When students leave high school for the final time, diploma in hand, they begin a new phase of life. This new phase can be pricy, to say the least. But how much exactly will it cost? The twenties are filled with weighted choices from college to marriage. College tuition prices can range from 4,000 to 44,000 dollars a year, prices which can seem extreme to the average American, considering that the average income for 2014 is $46, 500 a year according to the Social Security Administration. But college could provide more benefits in the long run with specialized careers giving out starting salaries as high as $103,000 a year, and the yearly average for college graduates falling and average of $30,000 higher than those with only high school degrees.Houses and taxes aren’t only a pain in Monopoly, the average American gives up 20 percent of their salary to taxes, and the average American spends $25,000 a year on housing and groceries. Marriage is another costly choice that 2.3 million people a year make, according to sound vision.com. The average age that someone ties the knot is 25, and although it costs only $60 to legally get married in a courthouse, the average wedding costs $29,858. If the marriage does not work out, the couple would have to spend approximately $15,000 to $30,000 on average for a divorce. If before or after marriage, a person decides to have a child, the average pregnancy costs $2,000, and the average abortion costs $450. After the child is born, the parents will spend around $245,340 raising that child.Despite the extensive amount of money you spend, being in your twenties will most likely be one of the best decades of your life, and according to Times.com, 23 year olds are the happiest compared to all the other ages.