Why We Can't Afford Our Children

I cut and pasted this USAA graph after guessing the answer incorrectly. Of course, it only feels like the cost of child raising has doubled since my sons were born in the late 1980s. The projected amount to put them through college at the time of their births was $100,000 for a Bachelors' degree.

So, who has this kind of money anyway?  Oh.  Right.  The 1% to whom Congress and the candidates pander.

Question 1 Results How much has the cost of raising a child increased over the past 10 years? 20% 11.7% 40% 46.3% 60% 42.0%

Raising a kid from birth to age 18 increased by 40% over the past decade, and topped a whopping $226,920 last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And that's NOT including what you'll need to save to pay for a college education. In 2011-12, public, four-year colleges charged an average of $8,244 per year in tuition and fees for in-state students, and $12,526 per year for out-of-state students, according to the College Board. Meanwhile, private nonprofit four-year colleges charged an average of $28,500 per year in tuition and fees. So how are parents supposed to cope? Luckily, the College Board reports that a full-time undergraduate student, over 2010-2011 received an average of $12,455 in financial aid, including more than $6,500 in grants that don't have to be repaid.