Comments on: How much does it cost to raise a child & 10 ways to cut the cost! http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/ Christian Personal Finance - Financial help blog, debt help and other financial resources Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:22:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kristi http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/comment-page-1/#comment-124854 Kristi Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:57:07 +0000 http://christianpf.com/?p=3849#comment-124854 I was all excited to see a well-balanced article on raising kids from a Christian perspective and I loved the article all the way up until the last line, "Pray you don't have triplets." Five or six years ago, I might have laughed and agreed with you-- but almost 5 years ago, I gave birth to three triplet girls, (which were children #3, #4 and #5 for us) and I tell you what, that experience has changed my life for the good. I always wanted 3 kids and only 3 kids (I grew up in a family of 4 kids and always thought that was too much). But the beautiful thing about having the girls is that God has opened up my heart to see what HIS heart is for children. The thing is, He loves them A LOT. He promises to care for and provide for them. He wants us to have them and to sacrifice for them, just as He has sacrificed for us. He wants us to be willing to lay our lives down for them, just as He laid down His life for us. My own selfishness has been confronted and exposed and is becoming more generous towards others, because I have experienced the pain and beauty of laying my life down for others. Of course we wondered how in the world we were going to "afford" these children. We were looking over some tax information a few weeks ago and realized that not only has God continued to provide for us, (my husband is the sole-income earner and I am a stay at home mom) but in the last four years, our income has DOUBLED. And now, after these years of getting a glimpse of God's heart, of learning to trust Him to keep His promises to us and watching Him provide for us-- always-- we are now being led down the path of adoption. We will be adding 2 or 3 additional children into our family from DR Congo within the next year. So, I would argue that you should not pray for God to not give you triplets. I would argue that you pray for God's will in your life and for Him to break your heart for what breaks His. You should pray for Him to stretch your faith and for Him to show you His faithfulness. THAT is what will change your life. I was all excited to see a well-balanced article on raising kids from a Christian perspective and I loved the article all the way up until the last line, “Pray you don’t have triplets.”

Five or six years ago, I might have laughed and agreed with you– but almost 5 years ago, I gave birth to three triplet girls, (which were children #3, #4 and #5 for us) and I tell you what, that experience has changed my life for the good.

I always wanted 3 kids and only 3 kids (I grew up in a family of 4 kids and always thought that was too much). But the beautiful thing about having the girls is that God has opened up my heart to see what HIS heart is for children. The thing is, He loves them A LOT. He promises to care for and provide for them. He wants us to have them and to sacrifice for them, just as He has sacrificed for us. He wants us to be willing to lay our lives down for them, just as He laid down His life for us.

My own selfishness has been confronted and exposed and is becoming more generous towards others, because I have experienced the pain and beauty of laying my life down for others.

Of course we wondered how in the world we were going to “afford” these children. We were looking over some tax information a few weeks ago and realized that not only has God continued to provide for us, (my husband is the sole-income earner and I am a stay at home mom) but in the last four years, our income has DOUBLED.

And now, after these years of getting a glimpse of God’s heart, of learning to trust Him to keep His promises to us and watching Him provide for us– always– we are now being led down the path of adoption. We will be adding 2 or 3 additional children into our family from DR Congo within the next year.

So, I would argue that you should not pray for God to not give you triplets. I would argue that you pray for God’s will in your life and for Him to break your heart for what breaks His. You should pray for Him to stretch your faith and for Him to show you His faithfulness.

THAT is what will change your life.

]]> By: New Covenant Bible Institute http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/comment-page-1/#comment-123103 New Covenant Bible Institute Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:09:00 +0000 http://christianpf.com/?p=3849#comment-123103 As preparation for parenthood, I am now starting to build a fund that can help me raise my future baby. I am only 19 years old and is starting to save for it so that my baby and I will not suffer. As preparation for parenthood, I am now starting to build a fund that can help me raise my future baby. I am only 19 years old and is starting to save for it so that my baby and I will not suffer.

