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This website explores how the cost of becoming a parent is becoming harder to afford in today's society. Most millennials who want to start a family, and are at the age to do so, are postponing it so that they can cut back on expenses until they are in the right financial position. The cost of having a kid is up to $10,000-$15,000 per year, per kid. When you just have a child, your income is reduced because you go on maternity leave. Then when you go back to work, some people put their kids in daycare, which is another expense. A lot of people cannot afford to do this, which is why a lot of millennials are not having kids at the moment.

This website is very beneficial because it includes the reasoning why people aren't having kids at the moment, and it includes an average price of having kids these days, which not all websites have.

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Before gender reveals, come the worries about the budget

For Alicia Ryan, a 39-year-old actor and substitute teacher, fears about the cost of a baby are front and centre.

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"My biggest financial anxiety [...] would have to be about bringing in enough income to not be house poor, and to live the balanced life I desire for my family."

Over this past year, many young couples have been seeking ways to lower their expenses due to inflation eating into daily expenses, and the possibility of a recession just around the corner.

Some millennials are saving money by postponing parenthood, which is estimated to cost between $10,000 to $15,000 a year in Canada.

"My partner and I did delay having a child partially due to financial concerns," says Ryan, who lives in Toronto, Ont.

And Ryan's not alone. While Canada had a two per cent increase in live births in 2021, that was the first time that the birth rate has increased year-over-year since 2016. The New York Times reported that millennials who want to have kids are delaying parenthood due to financial concerns in 2018, with 64 per cent citing the cost of child care as their No. 1 reason.

Complementing this, a 2021 study conducted by the Canadian Social Survey (CSS) found that 14 per cent of Canadians of childbearing age are choosing to postpone childbirth. While this is in part due to the pandemic, the findingings could also indicate a continuation of the declining birthrate in Canada.

For Ryan, it was important to "[feel] financially responsible and comfortable enough to financially provide for a child" before committing to parenthood.

Shay Steacy, money coach and financial planner - and founder of inBalance Financial Planning - has worked with many families as they start their journey into parenthood.

"If you can delay starting a family, and you can put some financial strategies in place before the baby comes, then that's fantastic," she notes. "But life doesn't always go according to that plan."

There are some things that you can plan for, though, and that's where the help of a financial planner like Steacy can come in handy.
Don't miss:
Understand your cash flow

Talking about money with your partner can be difficult. According to a 2021 Fidelity study, 44 per cent of couples argue about money. But when you're bringing a new life into the world, you might find yourself arguing about financial matters more than ever.

"The first stress that people come across is mat leave or paternal leave," Steacy notes. "A period of lower income is certainly the bigger stressor, or the bigger concern right off the bat."

If one parent is going to work while the other takes time off temporarily, will that partner be receiving a top-up from their work, or will they only get employment insurance (EI)? What will your finances look like when these payments stop?

"If there are going to be deficits in that time," comments Steacy, "the first thing I would then work with someone to do is say 'how can we create a buildup of funds somewhere?'"

If possible, Steacy recommends you pay off your debts as soon as you can so you're not paying unnecessary interest.

Ryan knows the importance of this advice. "What made the moment 'right' to have a child was having my personal debt behind me and to be in a good 'financial flow' and actually having savings," she notes.

Before your child is even born, Steacy suggests that you deposit any leftover money you have at the end of the month in an account where you can build up cash. This fund will act as a supplement for when your income is reduced when the baby arrives.

She also recommends that if you don't have the funds to set aside, you should review your personal budget to find out where improvements can be made.

Cut big expenses

"There are going to be times when people may need to look at cutting some big expenses," she says. Things like car payments and housing costs can raise your monthly debts, making it difficult to navigate inflation.

For example, housing is a big concern for people these days, but Steacy points out that babies and children don't actually require that much space. A one-bedroom condo or apartment might be appropriate for the first few years, which can allow you to save money until you require a larger home.

With the added costs of raising a child, Steacy points out that paying rent could be a better solution than putting your savings toward buying a home. Instead, you can put that money toward things like a term life insurance policy.

