Raising a Child Now Costs Nearly $250,000, According to New Report

This comes as no surprise to anyone who is raising children. it's expensive. Damn expensive. And it's getting higher.

A new government report released this week shows the cost of raising a child for the average middle income American family is $245,000.

The biggest increase is in healthcare where the cost has doubled. Also, childcare costs have made a sharp increase in the last 5 years.

44% Housing and transportation ($107,970)
18% Child care and education ($44,400)
16% food ($39,060)
14% clothing and miscellaneous ($33,780)
8% healthcare ($20,130)

And it's not like we're making more to accommodate the increase, either. According to government data, the average median income, $53,891, has dropped nearly 6% since January 2000.

This past month, for example, our family had back-to-school shopping, soccer and fall sports league fees, birthday parties, and a weekend trip with friends. It's easy to see how fast the "little things" begin to add up.

Some advice to young families: start crunching the numbers early on, then make, and stick to the plan.