44% OF AMERICAN SEVERELY UNDERESTIMATE THE COST OF A BABY

(March, 2017) A new study by NerdWallet found that raising a child costs between $21,248 and $51,985 in the first year alone. Those expenses are based on a family earning $40,000 and $200,000 a year, and include things such as food, transportation, child care, health care, insurance, diapers, clothes and baby things like strollers and cribs. But here’s the shocking thing:
– At least 18 percent of couples planning for a kid in the next three years believe it costs less than $1,000 a year to raise a child, and a staggering 44 percent of all Americans think the first year costs less than $5,000.
– One-fourth of Americans expected their friends and family to help out with more than 20 percent of their kid’s first year expenses.
(study here: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/cost-of-raising-baby/)
* Jeeze, how many strollers and cribs does a baby need?
* One way to save in that first year is to cut cable and Netflix. You won’t be watching much of THAT anymore.
* “We’re having a baby.” No, YOU’RE having a baby. Don’t look at me for help.
* For you guys out there, this story is a friendly reminder to schedule your vasectomy now.