Steacy observes that without a term life policy in place "if you were to pass away and leave a child, the financial burden of that would be debilitating."

Review your financial plan

There are numerous stages of your child's life, all that will impact you financially in different ways. At each stage, Steacy recommends reviewing your financial plan to ensure maximum efficiency.

When your child is first born, you'll face reduced income due to being on parental leave. Then when your child starts daycare, you need to account for this expense, and consider how it affects your finances. Finally, when your child starts school, you will no longer be paying for full-time daycare, but you may need to consider before- and after-school care.

What to read next:
Understand your trajectory

Ryan intends to be the primary caregiver for the first year of her child's life.

"I am grateful to be expecting the maximum EI benefit rate during those 12 months, which will be helpful financially"

But at the same time, she acknowledges that there might be tougher times in the future. After her maternity leave is up, Ryan and her partner hope to place their child in daycare. As of 2022, the average cost of full-day child care for an infant can range from $181 a month in Quebec to over $998 in Ontario. While a national daycare program is promised, it's still a wait until it becomes a reality.

Taking time to examine what your finances will be at these different stages can help you budget for both the short- and long-term.

"You could ask family or friends what works/worked for them, especially as it relates to managing the day-to-day household finances," Steacy observes.

Steacy recommends working with a money coach or an advice-only financial planner, ideally one who works with others who are at the same age - and stage of life - as you.

"There should be a relationship and some sort of ongoing relationship [with your financial advisor]," notes Steacy.

When your advisor is aware of history and future prospects, it lets them provide ongoing advice, she observes, which in turn allows for "flexibility for change."
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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Why the cost of living has some Canadians delaying parenthood, and tips for how to afford it

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Before gender reveals, come the worries about the budget For Alicia Ryan, a 39-year-old actor and substitute teacher, fears about the cost of a baby are front and centre. Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

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This website describes the struggles couples have when they are trying to budget for starting a family. It is stated that an average amount it will cost to raise a kid from birth tot he age of 18 is around $257,364. They explain that, although this number can look scary, when you break it down into monthly payments, it is not as bad. Parents also have to consider the money it will cost them when they start putting some away for their kids' education as well.

Unlike the other websites, this one has a calculator that you can download to Excel which will help you figure out what the cost will be for having kids.

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How much does it cost to raise a child from diapers through braces to high school graduation?

The numbers on this all-important question for prospective parents are both scarce and scary. In Canada, arguably the best-known estimate of child-rearing costs until age 18 comes from a 2011 article from personal finance magazine MoneySense, which pegged the figure at $243,656, which works out to $257,364 in today's dollars.

South of the border, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a similar estimate of US$233,610 for children born in 2015.
READ MORE: Here's how much baby's first year might cost - and how to prep for it
But those quarter-million dollar figures can be discouraging and misleading, said Jason Heath, a certified financial planner and managing director at Markham, Ont.-based Objective Financial Partners.

"Whenever you see big numbers, it can be intimidating - the numbers can seem bigger than they actually are," said Heath, adding that he sometimes run into this problem with clients who contemplate the magnitude of their total payments over the life of their mortgage loans. Those expenses often appear more manageable when you look at them in terms of monthly expenses, Heath added.

The other problem with estimates of the average cost of raising a child is that actual expenses can vary dramatically from family to family, he added.
READ MORE: How much does it cost to raise a kid in Canada?
Those are two issues that Canadian financial planning website The Measure of Plan set out to resolve with a new child costs calculator that went live on Tuesday.

"If you've decided to take the plunge into parenthood, taking the time to calculate the expected costs will ensure that you aren't blindsided by the upcoming changes to your finances," writes the anonymous author of site, which has received accolades from well-known money experts like Heath.

The calculator is a downloadable Excel file that lets users input values for anything from recurring expenses like housing, food, transportation, childcare and extracurriculars to all the one-time expenses of baby's first year, from crib, stroller and car seat to pacifiers and childproofing supplies.
READ MORE: Child care costs in Canada: The most and least expensive cities
For most entries, you can choose among low, medium or high benchmark costs provided by the author or enter your own custom value. You can also exclude certain costs. For example, if grandma guarantees she will provide child care cost-free, you can skip the "daycare costs" row.

