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Thread: Children VS Retirement

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    Default Children VS Retirement

    If you share the dream of early retirement, you're going to have to save more money more quickly than someone who retires at 65.
    http://www.marketplace.org/topics/yo...dont-have-kids
    Of course you'll need to max out on your 401(k) contributions, and make sure you get that employer match. There's a lot of other advice out there on how to save even more money: give up your cable TV, stop dining out, and forego that daily latte. Sure, that'll save a few bucks, and those few bucks will add up over the years. But if you really want to supercharge your retirement savings, think big. Don't have kids.

    Not convinced? Think about this. The cost of raising and educating the requisite 2.3 kids here in the San Francisco Bay Area would have set me back nearly a million dollars. That's a lot of lattes. I would have had to forego more than 270,000 lattes to generate that Grande pile of cash. I know, the Bay Area is not the cheapest place to raise kids, but no matter where you live it's going to cost a small fortune.

    And these figures only include the actual costs, like feeding and educating the kids. They don't include the hit to household income when one parent decides to give up a career to be home with the kids. Nor do they include what's known as "the motherhood premium," the drop in salary experienced by university-educated women after having a child. If, like a lot of my friends, you send your kids to private school, the price tag soars even higher.

    Yes, if you decide to give up the joys of parenthood for a life of leisure, you won't have those kids to rely on when you're old and decrepit. But that's not even the worst part. If you choose this path, prepare yourself now. Because while you may be happy with this decision, most everyone else will try and convince that you shouldn't be.

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    Struggle with this a lot. I only want kids if I can 'afford' to provide for them.

    I have wanted to read the who does Not want to have kids thread but I have feared how emotional I may get reading it.... I'm 35 and feel like I need to decide before its 'too late'.

    I am get conflicted emotionally typing this and may need to bow out of this one too.
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    More fear-mongering? Really? Yes, this is not the 1990's anymore. Yes, things are changing. Either dance or don't. Freaking out and sowing fear isn't going to help anyone.




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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    Yes women and their partners would be wise to consider the financial cost of raising kids before having them. Hopefully technology will help women have children 40's and beyond so the 'clock' ticking won't put undue stress to bear a biological baby before being able to support financially. And there should be resources for women to earn top $$$$ while also being able to commit to families/raising kids.
    “Cook for him like a housewife, fuck him good like a nympho….pay the rent and the car note, he invests in me like crypto”

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    I get this a lot...ppl with lots of kids look at you like your crazy like...."who's gonna care for you when your old" or " you'll regret it when your old" I was a nurse before this, most kids treat there parents like crap and I saw that first hand ..there dying away and I'm there talking to them. Not to mention most of us lose our minds by that time and it won't matter to us. I am a mom but I refuse to have more. I have dreams I want to accomplish and yes retire early I don't get how ppl keep having kids when there still living at home literally every year
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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    Children are extremely expensive. I have 3 and they cost me a fortune. For starters, even the essential direct costs (food, health insurance, more housing space, higher utility bills, medical costs not covered by insurance, clothing, school supplies, etc.) are substantial enough all by themselves. And it just gets worse when you add in optional expenses like activity fees (Scouts, dance, sports, etc.), entertainment expenses, technology like computers and I-pads, etc.,etc.

    Beyond those though, we must also add to the loss column how much less we can work. For those who cannot have at least one of the kids' parents or other close relatives care for the kids during non-school hours, childcare costs (daycare, baby sitters) are also heaped on.

    It is, of course, a question of trade-offs. I don't assume that my kids will care for me in my old age. I just wanted to bring new lives into this world and I cannot imagine what my life would be like without them. But it is not for everyone. In fact, I believe that too many people who don't really want children, and aren't prepared to properly care for them, have them anyway. I cannot help but have immense respect for those who know themselves well enough to realize that they really don't want kids and who manage their lives accordingly, regardless of outside pressures.
    Last edited by rickdugan; 09-15-2015 at 01:17 PM. Reason: spelling

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    FWIW...everyone always says that if you dont have kids you're gonna die lonely without anyone to take care of you or keep you company and all that other BS. But you know what--if you have $$$ you can pay people to keep you company and to take care of you. You can give back to the world in any way you want. I dont want kids, I'd rather retire early and use my money to travel, support charities and causes and give back to society as a whole. I can hire live in caretakers to care for me and keep me company when I get really old. I respect families and having children if you are suited for parenthood, but it is not the end of the world if you opt out of all of that. As much as people dont want to admit, there are A LOT of benefits to not having children.

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    We are all born into this world alone and we all die alone so whether or not you have kids is a personal choice.

    Having KIDS Is Expensive BUT My LIFE Is So Much More FULLER AND They Keep Me OUT Of trouble. My best custy would say how that if it's weren't for my kid then I would be stuck in dubai somewhere. Lol.

    It's a lifelong commitment and more and more women are choosing not to have them. I love kids, but that's just me. Not everybody has the patience or selflessness required for the job of motherhood and that's ok. There's only a small window of opportunity for women to have kids. Men can have them until they're 70.



