Kinflation: Price of Having a Child Hits $235,000
The calculator assumes specific financial figures for baby products and services, such as $72 per month for diapers and up to $150 for a good infant car seat. It also weighs average ongoing expenses including saving for college and spending on medicine and clothing.
Although Babycenter.com estimates that the average cost of a newborn baby's first year is $10,158, use the calculator yourself with your budget and lifestyle to see what having a newborn will cost you and your family.
No question, having children is a wonderful, if demanding, experience. After all, a big reason (some say the only reason) we're here in the first place is to propagate the species.
But all that propagating has a price tag attached, and it's much better to know what it'll be.
--By Brian O'Connell
More on family finances:
College is a debtor's prison for the American family
10 rules for back-to-school online shopping
On auto-pilot with your health plan? Why not just burn $750 a year?