I was commenting on another post here in the forums and started to think about the expenses of a child. When looking back, I remember the initial struggles of starting our family ten years ago with our first born. Over the last ten years, we have spent almost $160k on childcare alone (the price of a couple of income generating rental properties), not to mention food, diapers, healthcare, doctors visits and the like. At one point we were paying almost $500 per week in childcare for the three, so obviously some expenses had to be cut dramatically.
We are now looking at a childcare bill of @ $10k per year for the three, which will be cut in half in 2013 and disappear in the fall of 2014. We have made major life changes to be able to make our commitments for our children, trimmed back our expenses, paid off all of our debts, avoided credit card debt and saved a considerable amount of our income. Additionally, in 2005 we sold a property and paid for a majority of our children's college tuitions, so we are not overly concerned about excessive college expenses in the future.
In the next two years we will have an additional $5k (2013), $7k (2014) and then $10k per year (2015 on) for investing coming from a decrease in child care expenses. These excess funds will be most likely used to purchase a few income generating rentals, as our primary mortgage and investment property will be paid off in the next two years. Looking back having children has made us get real with our finances, trim out the unnecessary spending and in the end, combined with this Mustachian way of life has enabled us to be in a really good position throughout our upcoming 40's with virtually no debt and excess funds available for saving / investing.
It's funny to see some of those around me just starting out with their young families, struggling in their own ways. Looking back I would not have wanted it any other way. I tell them that children can either make you broke or make you rich, but the choice is up to them. Anyone else feel the same way???
