Families who are expanding realize one thing: children are expensive. A new article by CNN shows that the cost of raising a child has spiked an extra $8,000 in recent years. Right now, middle-income families with a baby that was born last year can expect to spend about $235,000 over the next 17 years on their child. The U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that higher costs in food, shelter, and other necessities that are needed to raise a child correctly have accounted for the shocking rise. The cost of living rose 3.5% last year, and grocery bills, rent, and medical care are no small matter.

Last year, the cost for transportation, education, child care, and food surged. Healthcare, clothing and housing also rose at a gradual pace, allowing the cost of a child to move up. The government says that middle-income families are those with a gross income of $59,000 to $103,000 before income taxes. Lower income families probably won’t spend as much on their middle-class counterparts. Normally, a lower class family can raise a child on about $169,000 over 17 years, and a higher-income family will spend roughly $390,000 on their little ones. The USDA constantly checks on the costs of raising a child so that they can try and accommodate the prices to a tight budget. When they started doing the survey in the 1960’s the cost of raising a child was only about $25,000.

Wondering where all that money goes? Apparently the bulk of the costs go to housing. Because you need a larger house to accommodate a kid, people normally spend about $70,500 in total on their real estate while their kids are in the home. They spend about $41,000 on childcare and education as their young one is growing up, and over the course of 17 years it costs about $38,000 to feed a child adequately. This may fluctuate depending on whether you are raising a boy or a girl and what his or her appetite is like. You will also spend about $34,000 in transportation, $13,500 in clothing, and $19,000 in healthcare. Another $19,000 will go to miscellaneous expenses which can be anything from movie tickets to Christmas presents. Keep in mind that these figures only apply to one child, and are doubled, tripled, quadrupled, or more depending on how many children you have.

Needless to say, if you’re wondering where all of your money if going, it is probably being poured into your family. This is a worthy investment, but an exorbitantly expensive one. When people say that they don’t think they can afford kids, they aren’t just giving an invalid excuse for why they won’t start a family. Instead, they may be evaluating the economic costs and realize that they just can’t come up with another $235,000 in under 20 years. If you are in this situation, or have children and can’t keep up with the many expenses, then chances are that you took out loans to cover the costs. Now, you may not be able to pay those loans back. Maybe you wanted to help pay your children’s way through college after they moved out, and now you have to take out loans for that as well.

If you are constantly borrowing and not making an effort to repay those expenses, the loans may have triggered concern from creditors. Now, amidst the expenses of raising your children, you may be floundering in debt. If you are, and you don’t think there is another way to cover the expenses, then maybe you need to contact a bankruptcy attorney to discuss this option. Declaring bankruptcy isn’t as scary as you think, and will get your creditors off your back. You may be able to get out from under the debt you have accumulated while trying to be an excellent parent. Contact a bankruptcy attorney today for more information about this option.