There's an interesting article over on MSN Money about the cost of raising a child. According to the most recent data from the USDA, a family making $70,200 per year will spend an eye-popping $269,520 to raise a child from birth through age 17. The numbers are a bit lower for lower income brackets, but it's still not cheap – e.g., in the $41,700-$70,200 bracket the cost is projected to be $184,320. Families making less than that are projected to spend $134,370 over the same timeframe. Not surprisingly, they get more expensive as they get older, topping out in the 15-17 year old age bracket.

One small piece of good news is that the numbers outlined in the article include things like major expenditures on private school education by some of the families. Thus, if your kids go to public school, you can expect to make out considerably better than the 'average' family. However, the survey also didn't factor in lost earning potential due to one parent staying home, or perhaps taking a lower paying job to get more flexible hours. Also note that the reported number do not include the college years.

The USDA report also breaks down the expenditures into categories. The single biggest expense is housing. Other categories covered in the article include food, transportation, clothing, health care, child care/education, as well as other miscellaneous expenses. The article runs through each of these in turn, complete with tips on how to cut costs in each area.

As the father of four (!) young kids, these sorts of numbers really hit home. But, to paraphrase the MasterCard commericals, the experience of raising my kids is priceless.

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"The Quarter Million Dollar Baby" was first published at fivecentnickel.com