Do future parents research the cost of raising children before they decide to have them? I am not sure, but there must be a very small percentage of people that do. How many of those that do the research, decide on no longer having children when they realize what it really costs and especially if they are not financially prepared? How many totally ignore the cost and the fact that they are not financially prepared and just “Go for it”? I do not have numbers, but I am sure most people do the latter. They just ignore the amount and say something like “everything will work out”. This is not the best strategy, but looking at the numbers is so daunting for most, that they are willing to take the chance without being prepared financially. I once read that for every child added to a family, you would need at least a $10,000 increase annually to your income. You might ask what can cost that much for a child. Well, there are many expenses that are children related – food, transportation, child care costs, just to name a few. The picture is not all “doom and gloom”, even if you are not fully prepared. We will take a look at an article from CNN Money written by Melanie Hicken that will enlighten you on what to expect or how you can start to plan better if your child is already here and you are having difficulty coping financially.
