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I'm almost afraid to jinx myself, because I have such a good thing going, but I'm eternally grateful my wife and I made it through so many trials and tribulations. We survived losing jobs, lockdowns, health issues, values drift, relocating. Then the usual things like having kids, buying a house, etc. I truly don't know what I'd be doing with my life without her and the life we've built together.
All that said, somehow, I'm making 50% more in take home pay than my last job, and yet with a stay at home mom and two kids, my budget is stretched thinner than it's ever been stretched before. I heard some random anecdote/joke on a woodworking channel. Dude knew some guy who had 6 kids, and he asks how he can afford so many. Guy says "Well 6 kids costs the same as 3 kids". Dude just goes "WTF?!" and guy responds "No matter how many kids you have, they cost everything". And that's about right. No matter how much money you make, there always seems to be something the kids "need", or in many cases need. Like being kept out of public schools run by fucking machines.
It’s because there’s a lot of talk about the devaluation of the dollar, and everything’s more expensive, etc., which is all true to some degree. I’ve continued noticed the cost of food prices steadily creeping up in ways that have caught me by surprise; because they haven’t plateaued yet; and likely won’t come down in the future. Input prices are becoming more expensive. What’s almost never acknowledged thought is lifestyle inflation. Just consider the way people live today and what they expect from the world.
When I reflect on my life growing up, my sibling and I were spoiled pretty rotten early on by our extended family and especially grandparents. My father did quite well and made enough money for my mother to stay at home. She never had a job in her entire life. Taken care of by dad and then by husband. But my father was pretty tight with money and what he considered a “necessity.” Not really when it came to his own personal habits the way I saw it, but definitely where it concerned my sibling and I. Car needs to be fixed? Did it himself. Including changing the head gasket by himself. Home cooked meals every night. No eating out. I went to public school (hated it). We can get by without a fancy private school. Networking to move us into a place leased by a family friend. Rent was lower than the market rate. Across the board. How many people would you say on average operate with that kind of mentality today?
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There's some factors about additional kids that are merely additive vs. multiplicative, I've heard.
Obviously you can hand down clothes, toys, etc. Once the older ones are old enough to be responsible, they can supervise the younger to some extent. Once you have a minivan you just need proper seating.
I've got a buddy who has two kids... and a buddy who has FIVE. I hang out with both of them at the same time, and last time all the kids were there. It was wonderful controlled chaos, 4 kids playing Mario kart whilst 2 others cheered them on and a third was playing with the family dog. They keep each other entertained and they're all mostly toilet trained and know how to eat properly. In a certain sense, I could absolutely see myself raising 7 of the buggers simultaneous (no, not really, but aspirationally sure).
And they both live fairly comfortable lives, its just all free time is consumed by the kids' needs.
So yeah, I expect every spare red cent will go into the family, and I'll have to give up most of my bachelor ways, but I do not fear financial apocalypse.
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