Have you ever wondered how much you spend on health care per year? How much do we really need when it comes to financing beyond our provincial health care systems? The numbers might surprise you.

According to one popular financial blog, the average cost of raising a child in Canada has risen in recent years, hovering somewhere between $180K to $300K, depending on the sources you draw from. In 2004, Statistics Canada published that, according to the economics section of Manitoba Agriculture, the cost of raising a girl to age 18 was $166,549. For boys, the figure was higher at $166,972. How much of those numbers contribute to health care isn’t specified, although we can assume everything from dental care to medicine to good food to recreational sports is included in that figure. Well-being, as it turns out, comes at a price, although certainly not as much as it does for, say, our American neighbours.

The systems of health

Because the health care system in Canada is publicly funded, many of the costs that Americans face for things like doctor’s appointments and giving birth in a hospital or birthing centre aren’t costs that Canadians need to think about daily—this is covered by our provincial government. Although provinces like Quebec also accept private health care into their system, alongside publicly funded healthcare, which is available to every citizen.

How much you spend on health care each year is relative to the number of people in your household. The more dependents, generally, the more health care will cost. Necessities like prescriptions and some specialists aren’t covered under the umbrella of our system. In these cases, the insurance coverage we get through our company benefits usually covers most of those outstanding expenses. For those of us who are self-employed (like myself) health insurance comes at a premium and is often provided by large insurance companies.

Some of the items that we should consider putting a little bit of cash aside for are things that, in some way, add to your well-being; how much you set aside for these “extras” should be relative to how much you spend per year on:

• massage therapy

• quality food

• supplements such as vitamins, natural food, food with probiotics, etc.

• counseling or psychotherapy

• gym memberships

• yoga classes

• fitness gear (within reason!)

• ski memberships

• travel expenses for any of the above

It’s a good idea to create a checklist of your personal health expenses, plus the average per person health expenses of family members living with you. Have a discussion about it. Raise any concerns or perhaps decide where you can allot some more money, say on organic foods, for example.

Working things like weekly groceries and extracurricular fitness or health-related things we do in a month can really add up. But, knowing exactly where you stand when it comes to your health can also really pay off.