How much should a couple be earning before having a child?

[Kaboom!]

Just wanted your insights on the matter. Many have said that it's expensive to have kids but how expensive? Can you put a monetary value to it? I guess just so that you can give your child adequate shelter, food, support, education, etc., what kind of amount should parents put aside?

Peace.

[mac_bolan00]

D-10 months - i find find out the wife's pregnant. from here to D-6, i had to spend on the following:

ob-gyne consultation - 200/mo
monthly cost of vitamins - 300/mo
1st ultrasound - 500

D-6 to D-2

ob-gyne consultation - 400/mo (twice a month now)
monthly cost of vitamins - 300/mo
2nd ultrasound - 500
one day at divisoria to buy all baby items - 3,000 (at least)

D-1 to D-day

ob-gyne consultation - 800/mo (weekly now)
monthly cost of vitamins - 300/mo
various tests - 1000

D-day!

package deal for a C-section (a fat cat hospital like St. Lukes): 60,000
some tests that might (MIGHT) be required 8,000

D+1

newborn screening - 600
vaccinations (first of 24 monthly vaccinations) - 500 to 1800/mo
monthly visit to a pedia - 250/mo
infant's milk - 400
5 liters of distilled water - 55/mo
mom's and baby's vitamins 500/mo
birth certificate - 60
baptism - 700
party following the baptism - at least 8,000

D+2 to D+6

vaccinations - 500 to 1800/mo
monthly visit to a pedia - 250/mo
infant's milk - 400/mo
5 liters of distilled water - 55/mo
mom's and baby's vitamins 500/mo

D+6 to D+11

vaccinations - 500 to 1800/mo
monthly visit to a pedia - 250/mo
infant's milk - 400/mo
5 liters of distilled water - 55/mo
mom's and baby's vitamins 500/mo
first annual payment for a college educ. plan - 18,000

to sum it up, you must have at least 1,000 extra money every month during the pregnancy and have at least 60,000 saved up for the actual delivery. THIS IS BARRING ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING PREGNANCY

after deliver and barring further complications, you need at least 3,000 added income per month plus 18,000 annual college plan payments for the next 5 years.

and then schooling starts. oh glory!

could life get any better than this?

[lupuS]

Education

Assumptions:

1. Private school
2. One year preschool, eight years primary, four years high school, four years college.
3. Cost for first year P80,000 includes tuition, supplies, transportation, uniform, other essentials.
4. Cost increases 10% per year.

After doing the math, total cost to educate one child:

P3,243,576.23

[Fairy_nd_meadow]

I wouldn't put a figure....

But I'd say that if one is willing to sacrifice and has enough maturity to handle the many challenges of parenting, then you're ready to have a baby.

There is no "right salary" to have a baby. I've seen less fortunate ones who have raised wonderful children, and became successful eventually. :flower:

[Kaboom!]

I found this on the internet and I actually posted it here before until some of the posts were deleted. It's in a western point of view so the amounts for the Philippines are probably significantly lower but it seems that private schooling will take up the bulk of expenses.

We spent about 100K on the c-section delivery at Manila Doctor's which is the single biggest expense so far.

Peace.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth
to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle
income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college
tuition.

For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the
money we could have banked if not for (insert
your child's name here).


For others, that number might confirm the decision to remain childless.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down.
It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week.
That's a mere $24.44 a day! Just over a dollar
an hour.


Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children
if you want to be "rich". It is just the
opposite. So, what DO you get for your $160,140?


Naming rights. First, middle, and last!

Glimpses of God everyday.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than your heart can hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.

A hand to hold usually covered with jam.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles, and
skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how
poorly your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up.


You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide- and-seek, catch
lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa
Claus.

You have an excuse to keep: reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to
Disney movies, and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets
and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for
Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with
backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.


You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
taking the training wheels off the bike,
removing a splinter, filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of
bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never
wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first
word, first bra, first date, and first time behind
the wheel.

You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a
long list of limbs in your obituary called
grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice,
communications, and human sexuality that no college can
match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under
the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber
party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they
will, like you, love without counting the
cost.