]]> By: Ben http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/comment-page-1/#comment-105163 Ben Wed, 23 Feb 2011 03:17:04 +0000 http://christianpf.com/?p=3849#comment-105163 Thanks for the info. I'm planning on having kids after finishing school and getting a master's degree, so I was curious on the subject. Also, I was wondering, you mentioned you were Canadian. So are your calculations in Canadian or American dollars? Thanks for the info. I’m planning on having kids after finishing school and getting a master’s degree, so I was curious on the subject.

Also, I was wondering, you mentioned you were Canadian. So are your calculations in Canadian or American dollars?

]]> By: Kacie http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/comment-page-1/#comment-16713 Kacie Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:13:15 +0000 http://christianpf.com/?p=3849#comment-16713 Don't forget the child tax credits you get. That does lessen the financial burden. We have a 10-month old. It has been a lot cheaper than I thought. We tend to find cheaper entertainment and we don't go out to eat nearly as much as we did pre-baby. So, our spending in other areas has gone way down. I do realize that as he gets older, his expenses will, too. But who cares? It's only money! Don’t forget the child tax credits you get. That does lessen the financial burden.

We have a 10-month old. It has been a lot cheaper than I thought. We tend to find cheaper entertainment and we don’t go out to eat nearly as much as we did pre-baby. So, our spending in other areas has gone way down.

I do realize that as he gets older, his expenses will, too. But who cares? It’s only money!

]]> By: Friday Gathering: Indian Summer Edition (can I say that?) http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/comment-page-1/#comment-16676 Friday Gathering: Indian Summer Edition (can I say that?) Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:00:47 +0000 http://christianpf.com/?p=3849#comment-16676 [...] at Christian PF puts a price tag on what it costs to raise a child. Take a look, it might be less than you thought and his numbers are closer to what my family spends [...] [...] at Christian PF puts a price tag on what it costs to raise a child. Take a look, it might be less than you thought and his numbers are closer to what my family spends [...]

]]> By: Carnival of Personal Finance Edition #227 | Fabulously Broke in the City http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/comment-page-1/#comment-16674 Carnival of Personal Finance Edition #227 | Fabulously Broke in the City Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:03:39 +0000 http://christianpf.com/?p=3849#comment-16674 [...] being aware of identity theft) (Money Under 30), and taking into account my future family because children aren’t free (Christian Personal Finance), and in Canada, they can cost up to $182,190 until the age of 18 (The [...] [...] being aware of identity theft) (Money Under 30), and taking into account my future family because children aren’t free (Christian Personal Finance), and in Canada, they can cost up to $182,190 until the age of 18 (The [...]

]]> By: FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/comment-page-1/#comment-16650 FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:43:04 +0000 http://christianpf.com/?p=3849#comment-16650 LOL! "Pray you don't have triplets". Although it would be good to get them all out of the way. I say that going second hand is the best way to cut costs, as well as curbing desires to buy the newest, coolest, greatest baby toys to create your own mini Einstein. LOL!

“Pray you don’t have triplets”.

Although it would be good to get them all out of the way.

I say that going second hand is the best way to cut costs, as well as curbing desires to buy the newest, coolest, greatest baby toys to create your own mini Einstein.

