As you write your Mother's Day card this year, you may want to add one more thank you: for the thousands of dollars it took to raise you. Beyond the time, care, and love that go into parenting, raising a child in the US comes with a steep financial cost , and in some states, that price tag is far higher than in others. A LendingTree study released in April found that it costs US parents an average of $303,418 to raise a child over 18 years. Parents spend an average of 21.9% of their income on