Everybody knows that bringing up children is an expensive business but not many people realise quite how much it costs to raise kids.
A study last year carried out by the Liverpool Victoria friendly society suggests that the average cost of raising one child from birth to age 21 is around £166,000. The biggest areas of expense were Childcare, which cost around £46,000 and Education, which worked out at around £37,000, with the cost of three years at University averaging at about £25,000.
So by being a stay at home dad you are already saving the £46,000 spent on Childcare but the study doesn’t take into account loss of earnings by being a full-time parent or from maternity and paternity leave. Also with inflation rates these figures will increase as your children age and by the time they are old enough for university the cost could easily have doubled or even trebled! So it makes sense to make sure that you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to now and that you are making the best use of your money and saving wisely for the future.
You may think that you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to but incredibly there is around £5 billion worth of tax credits that goes unclaimed every year in the UK. This is due to people either not knowing what they are entitled to or not being able to understand and complete the application process for their benefits.
This brief guide will advise you of all the benefits you may be entitled to as a stay at home dad with links to all the relevant websites where you can find more information.
Also I have given my advice for the best savings accounts for you and your children and how and where you can easily compare lots of different accounts in minutes.
It is always worth making the most of your money and having the least financial burden possible. Remember that having more money might not make you happy but it certainly helps.