How much does a child actually cost in Germany?

A child is not one expense. It is a curve.

Monthly outflow per year of the child's age. Direct cash in cyan; childcare in violet, concentrated in the first years. The teen years rise quietly but never spike like the early ones.

The same money, invested instead.

If you set aside 803 €/month in a globally diversified portfolio at a 6% real return, after 18 years you would hold roughly:

What else costs about 173.376 €?

• A down payment on a home · 80.000 €2.2×
• A luxury car · 95.000 €1.8×
• Seed capital for a small business · 200.000 €0.9×
• Ten years of rent in a major city · 200.000 €0.9×
• A full K-12 private school education · 250.000 €0.7×

One child, one school month, eight buckets.

Monthly direct cash for one child, broken down by the cost table. Housing share and food dominate; phone and internet round to zero because they are typically already on the household plan.