“30,000 per child — that's another planet”: Ukrainian moms calculated their real expenses and sparked a debate on social media

How much money does one child actually need per month? At first glance, the answer should be roughly the same for every family, yet real household budgets paint a very different picture. In the Ukrainian segment of social media, and on Threads in particular, a frank discussion about money has unfolded, triggered by a post from a mom who decided to honestly calculate her own spending. The range of figures turned out to be so wide that the conversation went far beyond simple bookkeeping and turned into a debate about how people earn and spend their money.

Real figures from household budgets

The author of the post, known online as insta_emiliia, shared that her family spends around 30,000 hryvnia per month on their child — and that's without counting the wardrobe. This amount covers food, extracurricular classes, entertainment, care, and other regular needs. According to her, the calculation wasn't done to report to anyone, but for herself: to see the real figure and rethink the family budget. It was precisely this number that triggered the sharp comments.

The debate over “showing off” and personal choice

Such an amount provoked a mixed reaction. One user admitted that posts like this give her the impression that some people “live on another planet,” and wrote that such messages are posted “solely to show off.” Another participant in the discussion, on the contrary, didn't understand the cause for outrage and emphasized that each person decides for themselves how to handle the money they earn: “But what's wrong with this post? The person earns and spends.” Thus, in a single thread two positions collided — the perception of others' spending as “showing off” and the right to personal financial choice.

Contradictory data

Particularly telling was the reply from a mom of two children, who noted that 30,000 hryvnia lasts their family of four for an entire month — and that's not just food, but also clothes, utilities, and the children's classes: “Goodness, in our family of 2 adults and 2 children that amount lasts — with clothes, groceries, utilities, and classes.” This comment clearly showed how different a family budget can be even with the same number of people: for some, 30,000 is the cost of just one child, while for others it's the amount covering all the basic needs of the whole family. Another commenter shared that less than 10,000 hryvnia is spent on her child each month, and she doesn't consider herself to be deliberately saving: in her words, the child simply doesn't need many purchases, and the parents don't try to compensate for their own unfulfilled childhood wishes with constant buying. Thus, in a single discussion three significantly different estimates coexist — from less than 10,000 to 30,000 hryvnia per child and 30,000 for the whole family — and none of them refutes the others: these are different income levels, different needs, and different approaches to parenting.

Why count, and why there's no universal figure

The discussion went beyond money: one participant joked that she doesn't count her spending on the child, but she knows exactly “how many nerve cells it takes.” In the end, judging by the replies, a universal figure truly doesn't exist. For some, a child means 10,000 hryvnia of expenses per month, for others — 30,000 and more, and for someone the same 30,000 is the budget for the entire family. The story shows that the question “how much does a child cost” has no single answer and depends first and foremost on income, family composition, and the parents' personal priorities.