Global News tried out the tool by inputting middle-range cost estimates. The calculator came up with a projected spend of $246,320 over the cost of 18 years, an amount similar to the estimates provided by MoneySense and the USDA.

Still, the tool also provided a useful chart that breaks up costs by year and month and category. Users can also find out how their spending will likely vary over the course of the child's life: If you're planning on full-time daycare until kindergarten, be ready for some hefty spending in the first three years.

(For the above calculation we used the pre-populated mid-range benchmark values for all recurring costs except spending related to full-time daycare, extra-curricular activities and school supplies. For those categories, we used averages based on, respectively, the latest survey of child care fees from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the 2017 Global News-Ipsos poll on extracurricular activities, and latest back-to-school survey by online deals site RetailMeNot.ca.

For baby's first year costs, the author relies on estimates from Babycenter.com, a U.S.-based website. Instead, Global News relied on average estimates based on Babies: The Real Story of How Much They Cost, an e-book provided by the Canadian Association of Certified Professional Accountants.)
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The cheapest, most expensive extracurriculars in Canada: Ipsos poll

Adding in college savings and lost income from parental leave

While Canadian and U.S. estimates of child-rearing costs usually exclude college costs, the calculator has the ability to add education savings up until age 18.

There's also an option to include lost income from staying at home with your little one. Filling out that row will give you a better idea of how you'll match financial inflows and outflows during parental leave, when most families face not only a cost spike but a significant income drop. But you could also use that feature to get a sense of the opportunity cost of becoming a stay-at-home parent or switching to part-time employment.

When Global News re-ran the numbers including college savings and parental leave costs, the calculator produced a figure of $310,244 over 18 years, significantly higher than the previous estimate.
READ MORE: The genius life hacks that working moms and dads use to get it all done
We assumed a family income of $87,688 (which is the median income of Canadian couples according to the 2016 census) and Ontario-based parents who earn the same amount and share one year of parental leave equally while receiving EI benefits. The lost income after tax would be around $1,585 per month. (To calculate after-tax income, use this handy tool provided by global consultancy EY. To estimate your EI benefits, you can use TD's parental leave calculator.)

For college savings, we assumed the couple would put away $208 per month or, roughly, $2,500 per year, which would allow them to maximize the government top-up in a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP).

The cost of a child's first year, unsurprisingly, becomes a lot higher when one factors in lost income.

And the chart shows just what a hefty chunk of total spending college savings would take up for a middle-class family determined to cover all or most of the costs of higher education for their child.
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Not included: Additional kids, government benefits and lifestyle changes

The calculator does a good job of forcing people to think about a number of costs they might otherwise forget about when attempting to budget for a growing family, Heath said.

But the tool doesn't address how much additional kids might add to the family's expenses.

Heath said parents shouldn't delude themselves into thinking a second child will cost half as much as the first. Having two kids costs nearly twice as much as having one.

"There aren't that many economies of scale. You get lucky if you have kids of the same gender close in age, but things like extracurricular activities, food and birthdays can't be passed on," he said.

On the other hand, the calculator doesn't account for government aid like the Canada Child Benefit, which can make a significant difference to a family's bottom line.

And neither does the tool account for the lifestyle downsizing that usually accompanies the arrival of a little one.

Kids may blow up your expenses, but they also "impede the ability to go out to the bar or fancy restaurants," Heath said.

And many parents will find that as they learn to juggle diaper changing, feeding, nap schedules and doctor's appointments, they're also getting better at budgeting.

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The cost of raising a child? Now there's a calculator for that

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How much does it cost to raise a child from diapers through braces to high school graduation? The numbers on this all-important question for prospective parents are both scarce and scary. In Canada, arguably the best-known estimate of child-rearing costs until age 18 comes from a 2011 article from personal finance magazine MoneySense, which pegged the figure at $243,656, which works out to $257,364 in today's dollars.

