savings rate and loss

[ambimammular]

Guys, this was to be the first year we maxed out the 403b. I've been so proud about it. Smug even.

Now we've made two family decisions that have hit in the same month. We paid for braces x 1, and a year of karate x2 kids (discount for paying so much up front). Can we afford it? Sure. But the dollars have to come from somewhere, and my kick ass saving is getting the axe.

No regrets on the spending. I'll champion those causes all the way to the orthodontist and back. But I have such a feeling of loss. I can't expect friends to empathize, they're struggling. There aren't people I'd tell anyway.

My DH is right, these are the things we value; this is what the money is for. But I'm still silently devastated. It's really easy to justify all kinds of spending on kids or house stuff. They will take as much as they can. Because I don't want "stuff" I lose.

It's only money, right?

[MrMoneySaver]

Smugness on the MMM forums??? I've never heard of such!

We're at a very similar age and have very similar types of expenses we're paying right now. I feel the same way you do. Not much that can be done. Having kids makes it harder to save, no doubt about it.

Just imagine how much harder it would be to save if you had all those same expenses plus a taste for lots of consumer crap. You probably don't have to imagine -- just look around at your friends and neighbors.

[marty998]

See but now that you've paid it upfront your monthly spending on these items will be precisely zero for the next year. Lots of free cash flow available now???

[BTDretire]

I'll try to make you feel better.
 When/if my daughter gets into dental school I'll be writing a check
for about $50k for tuition and suppport (each yr). We earn about $80K if we're lucky.
 I suspect there will be money coming out of savings.
 I could give more details, but I said I'd try to make you feel better.

[Miss Piggy]

Every now and then, I thank my parents for getting me braces as a teenager. They were life-changing, but I know it wasn't easy for my parents to make them happen. Since I don't have kids, I'd happily pay that forward to another kid in the family if/when needed.