Mom Realizes She Spends $47K On Her Kids Each Year, Including $18K On Extracurriculars
If you're planning on having kids, you might want to start saving up now...
Irene Miller | Shutterstock Being a parent is expensive, something that a lot of people, even those who don't have kids, are aware of. The most expensive year, however, is during a newborn's first year of living. According to a US Department of Agriculture report, the cost ranges from $20,000 to $50,000 when it comes to caring for a newborn in their first year of life.
However, one mom, Dana, shared that the high cost of raising a child extends well beyond the newborn stage. She revealed in a TikTok video that she spends nearly fifty grand a year on her three kids, and $18k is spent simply on extracurricular activities.
A mom spends $47k on her kids each year and $18k on extracurriculars alone.
In her video, Dana, a mom of three who makes motherhood content, explained that she had just calculated how much her kids, ages 3, 6, and 9, cost her each year and needed to share the figure with her followers. "The number is going to shock you because it shocked me," she warned viewers. "I am going to transparently tell you the amount of money we spend on our three kids."
In a warning before delving into the details, Dana assured viewers that the amount she was sharing wasn't the overall normal amount and that she was aware she tended to go overboard when it came to providing things for her children.
When it comes to extracurriculars, she shared that she spends $18,000 a year. "Both my girls are [on] competition dance teams," she explained, adding that she didn't include the price of staying in hotels for dance conventions. "Dance, tumbling, and soccer for my son," she continued.
For school fees, her daughters attend public school, but her son is in preschool, which Dana said costs $600 a month. Since he's in preschool ten months out of the year, the total comes to $6,000 for part-time childcare. When it came to uniforms, clothes, and shoes for her children, Dana estimated she spends around $3,000 a year. "I would assume I spend at least $1,000 on each kid."
"[For] Christmas and birthdays, I approximate I spent about $1,500 to $1,800 a year on their Christmas gifts. And for their birthdays, $500 per kid."
Dana admitted that she had a hard time calculating the amount she spends on food since she's been grocery shopping for her entire family for some time now. "I am going to guess that the three kids cost me about $1,200 extra per month in food. Which brings us to $14,400 a year," she continued, noting that she added an extra $3,000 for any other minor purchases she's made throughout the year.
In the end, the total cost of Dana's kids added up to $47,475 a year.
The mom hoped to give parents an understanding of the costs beyond just the necessities of raising kids.
The main reason why Dana chose to share this information is that she knows how financially burdening it can be when a couple decides to have children, and how much financial planning goes into being a parent.
Antonio Guillem | Shutterstock
According to a Brookings Institution analysis of data from the U.S. Agriculture Department, from the day a baby is born to the time they turn 18, families can spend up to $310,605. Of course, this number is a rough estimate since many parents continue paying and supporting their children even after they turn 18.
Dana acknowledged that the cost of having kids is a "big factor" for many people to determine if they want to have children or not. With fertility rates reaching a "historic low," her reasoning might have some merit.
According to Pew Research, a majority of adults, both over 50 and under 50, who have decided to forego parenthood said, "not having kids has made it easier for them to afford the things they want, have time for hobbies and interests, and save for the future." With an extra 50 grand in your pocket each year, that seems to make sense.
Unfortunately, that means that there are adults who want to be parents who are choosing not to have children simply because they can't afford to, and there seems to be something very wrong with that reality.
Other parents said this mom's estimated yearly costs for her kids were spot on.
In the comments section, many people expressed their disbelief that children can cost that much. "Oh look, my annual salary, and they wonder why we won’t have kids," one TikTok user wrote.
Another user added, "Having kids is so expensive! I’m a nanny for 4 four and under and I couldn’t imagine all the costs of kids! My salary alone is a ton!"
"That's more money than I make in a year," a third user joked, while another chimed in, "Hard pass from me."
Parents pointed out that the yearly cost for their own children is around or even higher than Dana's. "Yep, sounds like us. Right around 50k a year." Another parent wrote, "About to have my first, and daycare alone will cost $24k."
Childcare costs alone are driving women out of the workforce, putting even more financial strain on families. Add to that the ever-rising cost of living, and combined with wages that have stagnated for parents who are lucky enough to have jobs, families are struggling. In fact, the struggling job market has many moms and dads desperately holding onto their jobs by overworking and burning out, making the struggle of parenting even more arduous.
Seeing how other parents are faring isn't exactly a glowing review that screams, "Don't think about it, just have kids." If kids today are choosing to skip college at $50k a year to avoid the debt, choosing not to have kids at similar costs seems to make sense.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
