The cost of raising a child to 21 is £200,000

jaylee3

Really?

£10,000 a year? On one child?

Does anyone ever spend that?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/family-money-saving

sourcrates

Don't believe it, I have 3 kids, I won't earn 200 grand in my lifetime, let alone have it spare to spend on my children.

I really don't know where such stories originate from.

lush_walrus

I think as an average that's realistic. I am sure there are some who spend far less and some who spend far more We pay fees for our children's schools but even without that we easily spend that per child. It sounds a lot clumped but is less than 1000 per child per month.
With before and after school clubs, uniforms, clothes, shoes, hair cuts, clubs and lessons, school trips and holidays, presents and treats, food etc then when they are older Uni costs.

Houseplant26

lush_walrus wrote: »

I think as an average that's realistic. I am sure there are some who spend far less and some who spend far more We pay fees for our children's schools but even without that we easily spend that per child. It sounds a lot clumped but is less than 1000 per child per month.
With before and after school clubs, uniforms, clothes, shoes, hair cuts, clubs and lessons, school trips and holidays, presents and treats, food etc then when they are older Uni costs.

Wow. That's a lot.

DigForVictory

Two things.

One - the mathematical value is very dependant on the parents & their approach to money.

Two - I've three lads under 18, haven't had £200K (that I'm aware of) and I value them more than every coin ever minted. Not that they run around in designer brands, nor eat market leftovers - we muddle along & with a bit of effort make the money available stretch. Or save up & wait.

Don't let even MSE numbers scare you out of the raw joy that is parenting.

enthusiasticsaver

I would not say that we spent £400k on raising our two daughters - no where near that.

When they were babies we had to fork out for equipment, clothes, nappies etc but we economised and having two close together we bought second hand sometimes and passed on clothes as both girls.

They were state educated so no private school fees so the most we spent out was money for brownies, guides, music lessons and dance lessons plus horse riding for elder daughter. That would never amount to more than £1k each over the year.

Probably the largest expense when they were younger was childcare while I worked part time and I guess some people would pay a lot for that but only while they are under school age and then maybe some wrap around care up until about 10 or 11.

University costs were then a fairly big chunk out of our income and we helped them with driving lessons and their first cars etc but they were working part time alongside their studies so paid a lot themselves.

Probably the biggest cost though was after they were 21 when we have helped them out with house deposits, wedding costs and grandchild.

I am still pretty sure though that it does not come anywhere near £400k. Perhaps £100 -£150k over 30 years for 2 of them. Not added it up though.

jaylee3

I agree that there's no way the average parent(s) would pay anywhere near £200K for raising one child to the age of 21. We are talking £800 a month! On one child! For some people, that is their entire salary.

I would be surprised if it was a fifth of that. Even through the uni years, they would get student finance and loans; even the better off families get the basic student loan for living expenses. The most any parents would pay (probably,) is £15K over the 3 years they're at uni.

determined_new_ms

Ha ha no way for us! Everything we buy for her except food and nappies comes from her cb at what is left each month goes into a savings account for her. Currently she has just over £600 in there from this year. The aim is we will use this to cushion the blow of her increasing expenses when she's older. Hopefully when she goes to school I will return to higher wage potential. Who knows though....

freshcotton

Maybe it takes into account things such as loss of income during maternity leave and reduced hours, child care and factors such as having to live in a larger property. These will have a big financial impact

SaintLethal

I live in Central London. We pay £1550 / month for nursery for our 2 year old - £18,000+ / year. The cheapest childcare option we have within 30 minutes of home is £1350, with the most expensive being £2000+. We paid more when she was 1. And will pay less when she turns 3. At 4 we'll need a pickup/ drop off childminder. When she turns 5 we'll have to pay a minimum £400/ month in state school before/ after school club fees - £4,500+ / year - just so my partner and I can work 9-5 shifts.

Add food, toiletries, clothes and shoes, days out, birthday/ Christmas gifts etc. Loss of income through maternity leave. Loss of income from letting room to lodger (£7,000 year). Future study costs etc etc.

I'd say £200,000 is realistic for us.

And we don't spend this much through choice. Our salaries are average for London (37k/42k's). Approx £750 more each than our childcare costs... and why it's not worth one of us staying at home.

We've friends who choose the £2000/ nursery option, and then go on to keep their children in private primary (£1750 / month) and secondary (£2500 / month) schools. Their individual child upbringing costs are likely to be closer to £500,000 by 21.

Perhaps it balances out.

poppasmurf_bewdley

You will get to the figure given if you allocate one third of all housing costs to the child, one third of council tax, one third of all food and consumables, one third of gas, electric and water, petrol, car maintenance, and all the other costs of running a household.

Add to this the purchase of baby clothes, toys, holidays, and other things specifically for children may well bring the total to above that given.

But if the parents start off spending five grand on a Silver CRoss Pram and a fully fitted out nursery complete with Nanny (as one of my friends did) then you could probably double to amount estimated.

In the meantime, I'm off to tell my two kids the good news that they owe me a hundred grand each and I'll have it anyway they can give it to me. :rotfl::rotfl: