Search Results for: blog the cost of raising children

Cultural Lessons on the Cost of Child Rearing

Heeled sneakers are all the rage with hip moms in France right now. While I will happily pass on the Sneakletto craze; I’m not opposed to employing practical techniques parents in Paris and other parts of the world have mastered in order save cash while raising young children. Less is more:  Surveys show the average American household spends $200 per child for birthday parties and gifts.  That means forking over nearly $1,000 per year if you have three or four kids.  Compare that to most French parents who typically celebrate their children’s birthdays with a simple home-cooked meal.  In Japan, … Continue reading →

Raising Compassionate Children

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I want my daughter to be a loving, compassionate human being. Not always the easiest thing to foster. Children are naturally selfish, it’s how they are wired, we have to teach them to be compassionate. As a single mother I try to remember that as long as my daughter is a good person people won’t remember if my house was clean. There are so many ways to teach kindness and compassion but really, children learn what they live, if you want them to be kind, model kindness. Do your kids tease each other? Of course they do, they are children. … Continue reading →

Disney Parks Raising Ticket Prices

It might really be time to take advantage of those cheaper flights to Orlando, because Disney World’s just raised its ticket costs. The Orlando Business Journal reports that over the first weekend of June, Disney World bumped its one-day, single-park ticket to $89, when previously it cost $85. This might have been in response to Disney World’s biggest competitor, Universal Studios Orlando, raising its one-day single-park ticket price to $88. I think not, because the prices on many types of park tickets are going up this summer. Four-, five- and seven-day tickets to Disney World now cost $256, $268, and … Continue reading →

The Cost of Children

A few days ago my mother sent me an article about the cost of raising a child from birth to the age of 18. The numbers vary depending on which study you are looking at, but this article suggested that you will spend $222,360 by the time your child graduates high school. They claim that children cost between $11,000 and $13,000 a year depending on their age. That first year is expensive. Newborns go through clothes, diapers, and formula in the blink of an eye. After the first year or so it starts to taper off and then goes right … Continue reading →

Raising Kids On a Budget

Money is always a concern, even more so when you are a single parent. Kids need lots of stuff. They start off so small but quickly seem to take up so much space and need so many things. Some things you should not scrimp on, car seats, cribs, things that are important for your child’s safety. There are plenty of other areas to save money. Let’s start with clothes. Babies and toddlers in particular grow so quickly, clothing is usually outgrown long before it is outworn. Take all the hand me downs that are offered. They won’t all be to … Continue reading →

Put the Fun in Fundraising for Kids

Each year, our school-aged children typically fundraise for something for themselves, such as a class trip or individual prizes. This year, consider teaching your children how fundraising can be about helping someone else. There are plenty of charities that would love your help and the benefits for your child are endless. Ways to Raise Money You can help enrich the life of a child with a terminal or life-altering condition by having your child’s school collect change. Each class can compete to see who raises the most money and the winning class can receive a pizza party as a thank … Continue reading →

Three Generation Families do Better Financially… at what cost?

Findings from the November 2009 Journal of Families issues states that three generation households are better than two generation homes headed by a single parent. The reasoning behind this is that having the grandparents and parents share the financial burden of the home will keep children out of poverty. “Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation from 2001, the researchers found that the presence of just one grandparent makes the odds of living below the poverty line 80% lower than for children living without a grandparent, and children living with two grandparents are at an even greater … Continue reading →

Raising Kids Ain’t Cheap

Whether you are a parent or not, you probably know that raising a child costs a fortune. And by fortune I don’t mean the amount of money it would take to book a private jet and tour the world on a luxurious holiday. I’m talking about the amount of cash that would allow you to purchase a very nice house in a very nice neighborhood and still allow you to drive an extremely nice car… or two. A new report out claims the cost of raising a child from birth until he graduates from college is between $397,670 and $1,239,649.22, … Continue reading →

Reducing the Cost of Raising a Child

If you read yesterday’s post, you know the estimated cost of raising a child. Now, I’ll take those expenses as outlined by Bankrate and go through some ways of reducing them. Let’s look at some of these expenses and general ways to cut them down. Obviously each person’s situation is different, but these are some ideas to help. Groceries: cook from scratch, use coupons, avoid convenience foods, and make your own lunches. Clothing: Take advantage of hand-me-downs, used clothing sales ad ear-end discounts. Bigger home: Bunk two children in one room, reduce the clutter in your current home to make … Continue reading →

The Breakdown Cost of Raising a Child

We always hear all of these scary numbers about how expensive it is to raise a child. Unfortunately those numbers can be pretty accurate or even a little bit under, depending on your lifestyle. It is enough for some couples to decide not to have children at all. I’m glad I didn’t know about these numbers when we first started our family, because I might have panicked! Bankrate.com has broken down the numbers for the cost of raising a child based on the total cost released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These numbers apply to an average family making … Continue reading →