Life event
What it really costs to raise a child
The headline number for raising a child to 18 is daunting, but it's spread across eighteen years and shifts with your child's age. Here's what makes up the total, how much is still ahead from where you are now, and whether it fits your monthly cash flow.
What changes
The lifetime total
Housing, food, childcare, and everyday costs compound across eighteen years into a large birth-to-18 figure.
What's still ahead
Most of the total depends on your child's current age — the years behind you are already spent.
Your monthly cash flow
The question that actually matters month to month is whether the added cost fits alongside everything else you're paying.
Run the numbers
Free, private, and source-cited. Bring your numbers, see your result — no account required.
Make it part of your plan
Save your numbers once and this moment becomes part of a plan you can come back to — see how it moves your savings, your cushion, and your month-to-month room over time.
Having a baby? →These tools produce estimates, not advice, and don’t sell products or referrals. Every result cites its source and the date it was verified. See our sources.