Would you let finances determine family size?

[Carrie76]

This is a question I go back and forward with every day! I would love another baby or maybe another 2 babies but something at the back of my head is saying we just can't afford it. Part of me thinks about when the kids are older and we have to pay for things like school uniforms and trips ect but then the other part of me hates the thought of looking back in 10 or 15 years time and regretting not having another! I know it's a personal choice but would just love some input from Mums who have been in this situation

 

[Tanikins]

Id have another baby now if i could but cant afford it

I wouldnt be able to afford another baby in nursery so would either quit work or work for like £50 a month

I will either have 1 or wait till oscar is 5 and in school

 

[Larkspur]

Sorry if this sounds dumb but why would you have another baby if you can't afford it? Who do you think is going to pay for it?

 

[jessicatunnel]

I think people always find ways to afford a baby. What do you think people who have unplanned pregnancies do? They do what they can and find ways to afford it.

 

[mamawannabee]

Honestly, it would depend on how bad the financial situation is. If you can afford the food and housing for them, but not trips and fancy electronics, ect, I would have more. But if you can't afford the basics, then I wouldn't. I want a large family, and so long as we can afford the necessities, I won't worry about affording vacations and Ipads, though we can afford them now, we may not always be able to. I never believed in paying for college for children, but for some that is also a factor. I paid for my own education and it made me cherish it so much more, I really believe it is something the children should pay for. But I know that is a big factor in some families deciding not to have many children. You have to make the right decision for you and your family

 

[Spiffynoodles]

No. We believe that if we pray and feel like we're supposed to have more children, then God will prepare a way. It's worked for everyone in my family and my husband's family (and his parents were both 1 of 8 kids). We ourselves want 6-8 kids, and I have faith that God will help us take care of them. Now, I'm not saying that we won't have to work our butts of the make it happen, or that we're going to be able to go out to nice restraunts or go to Disneyland every year, but I know we'll have the things we need.

But then again, I also believe that families are forever, and money is only temporary.

 

[Carrie76]

Sorry if this sounds dumb but why would you have another baby if you can't afford it? Who do you think is going to pay for it?

I probably didn't make my post very clear, I certainly wouldn't expect anyone else to pay for my kids! My Husband and I both work and when I say we couldn't afford another that was probably slightly dramatic. At the minute we are comfortable, we don't lead an extravagant lifestyle and are not well off but we are comfortable. If we had more kids then it would mean tightening the purse strings. I just don't know if that would be fair to my kids to have to do without certain things so we can have a bigger family. When I say do without things, I mean things like holidays and eating out ect.

 

[Buttercup84]

We want 3, maybe 4, children and to do that we'll probably have to live on a stricter budget than if we stop at 2 but i'm determined to make it work. Honestly, if we could afford it i'd love to have even more! I guess finances are determining our choices to a certain extent, but less than they might for others.

 

[alaskagrown]

Finances definitely will dictate how many children we have. We live in the US, live in one of the top three most expensive cities in my state, can't afford daycare, live rent-free at the moment (thanks to my Mom and Dad for letting us live in their apartment!), and can barely afford groceries every month. It's pretty tight.

 

[steph.]

We want 3 or 4 children but that will definitely mean that we wont be able to afford as many luxuries. The main one is visiting family overseas- with a big family the trip will cost about $12,000 And tbh this thought keeps coming back to me when i think about our family size because i want to see my parents at least once a year. But i trust we will find a way and it will all work out- me and my husband both have jobs with bigger earning potentials and if we really cant afford it, then maybe my parents will come visit us. At the moment its not putting me off, and i dont think i ll regret my decision.

Just on a side note- my parents put off having more kids because of finances. Yes me and my sis always had the best growing up, my parents paid all our uni fees/accomodation/living costs, and still today occasionally give us big cash presents. BUT my mum always says if she could go back she would have had 2 more because it always works out in the end.

 

[jd83]

I don't think we would have more if it meant being a financial burden. Our budget is already tight with all of the bills and now our childcare cost is going to be doubled. These are immediate concerns to me, not just down the road concerns, so I just can't comprehend adding more cost to the mix. I want my kids to have whatever we can give them, and if we have more kids, I don't think it would be fair to the ones we have now. i wouldn't want to have to cut out vacations, or taking them out occasionally, or being able to buy them nice things when we can. We have talked before about possibly having a third, but I just think that 2 kids financially is where our family is the best off. We can focus more on them, and give them as much as we can.

 

[dgirllamius]

once my car is paid off along with my credit card debts we'd be able to but that's another 2 or so years before that's all paid off. I want to wait at least 2 anyway and see how things turn out.

 

[proudMoM26]

Yes, Finances determine family size for responsible parents!!
Finances is our main concern in deciding in many kids we can have.
Regarding your concern I suggest in improving your financial status or saving money now so in few years time having another baby can already be afforded. Goodluck

 

[AP]

Sure do. For a start our car couldn't accommodate another and we aren't in the position to upgrade.
Id only ever decide on another child if we had the financial means, I wouldn't mind being tight because its all I ever knew when I was little, but I wouldn't if it meant relying on handouts.

 

[Liesje]

Yes. We can afford "babies" but not "adults". I can't imagine how anyone can afford to pay for university for 3-4 kids at once.

 

[robinator]

Yes

 

[pinklightbulb]

No, unless we were going to be on the breadline for it.

 

[Jaylynne]

It doesn't determine family size but it's a huge factor.

Anyway, I'm not supposed to have more pregnancies . But when we have more savings and cars are paid off etc, we might look into adoption

 

[The Alchemist]

We only have one child, and we want another, but we can't afford it. With typical bills (rent, power, cable, etc) plus school loans (oh god, the school loans!), we definitely can not afford another right now. OH and I were born to low middle class parents who struggled to provide for us kids. As a child, I never once played with toys bought from the store. My mom made them for us. Not that I hated my childhood life, but if I know I can afford another child in the near future, then I will wait for that time. Ideally, we'd try for another after finish university in 3-4 years time.

And between USA and Europe, we've got a horrible health care system.

 

[Dk1234]

Honestly I think it's irresponsible to Plan more children if you know you can't afford them. In the us too many people don't practice family planning and end up living off the government. It's a big problem here. I'm not saying everyone does this, just too many people. I wouldn't plan more children unless I knew I could be financially responsible for them. Plus I don't want my children to want for anything. I want to be able to provide them with everything they need and most of what they want.