Having a baby is expensive and although it seems a lot just now it's even more alarming what a child will cost over the course of a lifetime, some estimates are up to $233,610 per child. Let's take a look at the costs that might face a parent throughout a child's life and things we might do to make sure we are in a position to meet those costs.
Baby Stuff
There is a whole list of baby items you're told to get for a new baby and the sums add up to a lot, but don't worry people have been raising children for millennia without spending thousands on them. So there are plenty of money saving tips out there so prioritize what you need and what is not so essential, see what can be purchased second hand and you'll be fine.
School Trips & Activities
Once they get a little older there is a whole series of activities, events and school trips on offer and depending on where you are going to school the cost of some of these can be staggering. You can see from these examples that estimates of cost for a school field trip can vary from about $15 up to thousands so this can be very scary and especially if your child is pressuring you to let them go as they will claim “all of their friends are going” but what to do is to be strong and pick and choose which trips you can afford and which ones are really essential. Don't worry there will be plenty other families whose kids aren't going on every trip no matter what the kids say.
Emergencies, Family Issues Etc
You can't assume everything is always going to be smooth sailing and be prepared for issues and emergencies as they emerge. You could lose your job, have an accident or worst case scenario you or your partner could have a fatal illness or accident. Ensure you have adequate financial planning in place for such events and have appropriate insurance cover built into your family budget, a quick search on Moneyexpert.com can quickly show you what this might cost.
College Or University
It seems a long way away but you really need to be thinking about planning for your young ones college or university fund as soon as possible. There are various ways to save for a college education but no matter what way you do it pick an option and start straight away.
Weddings
Once college is all done and dusted the next thing will be a child's wedding, and although another very happy occasion it is another large expense as the average cost of a wedding in the USA being over $25k even if you are only providing some of the cost. Make sure you have savings set aside to budget for this. When the planning starts though be sure you know what part of the wedding you are going to be responsible for and be sure your child knows what budget you are willing to spend.
