IT COSTS $222,360 TO RAISE A CHILD

I saw an NPR article on how much it costs to raise a child. Here is what it had to say:

"A middle-income, two-parent family will spend $222,360, on average, to raise a baby born in 2009, according to a government estimate released today.

Yes, a number like that screams false precision. Still, some of the broad outlines that go into the estimate are pretty interesting:

Housing is the most expensive part of raising a kid. It accounts for 31 percent of the cost, followed by childcare and education (17 percent) and food (16 percent).

The annual cost rises a bit as the child gets older -- from less than $12,000 per year for a baby to more than $13,000 for a teenager.

Among urban areas, the Northeast is the most expensive region to raise a child, and the South is the cheapest. Rural areas, which are lumped into a single category, are even cheaper.

The cost per child for a two-child family is 25 percent lower than the cost per child for a one-child family.

Researchers broke household income into three levels: Less than $56,670; $56,670 to $98,120; and more than $98,120.

People in the lower-income group spend 25 percent of their before-tax income on a child; those in the middle-income group spend 16 percent; and those in the higher-income group spend 12 percent. But in absolute terms, spending increases with income.

The figures are adjusted for inflation, and costs are calculated through age 17. [Copyright 2010 National Public Radio]"

You can see the article at this link: http://m.npr.org/news/front/127600351