Insight into the growing cost of raising a family

Having a family is incredibly rewarding, and it’s one of life’s main goals for many people. However, before starting a family, it’s important to make sure that you are financially ready to take on such a challenge. Having a family is an endless joy, but it is becoming increasingly expensive. To help you navigate through all the information out there, we’ve put together some interesting information about the growing costs of raising a family!

It’s more expensive to raise a girl than a boy

Shockingly, boys are much cheaper than girls! As this infographic from MoneyTips makes clear, it costs more to raise girls in a range of areas – adding up to $17,280 more over 18 years.

Girls typically use more health and beauty products and follow fashion trends from an early age, so they will want more clothes and accessories. They also tend to do more activities when at school. Boys will often join a sports club, but girls may do that as well as joining a ballet class for example.

You’ll spend more on clothes than anything else

It’s unsurprising that kids’ clothes are expensive. When your kid is a baby, you’ll spend lots of money buying clothes that they will grow out of after a few months, and this will carry on until they are around 13. Then, they will grow out of clothes at a slower pace, but individual items will become more expensive (plus they may become more fashion-conscious), so you will still end up spending a pretty penny.

If you’re looking for inspiration on ways to save money on kids’ clothes, there are even more great ideas out there on the web. It’s not as impossible as you might think!

You’ll still spend money on ‘luxury’ things throughout their teenage years

Most parents do still buy their teenagers things like basic makeup, clothes, and gadgets throughout their teenage years. However, instead of buying these items for them outright, you might want to encourage them to budget by giving them pocket money.

Giving your kid an allowance early on in life will help them work out how to budget, and will also encourage them to make good purchasing decisions as they get older.

You may end up spending the same amount of money on your child, but you will also be teaching them valuable life skills that will help them throughout their adult life. Having the ability to budget means that when they get their first paycheck, it will meet all of their needs – and they won’t be on the phone to you, asking you for money!

You’ll spend less on children over 4 years old

Toddlers are the most expensive age children to raise, with the cost of raising a child falling after 4 years old. Toddlers need lots of new supplies all the time – and often want new toys only to get bored of them after a day or two! Try to limit the amount of new non-essential things that you buy your toddler to save (you could shop at charity shops, or ask friends and family for secondhand items), but rest assured that your prices should drop in a few years.

It’s all worth it in the end

As you can see, it’s costly to raise a child! But having an extensive family financial plan in place, including some money-saving guidance, should help you when you’re planning on bringing a new baby into the world. Once you start making concrete calculations about how you can fit your new arrival into your existing budget, you’ll be better prepared – and hopefully, the big expenses won’t come as a nasty surprise.

Although the cost of raising a family can seem quite daunting, don’t let that put you off. As many parents will tell you, the joy and fulfillment their children bring them more than make up for the years of expense. And who knows, maybe they’ll repay the favor when they’re grown up – and look after you in return!

How We Can Hel

Whether you are looking to start a savings account to reward your kids, we can help. At Greater Alliance Credit Union, we offer Youth Accounts that can be opened as soon as they are born.

We also have fun resources you can use to help your kids understand the financial difficulty and the value of money. To learn more about our youth account benefits, call us today at 201-599-5500