• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Catherine Gacad

  • About
  • Categories
    • Archives
    • Blogging
    • Burning Man
    • City Guides
    • Education & Politics
    • Favorite Books
    • Finances & Retirement
    • Parenthood
    • Relationships
    • Religion
    • San Francisco Bay Area
    • Travel
  • Hire Me
  • Subscribe
    • Feedburner
    • Bloglovin
    • Feedly
  • Search

All Posts

Costs to Raise a Kid

I’m behind on posting so let’s talk about an email a friend sent me yesterday on how much it costs to raise a kid. Here’s what he said.

Supposedly, it cost $235K to rear a kid for 17 years, I think the numbers are off b/c I’d wager most parents don’t purchase housing/healthcare/transportation only due to having a kid.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-it-costs-to-raise-a-family-in-the-us-2012-6

————-

I didn’t read the article before responding because I didn’t want the information to taint my initial thoughts. Here’s my email response.

$235K, is that it?!?!?!

235K / 17 years = 14K a year = 1200 / month

Don’t most people spend at least several hundred dollars a week on daycare / school / after school programs / nannies / babysitters?!?!?!? So $235K seems completely justifiable and probably for a San Francisco-dwelling parent too low of a figure. The article goes on to say that the analysis doesn’t even take into consideration inflation.

Besides how many parents cut their kids off at the age of 18? None come to mind. You’ve got to think of their college expense. Then  you’ve got to account for them not getting a job after college and coming home to live with you while they cashier at Trader Joe’s. After a few years of not finding a job, they’ll opt for grad school, and who do you think will foot the bill for that? Mommy and daddy of course!

Does the $235K analysis even consider orthodontics, summer camp, language immersion, study abroad, a car, weddings?

What do you think? Is $235K an overstatement or understatement?

Related

Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

06.12.12

Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. mcm

    June 15, 2012 at 11:49 am

    We do halftime day care (20 hrs per week) and it only runs us ~$750/month. Granted, it’s cheaper than some other options I looked at (and way cheaper than a nanny), and that’s Mountain View, not SF.

    In general, I just think costs can really vary a lot, which is why I think looking at these “average” numbers isn’t very useful for anyone, when it comes down to it. I mean, I’m working part-time in an expensive area – does it really make sense for me to compare my costs with those of a SAHM in, I don’t know, Kentucky? or with an NYC family where both parents work full-time? I’d be much more interested if we could slice the data so that we were actually looking at situations comparable to our own.

    Ah, slicing the data. I can’t believe I just said that without even thinking about it. Though I’m sure no one else is surprised.

    Reply
  2. Catherine

    June 15, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    Yes, I agree with you. It’s like, why focus on the national GMAT average when the school you want to go to has an average of 750.

    I’m actually having lunch with my friend (a lawyer, mind you) who sent that article so I’ll need to ask him why he thought the average cost was so astronomical!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to my site, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. For more, click here.

Categories

  • Archives
  • Blogging
  • Burning Man
  • City Guides
  • Education & Politics
  • Favorite Books
  • Finances & Retirement
  • Parenthood
  • Relationships
  • Religion
  • San Francisco Bay Area
  • Travel

Popular Posts

  • What to Know About the Lair of the Golden Bear
  • Am I Having a Boy or a Girl: How to Tell
  • How to See Different Posts on Facebook
  • Pilots Hoops Flashback
  • How to Maximize Your Time at Gilroy Gardens
  • Alameda County Fair
  • Port Costa, California
  • Reconnect: University of Chicago Booth School of Business 15-Year Reunion
  • The Divorce Manifesto: Love (and Divorce) in the Time of Coronavirus
  • God Bless Me and America

Back to top

© 2022 Catherine Gacad.