Putting off having kids by a few years could be worth it. We're 30 and 35. We're in great health, engaged to be married later this year, and at good points in our careers. We're socking away at least 30% (sometimes more) of our gross income. If we keep this up, we can hit FIRE in less than a decade. Neither of us really wants kids at this point. It feels like we're just getting started with our adult lives. But the simple biological fact is we can't wait until we feel like having kids. Should we "freeze our assets", so to speak? haha. Prices for the procedure vary greatly and I don't know how much (if any) insurance will cover. According to some Google results I just skimmed through, it costs between $10,000 to $15,000 and $500 a year thereafter. Considering the cost of childcare and lost wages, it seems like a bargain. Has anyone done this?
Yes, we did this, and for the same reasons, also while engaged. We were on the same page, however, about eventually becoming parents. I don't regret doing IVF, but I
wouldn't have had I known my egg yield would be so low. But, of course, you can't know UNTIL you do it, so that's the catch! And, all along the way, you can't make decisions about the process/follicles/eggs/embyos until THE MOMENT because nature happens in real time. It was unexpectedly nerve-wracking. I flew through the process, BTW, with no complications or really any symptoms. I was able to do all the shots, no problem, except the ones after the transfer that promote pregnancy. They're in the glutes, and I just wasn't coordinated enough, so my husband had to administer them.
Insurance paid for my ovarian monitoring: ~$2,000. Medications: ~$8,000, which I was told is the high end of the range. Results: only THREE eggs(!!!) which resulted in 3 embryos, ymmv. One fresh transfer (not in the original plan, long story), which resulted in our daughter, and 2 frozen embryos. Total cost was ~$22,000, and
we paid ~$20,000.
Future costs: $4,000 for each subsequent transfer. And, there are yearly storage fees... I think $750/yr.
My husband is WAY cheaper than I am, he was against IVF all the way through, and the whole thing took a turn for us right at the end. But, here we are a year later, I just told him about your post, asking him what he would say to you... "Yes, definitely. If they have the resources to save themselves from regret, they should do it." We love our daughter, she's amazing, and we're very happy being parents.
Our clinic had a 50% success rate for fresh transfers, and 80% for frozen. Remember, the vast majority of people who utilize IVF are INFERTILE, so think about what that does to the statistics of rates of pregnancy, complications, unhealthy children, etc. Statistics do not exist for fertile couples utilizing IVF, and I'll just leave it at that.