You Can Afford Kids

One of my goals in life is to become a millionaire by age 42. (crazy, I know) One of my other goals in life is to start and raise a family.

For some reason, people seem to think that these are competing goals. People somehow think that if I start having kids any time soon, there is no way I will meet my financial goals. You can't have a lot of money and have kids, right? "Kids are too expensive." "Kids cost money, you know?" "You can't have kids without starving to death due to the rising cost of diapers!"

I hear it all the time. The same broken record. Kids. Cost. Money.

Well thanks, Sherlock. I didn't realize that. It's a good thing I have you to help me figure that out. Otherwise, I'd probably start having kids only to realize that food, clothes and diapers aren't given out for free at the local Salvation Army. Then me and my family would slowly drift into poverty.

...Or, I could have kids and be just fine. (like everyone else who has ever had kids ever in the history of the world)

My theory is I will be just fine financially when I have kids and so will you.

But this theory isn't just some pipe dream from a silly millennial. (It's actually the opposite of what most millennials think.)

I know this isn't just some crazy theory, because I lived this pipe dream. I grew up in a family with eight kids. My parents started having kids right away when they got married out of college. My dad was the only one that ever had a paying job while I was growing up. And my mom stayed home and home-schooled us all for most of my life.

And "despite" all this, my family was always far better off financially than most families with far fewer kids.

To give an idea of how much better off - So far, me and all of my siblings have gone through college debt free. And if they continue to go to college, all eight kids will go debt free.

Now, you might be thinking, "your dad must just make a lot of money. Normal people could never afford to do that". Really? Because "normal" people don't save up for 13 years to buy a house. And "Normal" people don't have a borderline obsession with couponing. And "Normal" people don't drive junk cars and wear hand-me-downs for the vast majority of their life. "Normal" people aren't willing to make these sacrifices. My parents were. And because of that, me and my seven siblings have not only had an opportunity at life; we have been set up to win at life.

So, when people tell me I can't win financially and have a family, I say this: Watch me.

I've seen first hand, what it takes to win financially and have a family, so I know I can do it. And if you have enough money to be on a device reading this, I know you can do it as well.

You can afford kids.

You might have to give up your Starbucks addiction or your stupid sports car. You may even need find a way to make more money, but don't tell me you "can't afford kids". (And especially don't tell me that I can't afford kids.) It's a line of crap that means you don't want to sacrifice your lifestyle or work more in order to support a family.

And I am not stupid. I know that there are people out there in situations that I can't even imagine. My life is obviously not proof that anyone in the world can do what my parents have been able to do. I understand that, but for me, it gives me confidence that no matter how many kids I have or what life throws my way, I can win financially. And I know the same is true for any married person reading this.

Don't let the fear of financial burden hold you back from having the family you want. Even if it means sacrificing some of the luxuries you enjoy. It will be worth it. No one ever talks about all the traveling they wish they did in their twenties on their death bed. They do however, talk about their families and the time they wish they spent with them. These things you think you need to do and the money you think you need to have before having kids. It's a bold faced lie.

I was reading a book recently that said "God pays for what he orders." In other words, if God wants something to happen, He will create the circumstances necessary for it to happen, even if we don't know how it will all work out. In my opinion, no child is ever conceived unless God ordains it. And if God ordains it, I believe He will create the circumstances necessary to raise that child. That doesn't mean we get to sit back and do nothing and God will magically take care of everything. We still have to work like crazy and make sacrifices. And if we do, God will be faithful to "pay for what he ordered".