[mac_bolan00]

actually, i've figured it a bit more straightforward. assuming my salary doesn't jump (or fall) damatically for the next 20 years and, assuming inflationary adjustments, i'll probably scrape enough to give her a decent college education, a nice duplex which she'll inherit and maybe 70,000 in inheritance money (ie: 70,000 in today's value). outside of this, i'm not sure i'd have enough to sutain the wife and yours truly until the two of us reach our 80s. :D oh well. matti will be working by then. :D

[kixter]

Okay guys, could you please stop with all the computations!!!!!

You have officially scared the HELL out of me men!!!:bash:

:rotflmao:

k!xT3r!!!
:hiphop:

[hosel]

Not counting the cummulative expenses while your 35 year old son is still trying to decide when to leave home....and get his own pad.

:D :D

j/k

[CraZyInLuV]

i don't think there's an amount which you can pinpoint to. i've always thought that a 9-5 job doesn't provide you enough salary to start a family with... but when unexpected things happen and you're forced to make ends meet, then you realize that no matter what you're earning, you can provide for a child and have money left after. its a matter of careful budgeting and a bit of sacrifice.

[Dunedain]

Originally posted by CraZyInLuV
i don't think there's an amount which you can pinpoint to. i've always thought that a 9-5 job doesn't provide you enough salary to start a family with... but when unexpected things happen and you're forced to make ends meet, then you realize that no matter what you're earning, you can provide for a child and have money left after. its a matter of careful budgeting and a bit of sacrifice.

I agree. From the day I found out that my wife was pregnant 'til the baby was born, I didn't hold back on the expenses of food, vitamins, clothing, milk, etc. Way even before me and my wife met, I was already saving as much as I could on my salary (for years). Call me "kuripot", but the rewards at the "end" even impressed my folks when I got a new house (not fully furnished yet but working on it), new cars (one's fully paid for while the other's still getting paid), and a baby who's got an unfurnished living room as a personal playroom... ...for now. With all that sacrifice and more to come in the future, life is good. :D

[JdelaCruz]

You'd be surprised at the number of couples trying so hard to conceive and ending up still childless years, a string of OB/GYNs and hundreds of thousands of pesos later.

Others try to postpone having kids up to a time they feel they are "financially comfortable" only to realize it ain't that easy to conceive -- contrary to what our highschool religion teachers scared us all into thinking. So they end up with all that moolah and no kids.

My answer: If you have the gift to bear children, don't squander it waiting for the magic figures on your bankbook to appear. The more you appreciate this gift, the less you'd worry about the pesos and cents of raising the little devils, I mean angels.

[kixter]

Originally posted by JdelaCruz
The more you appreciate this gift, the less you'd worry about the pesos and cents of raising the little devils, I mean angels.

:rotflmao:

:rotflmao:

:rotflmao:

nice one, JdelaCruz

k!xT3r!!!
:hiphop:

[I'mBigMe]

oh gosh, now i'm really :eek: ...freaked out-- i think is the word.

Now we singles have all the time in the world to splurge for ourselves coz once the responsibility comes in, unless you're filthy rich, you really have to be selfless for your kid(s). i adore my parents. *sigh*

[sodemntough]

i think they are right if you start computing how much you'll be spending even before you're child is born i think that might scare you and not have kids at all. Sure it's expensive but I wouldnt trade in my child for anything else.

[tina11]

we've been married for almost 5 months and people are constantly asking us when we're planning to have kids... i think i'll print out this page, highlight mac_bolan and lupuS's posts, and show it to the next person who asks me that. :D

i think they are right if you start computing how much you'll be spending even before you're child is born i think that might scare you and not have kids at all.

well in my case, i still want to have kids but i'm beginning to realize how hard it is nowadays for a family to survive on just one person's income. so this thread inspires me to save money and do well in my job so that my kids will have comfortable lives. i don't want to deprive my kids of the privilege of studying in the best schools just because we can't afford it. mas ayoko naman mangutang kasi baka utang lang mamanahin sa akin ng mga anak ko.

must work harder :D

[hosel]

Amen!

[dirby88]

I think regardless of how much a couple earns, they shouldnt spend beyond your means. Period. Early on kase with kids the expenses are manageable. Diapers and milk are the major expense. Plus occasional doctors checkups and vaccinations. When they hit the school age, all of a sudden the expenses double and triple up.

And also you should always be communicating with your spouse so you both know where you stand financially...

