Recently an outbreak of baby fever has infiltrated my social circle. Two people I know have just announced that they are expecting, and another friend of mine’s wife just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy this week.
What’s more is the minute I got married I was bombarded with questions about when the HB and I plan to start a family. Babies just seem to be everywhere I look these days, and although they seem cute and I sometimes want to steal one (just for an hour, I’d give it right back I promise!), I know that babies = expensive.
If you’re curious how much kids actually cost, The Atlantic says they cost $234,900! You could buy a condo with that! Or depending on where you live a whole house! I know kids are way more valuable than any kind of possession, but that sure is hard to wrap my head around.
I mean, I still feel like I can barely afford to support myself let alone contribute to my savings and retirement fund. I know 26 (turning 27 next week, ah!) isn’t a crazy age to start having kids at, but to me I just don’t have the money or desire really to start popping those suckers out.
Yes I do know that money isn’t everything and you can make it work if you need to. That’s what my parents did with me and my sisters, and I’m still not sure how they were able to feed us, clothe us, and own a house at the same time. I do remember eating lots of ground beef and rice though. Nevertheless, they did an amazing job with what they had, but is it so wrong that I don’t want to repeat that cycle?
Ideally I would like to start a family at 32. I feel like at that point in my life I’d be in a good place in my career and would own some form of property with my HB. Then again the idea of actually having kids still scares the sh** out of me. I like being able to spend my money on me and be a little bit selfish.
I like not having anyone depend on me for their basic needs and not having to hire a babysitter if I want to go out. Plus, babies are adorable when they’re sleeping or giggling at nothing, but I’m pretty sure most of the time they’re either crying, pooping, or trying to destroy something.
Although I do believe that being a parent is a wonderful thing and hopefully I’ll get to experience it at some point, for now I’m just gonna get my baby fix via friends’ Facebook photos, take another sip of my wine, and enjoy my freedom to online shop for shoes I don’t really need.
What do you think about starting a family? Do you want to wait til you feel more financially secure (or mature), or are you one of those “whatever happens, happens” people? Parents, I’d like your take on having kids too!
