Children are not usually thought of as financial assets or liabilities, but the cost of raising them can be rather startling, said a consumer education specialist with New Mexico State University. In the past, a large family was needed to make the farm or ranch work, but that is no longer true.
Families are smaller, and children take up a good portion of the family income each month.
Financial planning for children is essential for the family's financial security, she said. To get a handle on costs, parents can look to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that reports average annual costs of raising children. Expenditures for food, clothing, housing, health care, education, child care, transportation and miscellaneous goods and services are estimated. These figures are estimates to be used as guides only, Wright said. They are not absolute figures for particular families.