Wow! A report, Cost Of Raising Children, for the Inland Revenue has revealed that raising your child to the age of 18 could cost the average parent almost $250,000.
This amount only covers expenses!
It’s the first time such figures have been calculated in New Zealand. The report will be used by the Government in a review to determine child support payments.
Parents on a high income would spend almost three times as much on a single child as those on a low wage, and that children aged 12 and under cost less than teens.
During the report the authors found that the costs for second and subsequent children could be reduced by the use of hand-me-downs – raising four children would cost parents on a middle income $686 a week.
Auckland fertility expert Dr Neil Johnson said,
Children should be viewed as priceless. It was common for many couples to spend tens of thousands trying to get their dream of becoming parents.
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