Find Out If You Can Actually Afford To Have A Baby

Is it a "yes" or a "no" for you?

Having a kid ain’t cheap. In fact, a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that it will cost a middle-income married couple $233,610 to raise a child to the age of 17.

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So it costs money to raise one of these cuties. But can you afford it?

Flickr: somedragon2000 / Via Creative Commons

Well, here's some cool news: A new tool by career website Zippia will let you know: "Yes!" or "No!"

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The tool is meant for first-time parents (so if you’re thinking about having a second, third, or Duggar-level addition, this probably won’t work).

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Since I already have kids, I tried it out with an imaginary couple, Jane and Bert Robertson.

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And before you start, no, that isn’t Monica and Chandler from Friends in the photo. It's The Robertsons. They get that all the time, though.

To use the tool, you have to plug in some of your deets: income, household status, region, insurance info, whether you plan to save for college, and monthly debt.

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Here's what I put in for The Bings, I mean — shit! — The Robertsons!

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Here was their result:

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And here's a breakdown of what they would spend their money on.

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IMPORTANT POINT TO MAKE: Based on their income and region, if they had as little as $76 of debt each month (for, say, student loans), they'd have gotten a "No."

Are the results 100% accurate? Probably not.

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One concern I had: The tool doesn't take varying cost-of-living by city into account. It only asks for your "region" (either Northeast, South, Midwest, West), and while San Francisco and Tempe, Arizona are both in the "West" region, the cost-of-living in each city differs wildly.

BUT...it’s still a cool tool and probably more accurate than the advice you'll get from your desperate-for-grandkid parents.

Flickr: jackdorsey / Via Creative Commons

You ready for this?

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And, uh, expenses!