We can all agree mothers sacrifice so much when it comes to raising their children. As accountants, we couldn’t help but look at the financial aspect. In 2015, the average cost to raise a child climbed to $233,610 and that doesn’t even include college expenses!

We thought we’d take a look at the top 7 ways you could have spent this money instead of spending it on your child.

7. 2 bottlenose dolphins

Aquariums pay between $100k-$130k per Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin. This means, instead of changing dirty diapers and telling Junior to stop hitting his sister, you could be going on a daily swim with 2 beautiful bottlenose dolphins which you purchased and are now the owner of.

6. 46,722 Starbucks Frappuccinos

That’s 1.64 Frapps per day for your entire life you could have had, had you not made the decision to raise a human.

5. 233,610 burgers from Burger King

Why would you want 233,610 burgers? Maybe the better question is, why not? Did you know, if you were to line up 233,610 Burger King burgers, it would stretch 15 miles!

4.  A trip to space

Virgin Galactic has developed a 6 passenger spacecraft called SpaceShipTwo. It costs $250,000 per seat and is set to take its first passengers to space later this year. This means, instead of arguing with your teenage daughter about the boys she’s not allowed to date, you could have gone into outer space!

3. Find someone to go halfsies on a private jet

A private jet might have been just out of your price range, but if you had found someone else who had also decided not to reproduce, the two of you could be co-owners of your own private jet!

2. Have $500,000 dollars

Instead of spending $233,610 or $13,741 per year on Junior, you could have invested that, and, had you averaged 8% return per year, compounded over 17 years, you would have turned it into $500,000. Should we do another list on what you could do with $500,000?

1. A private island

Bankrate recently featured an article revealing 7 private islands you can purchase for under $300k. This means, instead of shelling all that money out on medical bills for Junior’s broken arm he suffered from falling off the monkey bars, you could have literally owned your own private island.

In all seriousness, the investment a mother makes is something one truly cannot put a price tag on. A typical mother puts everything on the line for her children and asks for nothing in return.

Mothers are truly unique. They listen to our fears, they encourage us, they’re our biggest fans, our strongest supporters, they talk us through our challenges, they guide us when we need direction, they’ve seen us at our best, and they’ve seen us at our worst, and they still love us.

The investment a mother makes on her children is returned, not monetarily, but in moments. The moment when her baby takes his first steps and she looks on in awe, wondering how she made something so incredible. The moment when her child waves from the school bus for the first time, and she looks on with pride at how gentle her child’s spirit is. The moment when her child shares a toy, and she realizes the values she’s tried so hard to teach are finally starting to pay off. The moment when her teenager leaves for prom, and she realizes her baby is not quite a baby anymore. The moment when her adult child comes to her and says “I love you”, and she realizes all of this love she’s given to her child over the years was always reciprocated.

To all of the mothers out there who are struggling with sleepless nights, worry, fear, or difficult times, just know that your investment is worth it.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the amazing mothers!