   how much?
  since it is the year 2008, I was just wondering, How much does it cost to raise a child- from the time of her/his birth, until she/he reaches 18? This doesn't include stupid stuff like: toys,cars,lunch money...etc.. I'm talking about clothes,Food,Education, and the things that should be considered the BASIC/SIMPLE things which hold great importance and value. I am only 19, though I might not need the information, but I just would like to know, because a lot of my friends are getting into relationships and 1 of my friends girlfriend is pregnant and they are only in their 20's, thus he only makes 11-12 bucks an hour! the last time I wondered about this kinda issue on "how much it costs to raise a child", the total cost yearly was "$17,000-$20,000", but that was with me going to super wal-mart and other cheap places I could find! so if any of you would be so kind as to give me some ideas,links,advice, or anything that could and would me with this question, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you.ps: btw, my friend is/has been having a nervous breakdown for 2 weeks and he's against abortion(so is his girlfriend and so am I).   
Google.;Quote:Original post by NiCodesince it is the year 2008, I was just wondering, How much does it cost to raise a child- from the time of her/his birth, until she/he reaches 18? ..last time I wondered about this kinda issue on "how much it costs to raise a child", the total cost yearly was "$17,000-$20,000"I'd say that would be a reasonable figure if you include child-care costs, certainly in my own country (Ireland). Raise that much higher then for later years when they have to go to school / college and generally have much more things going on in their lives- things that all need money.Quite frankly I don't know how people on welfare or minimum wage jobs manage to get by when raising one or more kids; the cost is just terrifying! It's probably one the main reasons also why birth rates are generally dropping in most Western societies (Germany in particular comes to mind) - people just don't have the cash anymore to raise kids.   