291k cost for a child born in 2008

[eatyualive]

woah...

Ouch: You knew kids were getting expensive, but maybe not this expensive.
A new report published Tuesday by the US Department of Agriculture esimates that the cost of raising a child born in 2008 to the age of 18 will reach $221,190 -- or $291,570 when adjusted for inflation -- for a middle-income family.

Issued by USDA each year since 1960, the report is a valuable resource to courts and state governments in determining child support guidelines and foster care payments. For the year 2008, annual child-rearing expenses for a middle-income, two-parent family ranges from $11,610 to $13,480, depending on the age of the child.
The report by USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion notes that family income affects child rearing costs. A family earning less than $56,870 per year can expect to spend a total of $159,870 (in 2008 dollars) on a child from birth through high school. Similarly, parents with an income between $56,870 and $98,470 can expect to spend $221,190; and a family earning more than $98,470 can expect to spend $366,660. In 1960, a middle-income family could have expected to spend $25,230 ($183,509 in 2008 dollars) to raise a child through age seventeen.
Housing costs are the single largest expenditure on a child, averaging $69,660 or 32 percent of the total cost over seventeen years. Food and child care/education (for those with the expense) were the next two largest expenses, each averaging 16 percent of the total expenditure. The estimates do not include the cost of childbearing or the cost of a college education. In addition, some current-day costs, such as child care, were negligible in 1960.
The report notes geographic variations in the cost of raising a child, with expenses the highest for families living in the urban Northeast, followed by the urban West and urban Midwest. Families living in the urban South and rural areas have the lowest child-rearing expenses.
USDA also plans to soon release an update of the Cost of Raising a Child Calculator, an online, interactive version of its annual report on Expenditures on Children by Families, which makes the figures more easily accessible to the public. To use the Calculator, people can enter the age(s) and number of children they have, whether the household consists of a married couple or a single parent, region of residence, and overall household income. The Calculator will then compute the average dollar amount the family is estimated to spend on their child or children and compare it to the national average cost of raising a child.

http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/08/us-...008-at-291750/

[TastyBeverage]

What about the costs i recoup by renting my children out for hard manual labor?



Seriously though, no wonder so many families in my area are on welfare.

[Oblivion]

The taxes they take from us are clearly takeing food from our childrens mouth. Think of having children like a business. If youre too busy, you increase the cost of your product, therefore you have fewer customers and you make more profit per product. If the government wants fewer children, they simply make them cost more and we produce less. In the meantime, they make more profit via taxes.

[mushit]

It's not only taxes that are taking food from our children's mouths, it is corporate America. The cost of living goes up but our wages don't.
No wonder we have to work two or three jobs to survive while GM, Chrysler and banks give themselves a bonus from taxpayers money.

[Dank Side Of The Shroom]

shit i think i cost my dad far more than that lol. Nike always hiring kids to make shoes lol if u need to recoop some haha.

[~Hippie3]

i can't afford kids,
can barely afford me and the wife.

[eatyualive]

Originally Posted by Hippie3

i can't afford kids,
can barely afford me and the wife.

wise man once told me. make sure you earn and save enough for the kids life and education before you have one.

[Oblivion]

I would have more kids but the wife doesnt want me sleeping with anyone else.

[Sideshow]

Originally Posted by TastyBeverage

What about the costs i recoup by renting my children out for hard manual labor?

That's my plan....
Seriously though, I don't have kids and this info ain't too encouraging.

[Sideshow]

From the Fed Dept. of Labor website:

The Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) minimum age requirements do not apply to minors employed by their parents, or by a person acting as their guardian. An exception to this occurs in mining, manufacturing and occupations where the minimum age requirement of 18 years old applies.

State laws often follow the same pattern as the Fair Labor Standards Act with regard to minors working for their parents. Consult your state department of labor for specific guidance.


On a side note, when my rents got divored, ma dukes made me do laundry, set the table, wash dishes, everything outside, etc, etc.
It was more out of necessity than anything else; and in general, i was a little bastard child.

You can best believe all my little future circus acts will be my unwilling servants, as I need to recoup at least part of my investment.