It costs £150,000 on average to raise a child, according to new figures from the Child Poverty Action Group.
For two parents raising a child to age 18, the average cost is now £148,105 or around £160 a week.
It costs £161,260 on average for a lone parent to cover food, clothing, heating and other expenses for a child from birth to their 18th birthday.
You might therefore share the view expressed in a satirical Daily Mash article this morning, “Like all parents, I look at my children and think ‘I could have had a boat’.”
Over the past year, the cost of children has risen by 4%.
This inflation has outstripped average rises in earnings and benefits, making the cost of children increasingly unaffordable for many parents.
There are two separate and important issues to consider here.
The total cost of raising a child, while dramatic, is affordable for most parents. This is because children (tend to) take priority over other financial priorities and all steps are taken to find the money required.
Whether children arrive as the result of a conscious choice or not, integrating their cost into your household budget is something that happens naturally and often without much prior planning.
The growing cost of raising children as something which outstrips earnings inflation is something to be considered carefully.
For many families, this has reduce quality and enjoyment of living, as other sacrifices are made to maintain the necessary gap between income and total expenditure.
Financial Planning can help with both challenges.
Understanding the total cost of raising a child or children, and maintaining your desired lifestyle when raising a family, are two considerations which can be factored into the construction of a robust Financial Plan.
Rather than walking blindly into the cost of parenthood, Financial Planning offers a way to meet all of your lifetime goals, dreams and objectives.
