When I decided I was ready to have kids, one of the things I worried most about was having enough money to pay for their care and needs and meet my own financial goals.
I’ve never been particularly drawn to early retirement. But I would like a comfortable retirement. And I used to worry that bringing kids into the mix would get in the way of that.
Frankly, sometimes I still do. The money I shell out for my kids is sometimes downright ridiculous – as in, you don’t want to know what travel soccer costs these days. And let’s not forget camp — that multi-thousand-dollar expense parents are forced to deal with every year so we can hold down our jobs while school’s not in session.
As a parent, I can definitely relate to this Reddit post. Here, we have a 40-year-old male with $3.2 million in assets that don’t include a home. They’re aiming to save $5 million by the time they retire, and their expenses are currently only $75,000 a year because they don’t have kids yet.
However, they plan to have one or two kids with their partner in the next five years. And they’re worried that expanding their family will get in the way of meeting their savings goal.
The reality is that yes, having kids could get in the way of this person’s goal. But that’s not a given.
It’s a matter of planning
There’s no getting around the fact that kids are expensive. But if you want them, then it’s an expense worth prioritizing.
The good news is that with careful planning, you can find ways to cover your costs without upending your financial goals. I know because it’s something I’ve been doing for more than a decade.
What I do is set financial priorities. My retirement account gets funded before my kids college accounts – period. The way I see it, they can borrow money for college if they need to, but I can’t borrow my way through retirement.
Meanwhile, if I can come up with a financial plan that allows me to juggle my personal goals and my child-related expenses, so can you. And you don’t have to do it alone, either. You can work with a financial advisor to make sure you’re covering your expenses while staying on track with retirement savings.
Don’t assume that kids get cheaper as they get older
Having children doesn’t have to get in the way of your savings goal, but one myth I feel compelled to bust is that the older kids get, the less money you have to spend on them. That couldn’t be any less true.
Sure, you may not have daycare costs when your kids get older. Instead, you get expensive summer camp expensive activities, expensive clothing (because they start asking for specific stuff, and it’s never the cheap stuff), and, eventually, college.
So don’t tell yourself you’ll put your financial goals on hold while your kids are very young and catch up on them later. Instead, find a way to work toward your goals year after year, and don’t be afraid to prioritize yourself. Doing so doesn’t make you a bad parent — it makes you a financially responsible one.
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