[aajao]

:eek: tama naaa.... natatakot na kong mag-asawa! :weep:

[milkyman]

Originally posted by tina11
we've been married for almost 5 months and people are constantly asking us when we're planning to have kids... i think i'll print out this page, highlight [b]mac_bolan and lupuS's posts, and show it to the next person who asks me that. :D



it doesn't matter. people want to see small tinapays.

[more]

WHEN my wife got pregnant I was making about $25,000 - $30,000 a year,That was 17 years ago. Now, I'm making twice what i made 17 years ago and i got two sons.My wife did not work for a longtime just to take care of my elder son. when she work fulltime we paid the babysitter a lot everyweek. Now i'm looking forward to my elder sons college educations. next year he will attend college the average cost of Public University here in California is $10,000 this include,tuition,books,board etc. at Cal.State Unversities. if you attend University of California Regent it will cost you an average of $18,000 a year depends which UC Regent you will go,this is the cost if you are a California residents.if your non residents you double the cost.If you want less expense go Community College then transfer to university,cheapest way to do it.

[the_BuGs]

Originally posted by Fairy_nd_meadow
I wouldn't put a figure....

But I'd say that if one is willing to sacrifice and has enough maturity to handle the many challenges of parenting, then you're ready to have a baby.

There is no "right salary" to have a baby. I've seen less fortunate ones who have raised wonderful children, and became successful eventually. :flower:

Agree!!!

9 months na kami ng asawa ko then wife ko 3 months pregy na.... sa awa ng Diyos nakakaraos pa rin kami kahit wala pang ipon...

[more]

Make sure you take your wife for pre-natal check to monitor your baby. goodluck to you,your wife and your baby...

[Mickey2000]

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-9/268834/xmasmickey.jpgKung dito sa States manganganak,you need at least $50k, kung CS ha, i hve no idea for normal birth but for sure you still need more http://www.boomspeed.com/carolrobert/money.gif,actually child support dito ng baby, $500/month,then every year nag i-increase.:)

[the_BuGs]

Originally posted by more
Make sure you take your wife for pre-natal check to monitor your baby. goodluck to you,your wife and your baby...

Yep me monthly check up naman si misis eh... kanina galing na sya sa Doktor... then pinababalik na sya sa october ulit...

Kasi sabi sa akin libre daw manganak dito eh kahit CS... room lang daw ang babayaran namin...

[aajao]

Mickey2000 mas mahal sa US ang normal birth kaysa CS? :mconfused:

[f0r5aK3n]

one reason We don't have kids yet... It ain't practical financially. No matter how much FAMILY pressures we've been having, our conscience and responsibility dictate that we shouldn't raise a child when we know that we won't be able to give him/her all the necessary means because of the financial incapabilities.

[birleys2]

Interesting talk about parenting.

I, however, got scared by the expenses that appear. I always thought that it better to save for a rainy day, afterall, extra finances can be helpful especially during uncertain events like accidents, hospitalization, loss of job, etc.

So, how much should the couple be earning per month to live reasonably comfortable without being extravagant or frivolous, plan for the kids future education, and still have extra to cover for emergency situations without borrowing?

Income in peso terms per month
1. 100,000 and above
2. 75,000
3. 50,000
4. 25,000 and below

Moreover, these amounts/income are assumed to increase at about 5-7% a year.

Many thanks in advance

[glenchuy]

Originally posted by Kaboom!
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth
to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle...
Naming rights. First, middle, and last!...
You have an excuse to keep: reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,...
watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to
Disney movies, and wishing on stars.
You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under
the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber
party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they
will, like you, love without counting the
cost.

that melt my heart. i was supposed to rant on how #@%$ expensive it is to raise a child. (i have 2) but after reading that, i guess i've got a lot to thank for.

[glenchuy]

you'll need at least i spend about 25,000 a month for raising 2 kids. that covers our food (6k), yaya (4k), maid(2k), milk (2k) my hobbie (2k) miscellaneaous like fuel, gas for cooking, (xk)

[quickbrwnfox]

wow!!! napaka touching naman ng thread na to!

although im still in my college year, and i dont plan to get married yet, more over have a baby in the near future, nakaka impress how people <husbands and wives> makes end meet kahit na hirap ang economy ngayon.

i think having a kid of ur own, makes all the expenses all worth it, makes all the trouble and hassle and sleepless nights and worries all worthwhile diba?

its all right to be practical and think of the cost, but i think dapat maging happy din sa blessing ni God, <to have a baby> kasi miracle un.