Having a child 'can lead to debt'
Published On 31 July 2007
Unless parents start to plan early, they could risk debt because of the costs associated with raising a child, new research has suggested.Invesco Perpetual has calculated that bringing up a child in the UK costs at least £46 a week. This means that, assuming a kid remains dependent on their parents until they are 18, mum and dad will have to find £43,056 for each of their offspring.
However, if education-related costs are added into the equation, this figure increases to as much as £150,000.
The financial company has said that parents should start planning early for these increased costs, or risk a future of debt, loans and IVAs.
"One of the ways to ease the pressure is to invest on a long-term basis with a view to building up a substantial capital sum which can help pay for some or all of the costs of schooling," explained Rick White, marketing director at Invesco Perpetual.
"So starting sooner rather than later is what it's all about and, with professional help from a financial adviser, it should be much easier to plan for the costs of bringing up and educating a child."
Recently, Halifax published research that showed that the cost of sending a child to a fee-paying school in the UK had risen by 41 per cent over the last five years.
