Reply to How Do We Know if We Can Afford a Kid in the DMV?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Hi all OP here. Thanks for (nicely) letting me know I am being crazy, it helps! Happy to learn that whatever article I read about $600/month for diapers was either an insane typo, a Lucille Bluth moment, or possibly me reading something incorrectly. I’ll avoid gold-plated diapering, and daycare seems about on par with what I expected.

Definitely makes sense to up our savings - we’ve already been doing that on accident the last couple of months due to house arrest, but will talk with the spouse about making it a priority when we return to work as well.

We’ve been together for 4 years, married last September. We’re 27 & 28, will be 29 & 30 in 2022. The idea was that gives us enough time to have one kid and get them into elementary school before we have a second (if we decide to) since it’s unlikely we’ll be able to afford daycare for 2. Plus the two years in the interim gives us a little time to get our lives in order - less expensive housing, buy and pay off a car, save.[/quote]

First, you totally made my day (probably my week) with the reference to "a Lucille Bluth moment." Thank you!

Second, posts are focusing, and rightly so, on the costs of having a baby-toddler-preschooler -- diapers, day care, etc. Be aware that the years between kindergarten and college are different from kid to kid in terms of expenses and should not be forgotten, and I'm not referring to anything like private school tuition! If your child-then-tween-then-teen has activities and interests, those come with costs, some more than others. I say that NOT to scare you about costs, OP, but to note that your kids will be individuals with unique interests and you will find you want to help them pursue those interests as much as you can; and in this area, there are many opportunities (and costs) for activities. You are not required to put a kid into any activity at all! But just be aware that there will be costs in those years that you might not picture at all right now. I say this as a parent to a now-college-student who did a very extensive extracurricular over about 12 years (not a sport, a performing art) that was expensive. It was worth every penny but something we did have to account for in budgets.

Also, even more importantly -- start thinking now about saving for college. It may seem too soon but please don't wait until they're in middle or even elementary school. Start 529 accounts or other interest-bearing college savings when they're born. Some will say that's too early but we found it was not. Even a little bit set aside out of paychecks from the start will add up and allow you to tell your kids they have more choices when they start looking at where they can go to college. It really is a gift to be able to tell your child that a college that is a good fit for them is also one they can say yes to because you have saved enough to make it realistic. [/quote]

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