The cost of raising a child is considerable. In this article it compares it to taking all your money, setting it on fire and then flushing it down the toilet. Yes, sounds a bit extreme but when you tot up what you actually spend on childcare, baby clothing, toys, school clothes, accessories, activities and education you suddenly realize how accurate it is!

From birth to 21 you are looking at something like £231, 843 according to this article in the Guardian (based on 2016 figures). Looking at that figure and knowing I have two children I do question just how we will manage to get through the next few years.

Fortunately, in terms of the cost of raising a child we managed to make a few savings. For childcare I managed to build up my blog so I could work from home around the needs of my boys. That has saved us a small fortune in childcare over the years. I don’t think my husband realizes just quite how much it saved having me remain in the home for so long. Childcare tends to be most expensive from birth to 4 when they start school full time.

Education

If you are hoping your children learn more you might be tempted to send them to a boarding school. The benefits of boarding schools are less time spent travelling so your child has more time to devote to their studies. Some boarding schools have extremely high academic standards that will give your child a better quality of education.

Having a boarding school education seems to help with applications to better universities. But if you are on a budget and state schools are your only option, don’t despair a child can thrive at most schools with the right support and encouragement from home.

Single Parents

Raising a family is hard enough on two incomes, but single parent living can be even more difficult. You do find things like childcare can be much more expensive. Plus days out and activities usually cater their discounts for a family group of two adults. Childcare works out about £70k per child, so a third of the cost of having children is childcare. When you are a lone parent you do not have the luxury of another parent to lean on to help with that, it can get very costly.

Girls V’s Boys

Money Supermarket research found that girls cost a lot more to raise than boys. I am not sure I quite believe the gulf they are suggesting. They said girls were 46% more expensive. It said girls spent more on makeup and jewellery. But it’s a bit of a generalization. I can’t imagine I would spend much less on my boys just based on not buying a bit of lippy anyway! Plus not all girls are interested in that stuff, I never was as a child.

Clothes

Children outgrow clothes very quickly when they are young. So that can be an expensive time. If you have family or friends willing to give you clothes they are finished with it can save a fortune. Make sure you gracefully accept anything! Don’t forget to check out your local charity shop to see if you can find some bargains. Believe it or not you can find completely new items there with the tags still attached! Also with multiple children you will make savings. You can pass the hand-me-downs on to the next child. It’s only as they get a bit older they become more discerning about what they will wear.