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This picture was made in 2022 to show a general representation of how much money going into raising a baby. This is really helpful for people who are considering starting a family because you can use it to plan your financial plan and budget so that you know a general idea of how much money you are going to need to have a baby.

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The author of this article helps guide the reader through all of the different expenses involved with raising a kid by using her personal experience from when she had kids. She kept track of all of her expenses while she was raising her kids in order to help out other parents. She explains that some of the expenses you'll have will vary depending on the age of your kid, for example diapers and food. After explaining the 7 main expenses, she put the costs of them all at the end of the section for what it will cost a parent in the baby's first year. Then she explains the different budgeting parents will have to make in the baby's first year as well.

One thing that this website has that the others didn't is that it is very personable. Since the author is writing from her personal experience, it makes her advice feel more real and makes you more invested in what she is saying. This is a great website for expecting parents to read.

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This wall lays out what people who want to become parents should know before they fully decide on that decision. It explains some of the costs involved and where those costs come from. This is meant to guide future parents in the right direction to help them plan out their financial plan they will need to make in order to have a child.

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This photo shows the average cost of having a kid from when their born to when their 18 years old. This is really good information to see for anyone who has kids or is thinking about having kids because it says that the total cost from birth to 18th birthday is roughly $310,244, which is an amount that might be too high for some people. It is important to remember that this isn't going to be 100% accurate because every situation is different, but it is a good base to go off of.

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This topic really jumped out to me because I know that, in the future when I'm ready, I would love to start a family and have 2-3 kids. I always knew that it was expensive to have kids, but I never knew HOW expensive it really was. Knowing that it costs anywhere between $10,000-$15,000 per year for one kid, it made me realize that I will need to make sure that I am in a good financial position before I decide to start a family. If I were to pass on any information to a family member, I would tell them to make sure they have a financial plan and budget well before having kids because this could really benefit them in the long run. It is good to have a financial plan and to review and revise it regularly because your current situation could always change, as long as prices of products and services in the world.

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This website explains how the cost of childcare has gone up a lot, especially with the cost of food and clothes. Some people who want to have more than one kid realize after their first kid that they can't afford another one. People are wanting the government to offer more benefits to parents so that it doesn't cost as much to raise a kid, but this hasn't happened yet since the problem is only getting worse.

This website includes the government's part in the cost of childcare, which the other websites didn't include. This is useful information because it is important to be aware of your country's contributions to helping your family out to know if they are benefitting you.

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OTTAWA - Jessica Wesley has been a mom for all of two months, but she and her husband are already thinking that one child might be all their finances can handle.

As her Toronto family confronts looming expenses such as child care, rent and clothing, Wesley says she doesn't know what the final tally will be - only that it will be high.

Justin Trudeau's federal government is in a similar boat.

Ottawa doesn't have a bead on just how much it costs to raise a child in Canada, says a new study, prompting some experts to wonder if politics and ideology are trumping evidence when it comes to making decisions on social policy.

The paper, sponsored by the anti-poverty group Campaign 2000, says governments need a better way of measuring cost to ensure family benefits and anti-poverty initiatives are of help to those who need it the most.

"It makes us hesitant," Wesley, 31, says of the costs involved with raising her son, Ken.

"One of the factors that makes us think he'll probably be our only little guy is the cost involved."

Wesley has friends with newborn babies - and similar concerns.

The cost of raising a child ranges from about $5,000 a year to more than $12,000, depending on which estimate one looks at and whether those estimates incorporate variables like child care, transportation, food and housing. Thanks to a lack of data and no clear consensus on how best to measure the cost, disputes about accuracy abound.

Such lack of certainty leaves a lot of leeway for political and ideological preferences to take over and drive policy changes, said Sid Frankel, an associate professor of social work at the University of Manitoba, and co-author of the study.

"Government and others speak a lot about evidence-based policy and here's an essential area of evidence that has essentially been ignored."

The Liberals replaced the previous Conservative government's universal child care benefit with an income-tested one worth about $23 billion a year. They argue the new Canada Child Benefit provides more money monthly to 87 per cent of families.

