What is more expensive: a child or a car?
'Would you like to have another child?'
"Do you know how much that costs? €120.000 until they're 18! You could buy a cool Tesla for that."
'You always with your money. Can't you talk about anything else?'
'Yes, I can do that. Just give me an extra car. That will be more useful.'
A child is more expensive than a car. That is what the NIBUD says. But is that true? Let's compare them.
What do you need to buy for a child?
- Fuel. Yes, you have to think about that carefully. Breast fuel is cheaper than bottle fuel. After a year, you also have to add additives. It is an advantage that a two-year-old child hardly eats anything. If you just leave it like that, the fuel costs are very reasonable.
- Insurance. Those costs are also not too bad. Health insurance is free. If your child is not a huge destroyer of other people's things, the third-party insurance is really a pittance.
- Road tax. Tax? You even get money back from the tax authorities. At least, if you take your child to daycare.
- Maintenance. That will really cost you money. In the beginning, the maintenance is very reasonable, just like with a new car. Children don't notice when it's their birthday at first. As they get older, the maintenance really starts to cost a lot of money. Clothes, presents, toys, bicycle, telephone, tablet, football, music, game console, laptop, going out, school books, glasses, braces, pocket money, subscriptions, gym. An endless list. Even the invoices from your Mercedes garage are actually nothing compared to this item.
- Financiering. You hardly need them. OK, before the child is born, it takes some effort for a man. For a woman, considerably more. But once the child is born, there is little else to be financed. In fact, at some point you even receive child benefit.
- Parking costs. Because a children's room costs, depends on what you want to spend on it. A mattress on the floor or a super-deluxe loft bed with a slide? That's up to you. Do realize that a loft bed will have to go at some point. On Marktplaats or to the recycling center. And your child won't take that bed apart, you as a parent can do that.
So, apart from the maintenance costs, all other costs for a child are quite reasonable. And if you have more children, the costs per child even decrease. You can't say that about extra cars. I know all about that.
And how much does a car cost?
- Diet. Breastfeeding or bottle feeding? For cars there are even more choices. Petrol, diesel, LPG, electricity, hybrid, hydrogen. Once you have chosen a certain type of food, it is not optional. A car really refuses to continue living if you think: let me fill up with something different today than last week. That is expensive. With children it is a lot easier. You can put all sorts of things in there: pizza, fries, pancakes, pasta.
- Diapers. Disposable or washable? Babies sometimes have nasty exhausts, but cars can do it too. Yes, even your Polestar. It may not have an exhaust, but the coal or gas plant that generates the power for your Polestar does have an exhaust. Your baby's wet diaper is nothing compared to that.
- Clothing. Well, that's a matter of taste. I personally think it's an idiotic fad that everyone wants an SUV these days. Big cars. And forbid me to do fat shaming. My opinion? Make it mandatory for SUVs to only drive on the right lane of the highway, between the trucks. Those drivers like big cars, don't they? Well then.
- Day care. Too bad you don't get a car shelter allowance. Although our Tax Authorities probably can't handle that anyway. The shelter costs for parking can add up in cities, especially if you are against buying parking tickets on principle. Weeks after you parked somewhere for ten minutes, you get a ticket sent to your home. Usually a hundred and twelve times as much as the ticket would have cost on the street. There you are with your principles.
- healthcare. If you brush your teeth twice a day, you will keep your teeth in good condition. Does that also apply to cars? I once read an article about a taxi in Geneva. That taxi drove 600.000 km without having seen a garage. Then the engine gave up. Only the oil had been topped up. I wouldn't risk doing the same with your car. Car dealers are unforgiving if you haven't come in for a service on time. No service? No guarantee.
- Hobbies. Just like with children, you can count yourself lucky if your car doesn't have many hobbies. I had a car that could hold its breath for a very long time. Sometimes so long that it didn't do anything anymore. That wasn't handy. Another car of mine was a real sociable animal. It liked a drink. I was often at the gas station.
So: children are clearly a lot cheaper than cars.
Do you know what's even cheaper?
Don't buy a car, rent one.
Frits Pieper
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