filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to
ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step,
first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're
lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice,
communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.
You have all the power to heal a booboo, scare away the monsters
under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground
them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will,
like you, love without counting the cost.
ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRAND KIDS!

That certainly is a lot!!! Thankfully we don't pay all of this at once...but if ya ask me, the cost of having a child to love and take care of and who loves you unconditionally is priceless.

Malfoyish
 
Interesting...I gotten this via email today and was truly amazed at the 'cost' of raising one child....although, I agree with Malfoyish that no matter how much we shell out our money for our children...it's PRICELESS!! It's good to see this here where each of us can see the numbers...so, next time when we wanted to spend that 'dollar'...we might tend to think twice about it! Heh heh... :)
 
I agree with you, Malfoyish and RR that children are priceless and are worth every penny spent. We get so much of good things from children like lots of love, etc. I really enjoy teaching them values and motivation about life, about unconditional love, etc. I am a mother of two daughters and three step children. I love each of them as much as my own biological two daughters. I can't imagine doing anything else more important than having children, being married to a good man, and having God in our lives.
 
Love this one!....Yes, I agree that children are Very Precious and Priceless...They mean the WORLD to me! :ily: and having God in my life means MUCH MORE
 
its priceless to have a kid if you show love, get love, have fun, etc....

however $160K for 18 years seems nothing :P
 
DeafSCUBA98, it would come up to almost $9,000 a year to raise one child for 18 years and it does sound like a lot of money, but like you, I agree with you that it is nothing...the rewards we get from a child is a thousand more than $9,000 a year. Of course, sometimes a child can be very challenging, but from my experience, the goodness from a child outweigh the bad so much more. The true joy comes from a child when he/she gives a lot of love and you become his/her world. We also become a better person because of it, because we want to become a good role model. So that when a child grows up, he/she will be the best he/she can be and have a lot to offer to the community, as well as to his/her children in the future.
 
160K spreaded over 18 years...

wishful thinking for me since my daughter has spina bifida......that means the normal cost (160K spread out over 18 years) just went outa the window and doubled the cost for me.

But I dont care how much she gonna cost me arm n leg but I still love my daughter anyways.
 
no offense taken..

I am totally against people who whine or complain how much the children cost..

First of all, having kids... sacrifice yourself ... that's what parent (s) are for...

I sacrifice everything for our kids.... I only go out few times if i want to, but not necassary.. only if my man kick my butt out of house.. for couple hours or a day.. but stay home and be around with kids doesn't bother me at all unless stress is rising, just call friends or family to watch couple hours..

I gave up heavy drugs when i discovered 1st pregnant.. i out oldturkey and didnt go back on drugs ever since.. I have been sober almost 4 years from drinking.. am working on to quit smoking.. when time is right..

expenses on kids.. thats part of being have a family for.. all the important to have your kids on medical insurance and denial insurance.. to relief your needs/budget...

Take some classes for family budget.. you can find it thru human resources...
get involve with church activites.. they are great with families and support each other.. that's how my kids learned through our church activities, kids & families who went thru hardships even they experienced themselves and to show them that we arent one or alone..

:thumb:
 
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Peachy Lady said:
DeafSCUBA98, it would come up to almost $9,000 a year to raise one child for 18 years and it does sound like a lot of money, but like you, I agree with you that it is nothing...the rewards we get from a child is a thousand more than $9,000 a year. Of course, sometimes a child can be very challenging, but from my experience, the goodness from a child outweigh the bad so much more. The true joy comes from a child when he/she gives a lot of love and you become his/her world. We also become a better person because of it, because we want to become a good role model. So that when a child grows up, he/she will be the best he/she can be and have a lot to offer to the community, as well as to his/her children in the future.
true... but think of after 18 years old... time for them to go to college which even cost more than $9,000 a year.. for college it probally cost a parents who's willing to pay for tution for 4 year at university of Minn $75,000 just for 4 years.. for 8 years thats $150,000 that's costly...
 
Yes, that's true. Colleges are so expensive. Have children apply for scholarship, loan or/and work part time to help defray the cost. My oldest daughter works and pay for her own tuitions, but does get help to cover for part of it. Sometimes when parents are not able to help pay for the whole tuition cost, the children work part of time to help pay for it. It will help them try harder to pass grades at college to make their money worth spend on their tuition cost.
 
The cost is just for an average kid. I KNOW I read a listing of how much it costs to raise a dhh kid somewhere.
 
MsGiglz said:
no offense taken..

I am totally against people who whine or complain how much the children cost..

First of all, having kids... sacrifice yourself ... that's what parent (s) are for...

I sacrifice everything for our kids.... I only go out few times if i want to, but not necassary.. only if my man kick my butt out of house.. for couple hours or a day.. but stay home and be around with kids doesn't bother me at all unless stress is rising, just call friends or family to watch couple hours..

I gave up heavy drugs when i discovered 1st pregnant.. i out oldturkey and didnt go back on drugs ever since.. I have been sober almost 4 years from drinking.. am working on to quit smoking.. when time is right..

expenses on kids.. thats part of being have a family for.. all the important to have your kids on medical insurance and denial insurance.. to relief your needs/budget...

Take some classes for family budget.. you can find it thru human resources...
get involve with church activites.. they are great with families and support each other.. that's how my kids learned through our church activities, kids & families who went thru hardships even they experienced themselves and to show them that we arent one or alone..

:thumb:
right, I agree :D who cares what the costs are as long can provide for them along with love, attention and everything they need :D
 
That would be nice to let parents every where to be aware of this and know that a loving family and extended families all are priceless -- money doesn't buy love nor all those precious memories, both good and bad.
Too bad for some who are selfish and think of money and buy children's love through materialistic stuff. :roll:

Overall, I do agree -- having kids and a loving family is PRICELESS, period. I'm happiest when I see my lovely nieces and nephews! :D
 
Malfoyish said:
That certainly is a lot!!! Thankfully we don't pay all of this at once...but if ya ask me, the cost of having a child to love and take care of and who loves you unconditionally is priceless.

Malfoyish
you're right...
spending on a child: $160,140
buying child his first car: $ 9,000
buying child a dinner: $ 17.00
Love and care a child: P R I C E L E S S !
 
Yeah priceless..

But still TLC for my provide best children needs "Love" and everything name it..
 
Money means nothing!

I know children cost a fortune but I am pleased to have them as I cannot imagine a life without my children. It is priceless!
 
Yes, I agree that children are priceless...and so are grandchildren. To me, life is all about God, husband & wife, and everyone else in the family. Friends are important too, but family comes first. Happiness comes from within so that we can give joy and love to others. :ily:
 
YaY!

Ahhhh...the children of AD'ers are definitely priceless and beyond any amount of money...three cheers for our AD members'
children!!! :thumb: :grouphug:
 
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