Children cost at least a half million dollars. Do you have a half million dollars to spend? The woman gets pregnant. Okay, now you’re paying for tests in the hospital. No big deal right? You make several visits over a couple of months… Who would notice a couple hundred bucks each visit. Now you’re spending extra money on food. Why? Because she’s eating for two and she’s f~~~ing hungry. Well now that you’re woman is pregnant, the apartment you were living in doesn’t cut it anymore. You need a house. There’s a couple hundred thousand. Hope you don’t have to fix anything first…
Now it’s time. It’s been 8 months, and now in the final month she’s dialating. Which is causing more trips to the hospital because she keeps thinking the baby is coming. Meanwhile, that new house you bought needs stuff for the baby. So now you’re off to buy the essentials… Diapers, baby wipes, a crib… Now her water breaks. Back to the hospital you go. More bills. Only this time, she’s going in to deliver. Now the heavy charges come. The nurses do the prepping, perhaps inject her with some drugs to ease the process along… Now the doctor is here. He ain’t cheap. “Push” he says. “Push”. She’s pushing, and yelling and blaming you “you did this to MEEEEEEEE!!!!” “Push, breath, breath, push” he says. Now the baby is out.
Here comes the next batch of expenses. Filing all the paperwork, moving her to another room, more charges for hospital care and s~~~ty food. Momma and baby are gonna be here for a few days. If you don’t have insurance that’s $16-20,000 a day. So now, after lots of rest and care, mommy and baby are home. Now you need clothes for the little s~~~. Cha-ching. More money out of your bank account. “No big deal”, you think.. Until the baby gets by the mommy milk stage and gets into formula stage. That money is going quick man. More diapers, more wipes, more formula…
Now he starts teething, and with teeth comes solid foods. With solid foods and time comes guess what… More clothes. That baby clothes doesn’t fit. Well guess what! You can’t take it back. So what do you do? Throw it away. Maybe give it to someone you know. Either way, money wasted. Perhaps you decide to save it thinking you will have ANOTHER kid. Mommy will certainly want to save it. It gives her memories.
Now the kid is growing. And for the next 17 years you’ll constantly be taking him to the store to buy clothes. Why? Because he will quickly outgrow it. But that’s not all your expenses. At first it started out harmless. A few baby toys, something to entertain him. Only the toys get more intricate, and more expensive the older he gets. Once he graduates from the action figures that cost $10 a piece to the video games, you’re dumping 400-700 bills on a video game system. Maybe you luck out. Maybe you already have it because you’re a guy who likes to play games in his spare time. Well, remember when you would spend $60-70 a game for yourself? Now you’re spending that for your kid to play HIS games. And paying for all his school supplies, and whatever he needs for whatever after school stuff he gets into, gas to drive him around, money so he can hang with his friends…
Now he’s approaching the end of high school. He’s ready to drive and wants a car. Now.. You could be a cheap dad, and drop a couple hundred bucks on a bulls~~~ car fixer uper, but you probably won’t. And what comes with having a car? Insurance and car maintenance. Which rest assured is most likely coming out of your pocket. As is the money for him to hang with his pals at the mall all summer. Maybe you’re lucky. Maybe you crack the whip and make him get a job. You’re one of the lucky ones.
Now high school is done, and it’s off to the next step in life. Maybe junior wasn’t so great in school and decides on community college. Know what words you’ll be hearing next? “hey dad….” Now let’s say your kid IS smart and ends up at a full fledge college. He says “dad, I wanna go for my masters”. That’s 4 good years of payments where you could have bought a new car or house. At least 5 figures. Let’s say junior grads and doesn’t flame out and drop out. Then hopefully your kid will end up with a 5 or 6 figure income where he can do the same thing you just did. Or worst case, he’ll flame out with bad grades because he was too busy partying to take it seriously. Now think of all the money you just spend on his tuition. Now guess where he is… Back home living with mommy and daddy.
I ask again. Do you have a half million dollars? If you do, what are you doing to do with that money? What will you invest it in?
Seriously, you need to speak the same post in front of an audience, because what you said was true and very accurate and it could salvage a lot of guys from taking that major plunge.
That’s just the kid, then there’s making sure the wife is all taken care of. So technically the man is spending his life and money and energy on wife and kids.
No thanks. What you detailed is the exact reason I won’t get married and have kids. I rather spend that time and money on buying a comfortable house and furnish it entirely to my liking and my Dave And Busters style game room in the lower level.
IRuleMe 2 years, 6 months ago.
