Ribecco’s journey, however, shows the enormous potential expense of just conceiving a child—let alone the cost of raising one. National Bank, citing Statistics Canada data, pegged the cost of raising a child to their late teens at up to $300,000.
Ribecco still considers herself lucky. She has two beautiful sons, and a great job that allowed her to attend countless appointments without being docked pay or using her vacation time.
“People with hourly rate jobs would lose wages or a whole day’s work to make appointments,” she pointed out.
The costs of fertility treatments can vary for couples
LGBTQ+ couples, she added, can pay even more. Female couples need to pay for a sperm donor, and male couples need to pay for egg donation, IVF and surrogacy expenses. Egg or embryo donations can also add up if the woman has egg quality issues.
As with any foreseeable life expense, would-be parents should start a budget and savings plan as soon as they are able, said Ravy Pung, a Quebec-based financial planner with National Bank.
“It’s difficult to figure out what the total costs of [fertility treatments] will be, because it really depends on everyone’s personal situation,” she said, highlighting unexpected costs such as extra testing or failed IVF procedures, and extra expenses around surrogacy.
Pung recommended investing within a tax-free savings account (TFSA), so investment returns are tax-sheltered.
There should always be a back-up plan, she added, just in case “there’s not enough liquidity, not enough savings. You should plan on how to obtain a personal line of credit or a mortgage line of credit.”
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