Mom Realizes She Spends $47K On Her Kids Each Year Including $18K On Extracurriculars & Parents Are Horrified But Not Surprised
If you're planning on having kids, you might want to start saving up now...
TikTok 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 expands beyond the newborn stage. She shared the yearly cost she spends on all of her children, and the number definitely shocked many people.
Dana broke down and explained the high cost she pays yearly for all of her children — and the amount was startling to learn.
In her video, Dana, a mom of three who makes motherhood content, explained that she had just calculated how much her kids, who are 3, 6, and 9, cost yearly, and needed to share the amount 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."
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.
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.
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 revealed the cost to be $600 a month. Since he's in preschool ten months out of the year, the total comes to $6,000 for part-time childcare.
"[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."
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."
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. She also pointed out that the overall cost coincides with inflation having caused grocery prices to go up as well.
"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 on her kids.
In the end, Dana added up her entire total, which came out to $47,475 a year for her three children.
Many TikTok viewers were astonished at the high total that Dana spends on her kids.
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."
However, other people 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," a fourth user shared. Another user wrote, "About to have my first, and daycare alone will cost $24k."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics.