Early-retirement wannabe

kangoora

C-dog wrote: »

Surely they can't cost THAT much (spoken from soon to be dad for the first time)

Take this article with a pinch of salt, it is for Grauniard readers after all. I find it hard to believe a couple on minimum wages would pay the sum in the article. I suppose it depends how much you want to mollycoddle the little darlings.

They are estimating £225k as the cost of rearing a child

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jan/23/cost-raising-child-surges

atush

Marine_life wrote: »

I am happy where I am :-)

Best pop a note to MSE Andrea then, she's all for the shunting

atush

AlanP wrote: »

3 for the price of 2 in our case - I wish.

Children ARE EXPENSIVE in pure money terms even if you don't go over the top.

Monthly food bill, holidays (limited by school terms), clothes and activities are just the start.

Fortunately life isn't just about money though.

Good luck C-dog.

I also got 3 for the pirce of 2 (although giving birth twice in 10 mins isn't a 'freebie' to me)

And yes, c-dog, they cost abt 200K each up to age 18. In our case more as I am putting 3 thru university on our dime.

One has just announced grad school, there goes another year of early retirement lol.

Marine_life

kangoora wrote: »

Take this article with a pinch of salt, it is for Grauniard readers after all. I find it hard to believe a couple on minimum wages would pay the sum in the article. I suppose it depends how much you want to mollycoddle the little darlings.

They are estimating £225k as the cost of rearing a child

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jan/23/cost-raising-child-surges

That's the average - for us also significantly more (ex-pat school in Germany, university etc.etc.) and I suspect for parents in the future more expensive (as university fees increase, pensions become less valuable, house deposit increase). It depends how much you want to put on your ticket (our choice) or let them fund everything off their own back with loans etc (my brothers choice)

Ultimately, it would be a very sad world if we made all our decisions based on pure financial grounds and our children are worth every penny :-)

atush

No point in putting all the time and energy to make them, give birth and raise them only to let them carry 50K or more of debt.

We are funding too as they can save for a house, and live life easier w/o having to repay those loans at 6%+. Eldest has already saved close to 30k after graduating.

C-dog

atush wrote: »

No point in putting all the time and energy to make them, give birth and raise them only to let them carry 50K or more of debt.

Agree with this wholeheartedly.

We haven't discussed it, but I suspect my wife may go part time in the office and use our family network for childcare when she does come in. At least for the first while. Being the main earner this won't affect us too much and to be honest, she'll most likely retain the same wage.

In the scheme of things, £200-£300k on top of my current plan is completely achievable within a year or two. In all my calculations, I've been over cautious. If all remains constant, I expect to have significantly more than needed (double). Yes I'll work for a few more years to make sure everything is 100% especially as the pensions won't be in play until after the baby is around 24 to 25.

It feels real now.

atush

Yeahj 200K is w/o provate education so uprate for that. but if you relocate you can choose a good school area so might save at least for primary school.

kidmugsy

atush wrote: »

... if you relocate you can choose a good school area so might save at least for primary school.

Yes; semi-private education - i.e. paying through house price - is cheaper, and you can get the money back again if you sell the house.

gadgetmind

atush wrote: »

No point in putting all the time and energy to make them, give birth and raise them only to let them carry 50K or more of debt. We are funding too as they can save for a house, and live life easier w/o having to repay those loans at 6%+. Eldest has already saved close to 30k after graduating.

That's difficult.

I got lucky with investments for daughter, and turned a few £k into close to £100k in a way that I wish I could replicate at will. Such chances come once per lifetime, if you're lucky, and I accept that.

We then had a choice of her using this to pay fees, paying from our pockets, or using student loans. We finally decided to use loans as 1) medicine is hard, and she might crash and burn, 2) the money might work harder as a house deposit than anything else, 3) options are good - we/she can pay off the loan at any time.

atush

I get that with medcine, it is a longer course.

I have one in law and needs to do an extra year in law school so that is part way. but at 6%, we decided to just pay or help him pay. If he wants a loan, we will repay it from our downsize.

But we have a high value property first developed 18 years ago so needs 50K in spending to revamp it. Carpets worn, needs new bathrooms and kitchen etc. Lots to do. Could take a few years.