WSJ Affording a Family

[Anonymous]

WTF getting married at age 20 to a 34 year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WTF getting married at age 20 to a 34 year old.

Well that is a smart move when women aren’t allowed to work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:...it’s well documented that Boomers and Early GenX benefitted from the booming 80s and 90s economies and had crazy cheap housing.

GenXer here - I think you're confusing our generation with the Boomers. I graduated from college in the early 90s to a "jobless recovery" from the 89-91 recession, which extended well into 1992 and ensuing research shows our generation never did 'catch up' to the earnings of people who started out in a strong economy. We did not have large amounts of student debt like college graduates today - I took the max loans & with work study job only ended up with $30K in debt. BUT, the dot com bubble, 2008 crash, etc, along with extended periods of low interest, killed GenX's investments & we now have the dubious distinction of being the first generation in the US to do worse than their parents.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/generation-x-genx.asp

All that said, it certainly was easier for us to afford to raise a family than people now. But, I would not sugarcoat the experience of GenXers and conflate it with the Boomers who truly had a different ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents both with a 6th grade education who got married in 1957 in Bronx had four kids. My Mom was a SAHM, my Dad worked 60 hour work weeks. We had a rent controlled shithole 750sf rental that was two bedroom. Girls got second small bedroom. Brother and I slept on mattress on living room floor.

All four kids got masters degree and all four multi millionaires. Heck I live in a two million dollar home, have a beach house and a Stay at home wife

You don’t need money to have kids. If anything being poor is a great motivator.

DCUM is weird, look at JD Vance. You might hate him but dude grew up poor as shit. The next prez might be trailor park trash.

y

NP here. What seems to be the difference here is that this PP and their 3 siblings all got undergrad and college degrees, which enabled them to move up the financial ladder. Having at least a college degree is a huge advantage to earning a higher income, it just is. Which goes completely against what the WSJ is trying to push in their article.

Two American Families is an EXCELLENT documentary from Frontline where they followed 2 families from Milwaukee for over 30 years (1991-2024) where the parents were initially union workers in plants that lost their jobs in the early 90s when the plants close down. None of the parents have a college degree. Both families are likable, hard working, very decent people with kids. It is a fascinating look at very regular, average people who struggle and the effect on their lives, their marriage, their children. And you see their children grow up. The children who become the biggest successes: the ones that go and graduate from college.

This is something really everyone should watch. Frontline put it free on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/VClQ_TlXT2U?si=IWbMnLhSXDOvJ5cI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:...it’s well documented that Boomers and Early GenX benefitted from the booming 80s and 90s economies and had crazy cheap housing.

GenXer here - I think you're confusing our generation with the Boomers. I graduated from college in the early 90s to a "jobless recovery" from the 89-91 recession, which extended well into 1992 and ensuing research shows our generation never did 'catch up' to the earnings of people who started out in a strong economy. We did not have large amounts of student debt like college graduates today - I took the max loans & with work study job only ended up with $30K in debt. BUT, the dot com bubble, 2008 crash, etc, along with extended periods of low interest, killed GenX's investments & we now have the dubious distinction of being the first generation in the US to do worse than their parents.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/generation-x-genx.asp

All that said, it certainly was easier for us to afford to raise a family than people now. But, I would not sugarcoat the experience of GenXers and conflate it with the Boomers who truly had a different ride.

GenX did worse than baby boomers and many millenials, especially in terms of salary growth.

But the dot.com fueled a huge runup in salaries and houses were cheap for that whole period of peak early GenX. Late GenX were absolutely f’ed as they had high housing prices but were too old for the tech job market.

[Anonymous]

They aren't "affording" a family of they are relying on food stamps and medicaid.

[Anonymous]

I have three neighbors in a row with five kids a piece. From those families, two have SAHMs and the 3rd has two working parents. They live more simply and focus on family and friend entertainment, community events, grilling out and shopping 2nd hand, consignment. I doubt they’ll have much in college funds but they might have some. No one is on aid and their houses are big enough.

We have two kids and sometimes I’m a little envious of their large families. And then I remember that while it works for them, it probably wouldn’t work so well for us. Different strokes and all that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have three neighbors in a row with five kids a piece. From those families, two have SAHMs and the 3rd has two working parents. They live more simply and focus on family and friend entertainment, community events, grilling out and shopping 2nd hand, consignment. I doubt they’ll have much in college funds but they might have some. No one is on aid and their houses are big enough.

We have two kids and sometimes I’m a little envious of their large families. And then I remember that while it works for them, it probably wouldn’t work so well for us. Different strokes and all that.

How do you know if they get family money or Medicaid? Consignment isn’t a huge money saver; new clothing is so cheap now it’s hardly a significant part of the budget — it’s more likely a hobby for the SAHM to find “deals” — hopefully they don’t catch bedbugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:40k in loans for an associates degree in interior design? That's...a choice.

And she was making a whopping $12/hr at Home Depot and thought it was good idea to keep having kids and then was shocked that she wouldn't be able to afford child care. Then the husband was physically unable to continue working construction and now they're living on like $40k/year. These people are irresponsible. I don't care how people try to spin it, but having five kids intentionally when a few have health issues and you can't afford the basics like sufficient housing and healthcare is irresponsible. Oh but wait, the wife said she's going to get a job in 2028. So for the next three years the taxpayer funded programs they qualify for will just have to do. What a mess.

Moreover, the WSJ held this up as an example of how it’s “possible” to have kids on a modest income, rather than a cautionary tale.

