Food
One payment has to be divided before it buys food
The USDA food benchmark entered here is $222.70 per month. When the support amounts are divided proportionally across the full benchmark basket, about $40.42 of the ordered amount and only $8.14 of the actual payment are assigned to food. That paid share covers about 1.1 days, or 3.7%, of the food benchmark. The single payment is not counted again in full for every category. Total monthly benchmark basket: $2,735.56.
Source: USDA Food Plans — May 2026 Thrifty Plan, age 12–13
Housing
Housing receives only its share of the same payment
The entered housing benchmark is $342.36 per month. Under the proportional split, $62.14 of the ordered amount and only $12.52 of the actual payment are assigned to housing. That paid share covers about 3.7% of the housing benchmark. The same payment is still being divided across every direct household category.
Source: Editable housing benchmark in plugin settings
Child care
Child care receives only its share of the payment
The entered child-care benchmark is $1,098.67 per month. Under the proportional split, $199.41 of the ordered amount and $40.16 of the actual payment are assigned to child care. The paid share covers about 3.7% of this category—not the percentage produced by applying the entire payment to child care alone. Annual benchmark: $13,184.
Source: Child Care Aware of America — 2025 national average
Medical coverage
Medical costs must share the same limited payment
The entered worker contribution for family medical coverage is $570.83 per month. A proportional split assigns $103.61 of the ordered amount and only $20.87 of the actual payment to this benchmark, covering about 3.7%. This is a family-coverage comparison, not a child-only premium. Annual worker contribution: $6,850.
Source: KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey
Clothing
Clothing receives only its share of one payment
The entered clothing benchmark is $83.50 per month. The proportional household split assigns $15.16 of the ordered amount and only $3.05 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.
Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories
Utilities
Utilities receives only its share of one payment
The entered utilities benchmark is $69.60 per month. The proportional household split assigns $12.63 of the ordered amount and only $2.54 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.
Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories
Transportation
Transportation receives only its share of one payment
The entered transportation benchmark is $194.85 per month. The proportional household split assigns $35.36 of the ordered amount and only $7.12 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.
Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories
School and education
School and education receives only its share of one payment
The entered school and education benchmark is $41.75 per month. The proportional household split assigns $7.58 of the ordered amount and only $1.53 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.
Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories
Personal care
Personal care receives only its share of one payment
The entered personal care benchmark is $41.75 per month. The proportional household split assigns $7.58 of the ordered amount and only $1.53 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.
Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories
Activities and enrichment
Activities and enrichment receives only its share of one payment
The entered activities and enrichment benchmark is $41.75 per month. The proportional household split assigns $7.58 of the ordered amount and only $1.53 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.
Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories
Miscellaneous needs
Miscellaneous needs receives only its share of one payment
The entered miscellaneous needs benchmark is $27.80 per month. The proportional household split assigns $5.05 of the ordered amount and only $1.02 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.
Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories
Education
Public education is context, not a household allocation
U.S. public schools spent an average of $17,619 per pupil in the entered benchmark—about $1,468 per month. This figure is shown for scale only. It is not included in the payment-allocation basket because it is public-system spending rather than a direct parent invoice.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau — FY2024 current spending per pupil
Water and utilities
Basic water needs are outside the dollar allocation
EPA affordability analysis uses 50.0 gallons per person per day as a basic-use assumption—about 1,522 gallons per person each month. Local rates vary, so water is not included in the dollar benchmark basket. It remains another necessity competing for a total payment of only $3.29 per day.
Source: U.S. EPA Water Affordability Needs Assessment
The full cost of childhood
The lifetime estimate is a separate, all-in comparison
Recent U.S. estimates place birth-to-18 costs around $200,000 to $310,000. A straight-line 18-year illustration at the current order totals $107,244—roughly 34.6% to 53.6% of that range. At the configured payment, the same illustration totals $21,600—roughly 7.0% to 10.8%. This lifetime estimate is not added to the category basket because it already includes overlapping types of expenses.
Source: Brookings — recent U.S. estimate range
Annual shortfall
The monthly gap becomes a much larger yearly loss
The configured order totals $5,958.00 per year. The configured payment totals $1,200.00, leaving an annual difference of $4,758.00. That shortfall is money the receiving household must replace across food, housing, utilities, medical needs, transportation, education, clothing, and other costs—not a separate gap for each category.
Source: Calculated from the plugin settings
What the balance represents
A balance is made of expenses someone else still had to cover
At page load, the estimated balance was $24,577.39. For scale, that is equivalent to about 110.4 months of the entered food benchmark or 22.4 months of the entered child-care benchmark. These are alternative comparisons, not a claim that the same balance was spent twice.
Source: Calculated from the current estimate and entered benchmarks
National benchmarks are illustrative, not a calculation of a specific child's expenses. Costs vary by age, location, household, insurance, school, and care needs.