I have no idea what the cost of raising a royal baby is but I expect it would be a lot higher than the cost of raising an “average” baby – which itself is not cheap! But of course, those of us with daughters think we have our own little princesses.
According to the latest AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report Cost of Kids, for a middle income family there has been a 50% increase in the cost of raising two kids. That is an extraordinary increase which has outstripped the increase in household incomes over the same time which is only 25%.
No doubt Will and Kate will be dealing with a couple items that have contributed most to the increased cost – private school education and child care.
I think we can assume the future king and queen will not need to concern themselves too much with how they will pay for raising their baby. But for the rest of us it worth doing some planning:
- What are our future costs based on education, leisure activities, holidays?
- Can they be funded each year from cashflow?
- Do we need to start a savings plan for future costs?
- How do these costs affect other plans such as retirement or plans for the family home.
And while our beautiful kids are worth every dollar – we can make our lives easier with a plan.
I think this article from CNN Money suggesting the royal baby will cost at least $1m may be underestimating it!