And honestly the only reason they aren’t living in section 8 housing is because her 15 years older DH bought a cheap home before the housing bubble kicked off in the 2000s

+100
What’s going to happen to them when Medicaid is cut?
Also, this administration is Union busting. If they have there way, there won’t be anymore
union jobs not to mention the number of jobs that will be lost as the US economy gets crazier and more unstable.

[Anonymous]

What annoys me about this is how is this helpful or a young couple today? I bought in the 2000s too in DC and have an affordable mortgage. How does that help a young couple starting out right now with much higher housing costs and interest rates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have three neighbors in a row with five kids a piece. From those families, two have SAHMs and the 3rd has two working parents. They live more simply and focus on family and friend entertainment, community events, grilling out and shopping 2nd hand, consignment. I doubt they’ll have much in college funds but they might have some. No one is on aid and their houses are big enough.

We have two kids and sometimes I’m a little envious of their large families. And then I remember that while it works for them, it probably wouldn’t work so well for us. Different strokes and all that.

How do you know if they get family money or Medicaid? Consignment isn’t a huge money saver; new clothing is so cheap now it’s hardly a significant part of the budget — it’s more likely a hobby for the SAHM to find “deals” — hopefully they don’t catch bedbugs.

I 100% know that there isn’t family money and definitely no Medicaid. Can you get Medicaid with a decently employed spouse? But consignment and deals is absolutely a hobby for the SAHM, plus participation in those taste tester, market testing studies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My parents both with a 6th grade education who got married in 1957 in Bronx had four kids. My Mom was a SAHM, my Dad worked 60 hour work weeks. We had a rent controlled shithole 750sf rental that was two bedroom. Girls got second small bedroom. Brother and I slept on mattress on living room floor.

All four kids got masters degree and all four multi millionaires. Heck I live in a two million dollar home, have a beach house and a Stay at home wife

You don’t need money to have kids. If anything being poor is a great motivator.

DCUM is weird, look at JD Vance. You might hate him but dude grew up poor as shit. The next prez might be trailor park trash.
y

NP here. What seems to be the difference here is that this PP and their 3 siblings all got undergrad and college degrees, which enabled them to move up the financial ladder. Having at least a college degree is a huge advantage to earning a higher income, it just is. Which goes completely against what the WSJ is trying to push in their article.

Two American Families is an EXCELLENT documentary from Frontline where they followed 2 families from Milwaukee for over 30 years (1991-2024) where the parents were initially union workers in plants that lost their jobs in the early 90s when the plants close down. None of the parents have a college degree. Both families are likable, hard working, very decent people with kids. It is a fascinating look at very regular, average people who struggle and the effect on their lives, their marriage, their children. And you see their children grow up. The children who become the biggest successes: the ones that go and graduate from college.

This is something really everyone should watch. Frontline put it free on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/VClQ_TlXT2U?si=IWbMnLhSXDOvJ5cI

This is an excellent Frontline program. I grew up just outside Milwaukee and am a bit older than the couples in this program. I remember all of the jobs that were lost from Briggs & Stratton and many others. Milwaukee was an industrial powerhouse in its heyday. What happened is so sad. These people grew up believing the jobs would be there just as they were for their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have three neighbors in a row with five kids a piece. From those families, two have SAHMs and the 3rd has two working parents. They live more simply and focus on family and friend entertainment, community events, grilling out and shopping 2nd hand, consignment. I doubt they’ll have much in college funds but they might have some. No one is on aid and their houses are big enough.

We have two kids and sometimes I’m a little envious of their large families. And then I remember that while it works for them, it probably wouldn’t work so well for us. Different strokes and all that.

How do you know if they get family money or Medicaid? Consignment isn’t a huge money saver; new clothing is so cheap now it’s hardly a significant part of the budget — it’s more likely a hobby for the SAHM to find “deals” — hopefully they don’t catch bedbugs.

I 100% know that there isn’t family money and definitely no Medicaid. Can you get Medicaid with a decently employed spouse? But consignment and deals is absolutely a hobby for the SAHM, plus participation in those taste tester, market testing studies.

For 5 kids, they can get some medical aid from govt with incomes of $99k.

By family help, I mean maybe the parents helped them buy the place, or a life insurance payout etc.

If you aren’t paying for daycare or college, kids won’t be nearly as expensive obviously

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents both with a 6th grade education who got married in 1957 in Bronx had four kids. My Mom was a SAHM, my Dad worked 60 hour work weeks. We had a rent controlled shithole 750sf rental that was two bedroom. Girls got second small bedroom. Brother and I slept on mattress on living room floor.

All four kids got masters degree and all four multi millionaires. Heck I live in a two million dollar home, have a beach house and a Stay at home wife

You don’t need money to have kids. If anything being poor is a great motivator.

DCUM is weird, look at JD Vance. You might hate him but dude grew up poor as shit. The next prez might be trailor park trash.

Vance's mother was poor, but his grandparents raised him, and they were not.

Also, "trailer park trash" is a horrible was to talk about human beings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have three neighbors in a row with five kids a piece. From those families, two have SAHMs and the 3rd has two working parents. They live more simply and focus on family and friend entertainment, community events, grilling out and shopping 2nd hand, consignment. I doubt they’ll have much in college funds but they might have some. No one is on aid and their houses are big enough.

We have two kids and sometimes I’m a little envious of their large families. And then I remember that while it works for them, it probably wouldn’t work so well for us. Different strokes and all that.

Where do you live? I don’t know or see a single family with 5 kids and we live in an area where some people make millions per year and could easily afford 10+ kids if they wanted (and includes some Mormon families who also don’t have 5 kids).