The biggest cost we notice is the kita. Which as described get on the waiting list early depending where you live.
Our Kita costs 130 a day until he was 18 months, then its 120 a day. We pay I think 2.4k a month for 4 days a week
His health insurance in about 100 a month with all the supplements but you can add another 50 to 100 on that per month for the 10% excess you pay
Dental insurance we dont have yet, but a big cost, starting from 3 years old
Formula milk can be pricey if needed, about 25 ever couple of weeks. Nappies and other food not sure we notice much and just gets absorbed
You will get 200 a month from the kanton and its a decent size tax reduction with having a child
The second hand market for buying stuff is really great and you'll get good deals, buying stuff new is a bit expensive. His first shoes were 80 bucks. Dont even go to the baby section in Globus unless you have taken leave of your senses
Still I would say its really wonderful and would go for it and not worry about money
is dental insurance cost effective? i've never had it for adults or kids. normally that would only be worth it if there was some tax advantage but i can't see it.
The trick is to get it before you have anything wrong with your teeth and then you never let it go. A few friends were lucky enough to have parents who did this and it was very much worth it.
"- supporting them when they're in their early to mid 20s and still studying, giving them money for deposit on their first apartment, then buying".
Changed days, I didn't expect a penny from my parents once I'd left school and started work. OH was the same, he wanted to retake his final year at university as he failed a crucial exam but his parents refused to support him financially. We saved for our own flat deposit and I cashed an endowment policy I had to buy a few bits of furniture.
Our belief is once you're an adult you should be standing on your own 2 feet. I only wish OH's 2 younger siblings were the same, they've had everything and are in their 50s - one cannot cope with anything financial, racks up debt and gets her dad to "loan" her money to pay it off. She's also had 2 sizeable down payments for houses. The other is still living at home, he's never moved out and is waiting for his dad to die as the house and the rest of the money is left to him. He's never paid a penny in rent or contributed to the bills either.
Yup. And they can be far from retirement age, too.
likewise - but days are indeed changed. 40 years ago virtually none of people's wealth came from inheritance (either before or after death that is).
today a staggering 20% of all wealth comes from what can be attributed to inheritance. its harder than ever for young adults to compete without a leg up from the family. i used to despise this but as civilization becomes more developed i actually think its pretty wasteful having to create everything from scratch. why should humans be expected to toil for money alone when there are so many other ways to contribute to the onward march of society that are possible if the need for money isn't the primary driver?
Oddly, I planned to leave when I had kids, but stayed instead.
Thus, my kids have Italian as their mother tongue, in fact Sprog#1 still speaks Italian with hubby in Melbourne AUS!
I also speak Italian with Sprog#2 if we are not alone, as it is her mother tongue as well.
Alas, otherwise I am in the minority.
Tom
My parents have that.
When I was at university (before tuition fees), I was not entitled to a maintenance grant. I got sponsership through university, so my parents topped it up to the full grant. It was common in those days that wealthier parents pay the maintenance grant. However, that meant I wasn't entitled to housing benefit (once I was out of university accomodation), so my parents added a bit more to compensate.
They also gifted us a car that initially they were going to sell to us. So they could choose to be generous as well.
My kids, like me, don't expect anything from the parents We choose to be generous.
I will gift money for house/apartment purchases, because I want us to become a powerful property owning clan. In six generations, the place will be dominated by Swiss people of a non-swiss surname... and nobody will know why!