A few prominent bloggers like Budget Babe have started talking about the costs of having a child. Quite intimidating for married couples planning to have kids and singles is the infographic of the price-tag of $1,000,000 to have a child. I think this number is blown out of proportion, even if empirically true, the $1,000,000 payment does not happen up front but over the the life of the child but it creates an illusion that $1,000,000 is a pre-requisite to being a parent. I am pretty sure that our birthrate would be zero in such a case. Let's mathematically perform a very crude  net present value analysis on the cost of having a child : Based on the infographic : Maternity ward expenses : $7,000 - $24,000 [ But can take from Medisave ] Age 0 - 6 : $1,200 - $1,700 per month - Average of $1,500 Age 6 ......