Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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                    US Cost of Raising Children Nears $250K

   by VOA News

   New parents in the United States will have to have to tighten their
   budgets, according to data released Monday, which shows the cost of
   raising a child is inching toward a quarter-million dollars.

   [1]Research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows middle-income
   parents will spend slightly more that $245,000 on a baby born in 2013
   until the child turns 18, the age of legal adulthood in the U.S.

   The largest expense for new parents is housing, which accounts for
   almost one-third of the projected cost. Child care, education, and food
   also top the list.

   The 2013 figure marks an increase of nearly 2 percent over the previous
   year.

   Adjusted for inflation, a child born in 1960 cost the average
   middle-income U.S. family roughly $199,000.





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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-cost-of-raising-children-nears-qua
   rter-of-million-dollars/2417606.html

References

   1. http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/08/18/how-much-will-it-cost-to-raise-a-child/
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-cost-of-raising-children-nears-quarter-of-million-dollars/2417606.html