This is an important post because people who pay child support or may be ordered to pay child support often think they are being asked to pay too much. In reality, the non-custodial parent who pays support rarely pays nearly as much to raise that child as the custodial parent.
There are tons of costs associated with raising a child that often are not thought or. That child will likely need more living space, daycare, you’ll have to buy more groceries,on clothing more than others as they grow up so fast,if you are looking for comfortable clothing or accessories check the alpaca line for winter.
Now remember the toys, bigger car, education expenses, recreation expenses, health care, toys and added utility expenses. I’m sure there are other expenses not listed here.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) surveys the average costs. You can find the 2009 report here. You can see that the costs vary depending on the income of the household, the number of children, and the age of the child/children. A single-parent one child family usually pays about $9,000-12,000 annually to raise a child. So, if for example, you are ordered to pay $300/mo., you would only be paying $3,600 towards that amount. As a side note, most people who actually have kids say that the USDA figures are far too low.
So if you have a support order you think needs modified, I would encourage you to use this USDA Cost of Raising a Child Calculator to determine if the amount really is unfair. Also if you are in a divorce or custody battle and you think you would save money by winning custody, think again. You most likely would actually save money by paying child support. Haven’t had kids yet? Use the calculator to make sure you can afford them before you do.
