I make 80k/year and am holding off on having kids because I don't feel financially ready.

It takes immense courage to emerge from the basement darkness and behold the light.

Translation: I can't get a date.

It's virtually impossible to raise a kid in the US on a household income of $80k. Now if your wife works as well and makes roughly the same, then it would be possible in the flyover states. On the coasts, not so much.

we have 2 kids and yes you need minimum $80k for husband & wife each.

at $80K alone with a lazy wife you can only survive the first 10 years.

Random dude bro wrote:

It's virtually impossible to raise a kid in the US on a household income of $80k. Now if your wife works as well and makes roughly the same, then it would be possible in the flyover states. On the coasts, not so much.

hahahahahaha, tell that BS to my parents and you will be simultaneously punched and slapped on the face. people get by on way way less than that, wake up. there is a whole world out there. it is not the same as your shiny bubble.

We're supposed to feel sorry for you, right?

Some of you people are so out of touch with reality.

Random dude bro wrote:

It's virtually impossible to raise a kid in the US on a household income of $80k. Now if your wife works as well and makes roughly the same, then it would be possible in the flyover states. On the coasts, not so much.

Need a trust fund, too? wrote:

Some of you people are so out of touch with reality.

Random dude bro wrote:

It's virtually impossible to raise a kid in the US on a household income of $80k. Now if your wife works as well and makes roughly the same, then it would be possible in the flyover states. On the coasts, not so much.

Let me clarify. Of course you can raise kids on less but the question is: is it a good idea?

You will likely not have the money to live in a priority neighborhood where schools are rated between 9 and 10 (out of 10). Then your kid will have a slow start from the get-go. Also, kids these days want to live a bit of a jet set lifestyle. That doesn't mean travel all the time but you want to take them to South America, Europe, Asia, to expose them to diverse cultures (without moving to a neighborhood where they would be held back by these cultures).

Random dude bro wrote:

Need a trust fund, too? wrote:

Some of you people are so out of touch with reality.

Let me clarify. Of course you can raise kids on less but the question is: is it a good idea?

You will likely not have the money to live in a priority neighborhood where schools are rated between 9 and 10 (out of 10).

You're better off home skooling them anyways.

port-a-pantie wrote:

Random dude bro wrote:

Let me clarify. Of course you can raise kids on less but the question is: is it a good idea?

You will likely not have the money to live in a priority neighborhood where schools are rated between 9 and 10 (out of 10).

You're better off home skooling them anyways.

Then you won't have to write any letters to the Principal when you take them out of school for the Boston Marathon.

Random dude bro wrote:

Also, kids these days want to live a bit of a jet set lifestyle. That doesn't mean travel all the time but you want to take them to South America, Europe, Asia, to expose them to diverse cultures (without moving to a neighborhood where they would be held back by these cultures).

6/10 working this in after your education bit was more subtle than most LRC trolls would have gone for. I was actually going to post a response to you until I read this and my troll alarm went off.

Random dude bro wrote:

... That doesn't mean travel all the time but you want to take them to South America, Europe, Asia, to expose them to diverse cultures (without moving to a neighborhood where they would be held back by these cultures).

I'd argue that the benefits of growing up in a diverse community would be far more educational than simply travelling to the resort areas of other countries while living in a gated "safe" community.

Random dude bro wrote:

Let me clarify. Of course you can raise kids on less but the question is: is it a good idea?

That doesn't mean travel all the time but you want to take them to South America, Europe, Asia, to expose them to diverse cultures (without moving to a neighborhood where they would be held back by these cultures).

I don't think you know what it means to have kids. You will not be traveling ANYWHERE. Maybe a shitty resort that has daycare. And yeah if you want your kid to turn out to be as big of tool as you yourself are, then 80k isn't even close. But I imagine you posted just to humble brag about your salary (which for a major US city is pretty low) and at the same time disparage people who aren't yuppies like you. Kids need attention and love, not tourism and 9/10 schools.

Do you realize that you are replying to two different people, thinking that they are the same person. Maybe glance at the usernames before spewing off your rants?

You're all the same idiot in my mind.

Lots of things to say about this:

1) I found that once my wife and I decided to have our first kid, that we discovered that even though we THOUGHT we were being pretty budget-conscious before, that we actually had a lot of room for improvement. I have heard many people with children say the same thing.

2) Having lived in the Washington, DC area in the late 90s, I can tell you that $80,000 is not very much when you live in an expensive area. We made about that much then with both of us working, and once we had our kid, we decided to move back to Ohio where my wife then became a stay-at-home mom and we did much better then on my then $41,000 salary. Obviously $80,000 goes less far today than it did then.

3) Regarding the Coasts vs. "fly over" states, most people get this completely wrong, and it was done again here. There are LOTS of places on the "coasts" where a person can live in a relatively low cost of living area, and there are plenty of places in "fly over states" where it is very expensive to live; to not believe that is just a lack of knowledge. While I don't own a $500,000 house, there are houses in my neighborhood that are more than that. $80,000 a year would be tough to buy a house like that on, especially with kids.

4) To the OP, if people waited until they felt they were financially ready to have a kid, most would not have one. Obviously you need to be able to provide food, shelter, and hopefully a safe environment, but if that's doable and you are in a place in your life where you feel ready, then I say go for it -- if you really WANT kids that is. It's really about priorities.

Feel the bern wrote:

Granted, I've chosen to live somewhere with a high cost of living. But I'm supposed to feel bad for people with minimum-wage skills who have 3 kids, right?

You have no obligation to feel sad for the reproductive choices of others.

Lib Rules wrote:

Random dude bro wrote:

... That doesn't mean travel all the time but you want to take them to South America, Europe, Asia, to expose them to diverse cultures (without moving to a neighborhood where they would be held back by these cultures).

I'd argue that the benefits of growing up in a diverse community would be far more educational than simply travelling to the resort areas of other countries while living in a gated "safe" community.

yes, you can learn how to create artistic masterpieces with spraypaint, how to not give a $hit how your house and yard look, and, possibly most importantly, why it is important to put bars over your windows and duck when you hear gunshots.

Flagpole wrote:

Lots of things to say about this:

Obviously $80,000 goes less far today than it did then.

There is nothing obvious about that. A case could be easily made that $80k goes just as far or farther than it did then.