Quote: (12-08-2016 02:42 PM)General Stalin Wrote:
This is a fallacy. It's a very typical white-middle-class-Western trend to think raising children is a huge financial undertaking. Poor people can have a brood of kids and still afford to put food in their faces, clothes on their backs, and a roof on their heads. You trying to tell me a couple of middle class SWIPL's bringing in a combined income of $100k+ can't afford diapers and baby food?
I have a son incoming (assuming nothing goes wrong), so the cost of raising a kid has been on my mind for a while now:
Food, clothes, strollers, etc. are not a big deal. I think most of our baby clothes are going to be donated by a couple of my wife's friends who don't need the clothes anymore. Lightly used strollers are available on Craigslist.
My main financial concern is the cost of education. The public school system here is a place my kids will never set foot in. The private schools are insanely expensive ($18k a year for pre school). Home school? Probably. My only other option is to move to an area with 'good schools'... somewhere in the suburbs. That means a crushing mortgage, a killer commute, and a wicked property tax bill.
Longer term worries is college costs. My income will be too high for grants and my kids, though bi-racial, neither race counts for added aid. This means I have to save a lot of $$$ for school, while still saving for my retirement. The numbers are really quite daunting.
Health insurance costs.. even employer paid plans getting pretty damn expensive once you add 2+ kids on to the plan.