現在養一個孩子要多少錢?猜猜看!
First, the good news: the cost of raising kids rose at a slower rate between 2014 and 2015 than any typical year since 1960, says government data released this month. The bad news? Well, you make want to take a seat. If you're planning to have any more kids, it's going to cost you—and maybe a lot more than you thought it would. Even though the cost rose only 3 percent, it's still above the rate of inflation and the total price tag is quite hefty when you think about it.
首先，有則好消息：本月政府發佈的數據顯示：自1960年以來，2014年到2015年間，養育孩子的費用漲幅最低。那壞消息呢？你最好還是坐下來聽我慢慢宣佈。如果你還想再生孩子，那麼其成本可能會比你以爲的要多得多。雖然養育孩子的費用只漲了3%，但仍然超過了通貨膨脹率，當你認真思考時，你會發現總價格還是相當高的。
The average cost for a middle-income married couple to raise a child from birth to age 18 for kids born in 2015 was a whopping $233,610, according to a report from the Department of Agriculture. The cost for low-income families ranged as low as $174,690 and as high as $372,210 for wealthy families.
據農業部門的一份報告顯示：2015年，中等收入家庭的結婚夫婦將寶寶從出生撫養到18歲需平均投入233,610美元，數目不小吧？而低收入家庭最低也要投入174,690美元；富裕家庭最高會投入372,210美元。But how much you end up paying overall depends a lot on where you live. Families living in Northeast urban areas (think New York City and Boston, for example) pay the highest cost for raising kids, followed by families living in West Coast urban areas (think Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and urban areas in Southern states (think Dallas, Atlanta and Miami). Parents raising kids in rural areas pay the least, but then, they also lack access to some things urban and suburban parents have at their disposal.
但是最終投入的金額在很大程度上與你的居住地相關。生活在東北城區（比如紐約城和波士頓）的家庭，他們在養育孩子方面支出最多；生活在西海岸城區（比如洛杉磯、舊金山和西雅圖）和南部各州（比如達拉斯、亞特蘭大和邁阿密）的家庭則緊隨其後。生活在鄉村的父母在養育孩子方面支出最少，但他們也缺少城區或次城區父母所能接觸到的東西。
Average costs for families in urban Midwest and rural areas are the lowest.
中西部城區和鄉村地區的家庭，他們的平均成本是最低的。So what does the breakdown look like?
所以細分下來是怎麼樣呢？From birth until age 18, you'll shell out that cost divided somewhat like this:
從出生到成年，你的支出成本細則可能是這樣的：29 percent on housing
29%用於供房18 percent on food
18%用於食物16 percent on child care and education
16%用於兒童看護和教育15 percent on transportation
15%用於交通9 percent on health care
9%用於醫療7 percent on miscellaneous costs (this includes things such as personal care items, entertainment, devices such as portable media players and computers, sports equipment, and non-school reading materials)
7%用於各雜項支出（包括個人洗護用品、娛樂、可攜帶媒體播放器和電腦等設備、運動器材、校外的閱讀材料）6 percent on clothing
6%用於買衣服None of these figures take into account the costs of private schooling or college if those are in the cards. Ouch.
如果你有考慮私立學校或大學，那麼讓我告訴你，上述那些數據可沒有包含這些費用哦！心疼三秒！
