What do kids cost? (45)

Funny this subject should come up...

Saturday we were out shopping, and in our list were a couple of gifts to a small baby.

I will treat this as a money matter issue; the true worth of having a child could never be measured anyway.

As I have heard over and over again that it is so expensive with baby and children’s clothes, I was surprised to see the prises being very agreeable.

Sure, if you want to spend you salary on the latest Baby Zara collection it could be a little pricey, still not impossible.

We set off to find out how much it really would cost, a weeks "running" of a baby.

Result? Well, considering that the tyke will grow a great deal each month, we included a tri-set of clothes, diapers, hygiene stuff and a average of 50 km driving for each week to do all that needs to be done when having a baby.

250-400 Euros a month for the fancy baby and half that if the baby has no interest in fashion or ads for the smartest diaper.

That's not expensive, is it?

Having in mind that the kid will need some learning toys, gadgets and later on an education, we will have to get going with the savings too.

The first three years we save in on holidays, as we rather be close to home with the small one, the extra savings from that fits well into the education account.

The good thing with saving already from the beginning is that the growth effect increases immensely on the early money saved.

Now, let’s say we normally spend 2000 euro on a holiday. That's 167 euro per month the first three years.

When the kid has grown to the age of three we can begin having normal holidays for the coming three years and no such saving will be done then.

We will also set a certain amount always to be saved for the child, let say we take a deep breath and put away another 100 euro each month.

With the running cost being around 300 and the saving 100 euro (not counting the holiday saving, as it was already there) the increased hole in the wallet would then be 400 euro a month.

The savings will have grown to 38 000 euro (with 5% interest p.a.) when the kid reached the age of 15 and we know then if we need to borrow extra for the education or if we will have enough to pay for it.

The lifestyle changes when having kids in the house and less money gets spent on cafes, beers with friends and expensive party nights. Even our clothes account shrinks in size and we focus on other things – like our family. This balances the extra costs quite nicely and the actual impact on the economy is not so visible.

I have not cared to calculate any inflation or increased salary.

One thing is for sure - raising a child on your own with a single person providing the income would tilt this badly - not to be recommended.

Brilliant post Mike...you think like my brother, the bookkeeper..I think it's a huge advantage to have a handle on costs...saves surprised down the road...and you're right...inflation is the ugly monster in the closet...if you're living on a comfortable pension today, with even 3% inflation, you'll need double that in 20 years time...

I have quit counting on interest for myself. I try to save 20% of my income as is and keep it on zero real growth as a minimum (covering just the inflation).

By doing that I should have enough to provide my own pension when I grow old, my life so far have earned very few points in any state owned pension plan.

A boring subject to some, but a way life for me

Exactly...boring to the vast majority, myself included, but critical for everyone's future...and btw...many state pensions in Europe may well be bankrupt by the time you get to 65...so ya better provide for yourself mate..

They already are, they were built that way.

Now, with fewer kids being born, there are not enough tax payers around to cover the deficit in pension payments.

It is the world’s largest pyramid game. Honestly!

That's easy....cost of kids = 1 Arm and 1 Leg

Another cost about kids...this only applies to divorces and separations..is the up keep of your ex...

I've just finished a meeting with the CAF*..and the enemy asked for an extra 300 euro a month. And they were about to take it directly from my back account..To cut a long story short the enemy gets nothing extra and for the first time in years the french are behind me...I've no problem in paying for my monsters but not for the enemy to keep up with the Jones or the Duponts..She lost that right years ago..




*caisse d'allocations familliales

Love it...

That would then be... let's see now... 15-20%, am I right?