Trudeau has repeatedly said his goal is to help middle-class Canadian families cover what he calls the high cost of raising children through tax cuts and higher benefit payments. The government is also finalizing child-care funding agreements with provinces in a bid to bring down the cost of child care.

Without a clear sense of how much it costs families in various places across Canada with a variety of income levels, it's difficult to determine just how much help the benefit provides, Frankel said.

For the Wesleys, the child benefit allows the couple to set aside some money for their two-month-old son's future.

For Joy Black, a 55-year-old single mother who lives in Winnipeg, the extra couple of hundred dollars a month is helpful, but far from enough. The money vanishes if her two growing teenagers need new shoes, or if the costs of household staples go up.

"The cost of everything has skyrocketed," Black said.

"Food, clothing, shoes - it's crazy. I don't even buy clothing. I depend on local charities and churches and stuff for clothes because I just can't afford to buy them clothes."

The study's authors will be on Parliament Hill on Tuesday to push the government for a standard budget for families of various locales and income levels - something they say could help more than just governments.

A true estimate of the cost of raising children would help courts make more informed decisions about compensating parents for child-care costs, and better enable financial advisers to help families make decisions about their future.

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"Food, clothing, shoes - it's crazy." What is the actual price of parenthood?

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OTTAWA - Jessica Wesley has been a mom for all of two months, but she and her husband are already thinking that one child might be all their finances can handle. As her Toronto family confronts looming expenses such as child care, rent and clothing, Wesley says she doesn't know what the final tally will be - only that it will be high.

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This short video consists of dads explaining the costs of parenthood that they were surprised about. One of the dads explained that he realized he was going to need to have another source of income while his wife was on mat leave since they were a dual-income household. They also explained that parents need to consider putting money aside for education, vacations, and everyday expenses for their kids.

This video shares information from real dads who have had to deal with these expenses, which makes this video more personable. One thing that I took away from this video is the importance of budgeting and saving for your kids.

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Father Figure$ – The Surprising Cost of Parenthood!

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This video shares 5 tips you need to think about when you are raising a family and why they are important. The tips were: making a budget, investing in your child's education, getting the right insurance, keeping your debt under control, and to give yourself a break. Doing all 5 of these things will help parents become the best parent they can be. They didn't specify how much everything will cost, but they did give information on how you can prepare for parenthood, which is more beneficial to some people because the cost of parenthood will vary depending on the situation.

One thing this video shared that was unlike the other videos is that when you put money into an RESP for your kid, the government will match 20% of your yearly contribution, up to $7200. This is important information for anyone who is having kids because it will help them consider investing into an RESP.

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This video shares what you can expect the cost will be for your child's first year. The owners of this YouTube account, who also were the ones in the video, are expecting parents and were explaining what their budgeting has looked like so far and what they predict things will cost them. One of the tips they gave was to not buy expensive things that won't be used for a long time. For example, babies and kids grow out of clothes so fast that it would be a waste of money to buy expensive clothes. Hand-me-downs and a great way of saving money because most parents are wanting to get rid of their kid's old clothes and cribs after they've outgrown them.

One thing that I really took away from this video, which is why I included it, is when they said that you don't need a new house or a new car or any new things to be a good parent. In my mind, I have always though that I would need all of the newest things to raise a kid right, but the point they made by saying that your baby won't judge you really was an eye opener for me.

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This video shares how you can be more financially prepared to become a parent and why it is important to consider all of the factors of expenses that goes into childcare. This video is more so directed to parents that live in the US, but the tips and information can be considered by parents who live all over the world. They talk about how the average age kids are when they leave home is 22 years old, but sometimes they will still need your financial help, even when they are all grown up and don't live with you anymore. Another good piece of information was that the cost to raise a child varies based on where you live, and that it is cheaper to raise kids in rural areas, rather than urban areas.

One piece of information that really stood out to me was that when you have 3 or more children, the average cost per child decreases by roughly 24% because you can reuse clothes, toys, and you can buy food in bulk. This was useful for me to know because when I have kids, I would like to have 3, so knowing this helps me not stress out too much about the cost of having 3 kids.

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Why Are Children So Expensive? - The Challenges of Raising a Child Today