    I would rather my kid love me for me than some fake friends that just used me bc I made a lot of money and they benefitted.

    Honestly, you just have to be really smart with your money and you can have the freedom to do whatever you want to with it. Some people have more money than they could ever spend in a lifetime and it will be passed on to their progency. In contrast, the baby boomers can't afford to retire right now and will work until they drop dead. That mess pushed out the younger generations from the workforce and now they are having a harder time finding jobs that pay well.

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    Many truths in this thread. But does it say something about evolution or society when we have to decide between our financial stability and continuing the species. I know l sound crazy, but sometimes l look at nature- trees, plants, other animals and imagine their lives are so much simpler.....

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    You should only have kids if you really, really want them. I understand weighing the financial considerations but if you'd rather retire early than have kids you must not really want them and probably shouldn't have them anyway. You could also end up supporting your spouse or parents if they lost their job/became disabled or sick. If you have any family at all chances are you could end up being responsible for them at some point.

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    Quote Originally Posted by wednesday86 View Post
    You should only have kids if you really, really want them. I understand weighing the financial considerations but if you'd rather retire early than have kids you must not really want them and probably shouldn't have them anyway. You could also end up supporting your spouse or parents if they lost their job/became disabled or sick. If you have any family at all chances are you could end up being responsible for them at some point.
    Shiiiiit. They better have disability insurance.

    Plus I bet the wealthy don't have to choose between starting a family and retirement funding. Wanna have kids whenever you want AND retire comfortably? Just become one of the wealthy.
    “Cook for him like a housewife, fuck him good like a nympho….pay the rent and the car note, he invests in me like crypto”

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    Quote Originally Posted by LaylaLovely View Post
    I get this a lot...ppl with lots of kids look at you like your crazy like...."who's gonna care for you when your old" or " you'll regret it when your old" I was a nurse before this, most kids treat there parents like crap and I saw that first hand ..there dying away and I'm there talking to them. Not to mention most of us lose our minds by that time and it won't matter to us. I am a mom but I refuse to have more. I have dreams I want to accomplish and yes retire early I don't get how ppl keep having kids when there still living at home literally every year
    Your post reminds me of this movie l watched this summer.

    Old folks in a home.

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    Quote Originally Posted by miss.a.p1600 View Post
    Plus I bet the wealthy don't have to choose between starting a family and retirement funding. Wanna have kids whenever you want AND retire comfortably? Just become one of the wealthy.
    The wealthy don't have to worry about either family and/or retirement but that's only one part of being a parent. Beyond money there is still the major life change that happens when you have kids. You can't always travel when you want. You need to think about where are the best schools when you decide where to live. Even if you have nannies and other help, you still have to do the heavy lifting of child rearing. And you'll always worry about them 24/7 until the day you die. As Wednesday86 said, only have kids if really, really want them. This isn't a kind of decision that you can easily take back.

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    "We are all born into this world alone and we all die alone so whether or not you have kids"
    Twins are not born alone.

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    Quote Originally Posted by MissJu View Post
    "We are all born into this world alone and we all die alone so whether or not you have kids"
    Twins are not born alone.
    Only if there's a c section, I guess. Otherwise they are born minutes apart of you want to be all technical about it. Lol

    There are no guarantees in life. Fortunes are made and fortunes are lost.

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    Last night, on the internet, i saw Tyra Banks, Christy Teigen, and Gabrielle Union all crying about not being able to have kids. They regret not having them sooner.

    I took my baby to mexico when he was 3 months old. Some places have nannies to rent that aren't that expensive. Hotels have cribs, too. My sister law watched my other son for a week when I went to work in Vegas. There are things that can be done. You just have to ask or research what your options are.

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    It's definitely a personal decision. I have a "friend" who married late in life and both he and his spouse decided to forego a family in order to travel around the world during their working years and build up a multi-million dollar retirement portfolio. So far they are on track to achieve that retirement portfolio and they take multi-week trips to Europe every year. Having kids would have hindered their world travels and delayed building up that retirement portfolio. Do they ever wonder what it would have been like to have kids of their own? Perhaps. However, they have plenty of nieces and nephews to spoil. On a final unrelated note, for anyone who relies upon kids to take care of them during retirement, you may want to consider taking out life insurance on your kids in case they predecease you.

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    Default Re: Children VS Retirement

    Quote Originally Posted by LaylaLovely View Post
    I get this a lot...ppl with lots of kids look at you like your crazy like...."who's gonna care for you when your old" or " you'll regret it when your old" I was a nurse before this, most kids treat there parents like crap and I saw that first hand ..there dying away and I'm there talking to them. Not to mention most of us lose our minds by that time and it won't matter to us. I am a mom but I refuse to have more. I have dreams I want to accomplish and yes retire early I don't get how ppl keep having kids when there still living at home literally every year
    This is so true. Having someone to take care of you when you are old should not even be a consideration.

    Nursing homes are full of lonely old people whose kids never ever visit them.


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