With inflation skyrocketing in Canada, many couples planning to have children may wonder if they can still afford it.
Something as important as having children is not a purely financial decision, but affordability must also be carefully considered. Statistics Canada doesn’t collect this information, so I’ll have to make some estimates based on US data and a Canadian study I found.
2015 Moneysense Study found that the average cost to raise a child to age 18 was $253,946. Applying 11.37% inflation between 2016 and 2021, we get $281,880 as the total cost to raise a child to age 18 in 2022.
the US Department of Agriculture in 2015 determined that the cost was US$233,610. In 2022, taking inflation into account, it is now estimated at US$272,049. I did not convert these amounts from US dollars to Canadian dollars (which would have increased the total amount) because the average cost of living is much lower in the US than in Canada.
Since these results are pretty close, I’m comfortable using $281,880 as a rough estimate of the cost of raising your child to age 18 in 2022. While that’s a daunting figure (over a quarter of a million dollars! !) , is much more manageable when broken into shorter time periods:
- $281,880 is the average cost to raise a child to the age of 18
- $15,560 is the average cost per year to raise a child
- $1,305 is the average cost per month to raise a child
While these may be estimates, it’s clear that having children is a big financial decision. Having children is probably one of the biggest expenses a person will have during the next 18 years of their life, so it is wise to plan carefully.
Determine if you can afford the cost of a child by budgeting carefully
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Step 1: Calculate your monthly household income. -
Step 2: Determine your current monthly household expenses.
If your monthly income minus expenses is more than $1,305, you can probably afford to have a child in Canada.
Looking at these numbers, are you worried that you won’t be able to afford children? Keep in mind that these are average numbers and many parents can get by with much less. If you have a lower income, there is also some government support, such as the Canada Child Benefitwhich you can turn to.
Money is not everything
Money is certainly not the be all and end all when it comes to deciding whether to have children. If you can’t afford the average amount mentioned above, but are confident that you can raise happy, healthy children, then money shouldn’t be the main determining factor.
Everyone wants to provide a lifestyle for their children that is as good or better than the one their parents gave them. The problem is that it is much more difficult to do that these days.
The cost of living has risen substantially since the 1990s, as has the cost of housing and Post secondary education. It will take careful financial planning and a lot of work to raise a child, but it is possible.