]]> By: Craig @ Money Help For Christians http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/comment-page-1/#comment-16638 Craig @ Money Help For Christians Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:03:24 +0000 http://christianpf.com/?p=3849#comment-16638 @ Courtney - great point. Sorry if you felt mislead. You are right that I didn't include any of our start up costs. Unfortunately, I was not able to address all the associated costs. For our family those costs were minimal. Let me quickly include all of that information in case readers might find that helpful: Maternity clothes - $75 over three pregnancies. My wife found an 85% off sale during her first pregnancy and bought plenty of maternity clothes. Since we had all our kids in the same season we only needed the "one set". She also bought some items second-hand and received others as gifts. Labor and delivery - this of course will depend on your insurance, but our cost for the first was about $3,500, $250 for the second, and $500 for the third. We leveraged the fact that I am Canadian and had our second and third children there after the cost of the first. If you are interest I have a post on my site <a href="http://www.moneyhelpforchristians.com/average-cost-of-delivering-a-baby/" rel="nofollow">Average Cost of Delivering a Baby</a> As for car seats, high chairs, cribs, and such, we spent less than $400 on everything. We received a lot as gifts and bought a few items used. As I mentioned in the post, it depends on how well networked you are. We had three different groups offer us baby showers. Honestly, we had more than enough cash gifts to pay for our first year of baby costs. Our family did not make any changes to our housing situation, but I guess we probably use more water and electricity. It is true that there are a lot of little costs along the way. I do think a little creativity (and in our case a lot of generosity from others) can help you manage many of these costs. @ Courtney – great point. Sorry if you felt mislead. You are right that I didn’t include any of our start up costs. Unfortunately, I was not able to address all the associated costs. For our family those costs were minimal. Let me quickly include all of that information in case readers might find that helpful:
Maternity clothes – $75 over three pregnancies. My wife found an 85% off sale during her first pregnancy and bought plenty of maternity clothes. Since we had all our kids in the same season we only needed the “one set”. She also bought some items second-hand and received others as gifts.
Labor and delivery – this of course will depend on your insurance, but our cost for the first was about $3,500, $250 for the second, and $500 for the third. We leveraged the fact that I am Canadian and had our second and third children there after the cost of the first. If you are interest I have a post on my site Average Cost of Delivering a Baby
As for car seats, high chairs, cribs, and such, we spent less than $400 on everything. We received a lot as gifts and bought a few items used. As I mentioned in the post, it depends on how well networked you are. We had three different groups offer us baby showers. Honestly, we had more than enough cash gifts to pay for our first year of baby costs.
Our family did not make any changes to our housing situation, but I guess we probably use more water and electricity.

It is true that there are a lot of little costs along the way. I do think a little creativity (and in our case a lot of generosity from others) can help you manage many of these costs.

]]> By: Courtney http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/comment-page-1/#comment-16635 Courtney Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:09:36 +0000 http://christianpf.com/?p=3849#comment-16635 I think it's misleading to leave out the "up-front" costs of children. Prenatal care (and maternity clothes), labor and delivery, car seats, high chairs, cribs, etc. Yes furniture can often be gotten for cheap and reused but it's still usually an expense. Many of the calculations of "how much does it cost to raise a kid" also take into account the need or want for a bigger house and the extra payments (mortgage, insurance, taxes) that go along with that. You've only addressed one aspect - annual consumables. I think it’s misleading to leave out the “up-front” costs of children. Prenatal care (and maternity clothes), labor and delivery, car seats, high chairs, cribs, etc. Yes furniture can often be gotten for cheap and reused but it’s still usually an expense. Many of the calculations of “how much does it cost to raise a kid” also take into account the need or want for a bigger house and the extra payments (mortgage, insurance, taxes) that go along with that. You’ve only addressed one aspect – annual consumables.

]]> By: Craig @ Money Help For Christians http://christianpf.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children/comment-page-1/#comment-16633 Craig @ Money Help For Christians Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:07:02 +0000 http://christianpf.com/?p=3849#comment-16633 @Dan. Point well taken. Several things on the list are customized and could be taken out based on the situation or personal preferences. For example, people who live in the same town as family might not need any travel budget. BTW, it is very typical for Canadian children to pay for their own college. I am Canadian and paid for almost all my school by myself (with exception of $2,000). My wife's parents covered whatever remained after school loans. As a result, we have had some long conversations on the topic of paying or not paying. Our solution is to put a small amount in college savings per child - $50 per month starting the day they are born. We also have some elaborate plans to match dollars they contribute. Our personal conclusion is that if what we provide is moderate and related to the character of our children the funds will be a blessing. Since we are debt free we are not being burdened by those small contributions. Thanks for your comments and your thoughts. @Dan.
Point well taken. Several things on the list are customized and could be taken out based on the situation or personal preferences. For example, people who live in the same town as family might not need any travel budget.
BTW, it is very typical for Canadian children to pay for their own college. I am Canadian and paid for almost all my school by myself (with exception of $2,000). My wife’s parents covered whatever remained after school loans.
As a result, we have had some long conversations on the topic of paying or not paying. Our solution is to put a small amount in college savings per child – $50 per month starting the day they are born. We also have some elaborate plans to match dollars they contribute.
Our personal conclusion is that if what we provide is moderate and related to the character of our children the funds will be a blessing. Since we are debt free we are not being burdened by those small contributions.
Thanks for your comments and your thoughts.

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