zt: Money saved by not having children...?

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/814207/

You know, one of my relatives had all the money in the world and the thing she wanted the most was to have more children (she had one daughter). When she suddenly died less than 2 weeks ago, you can trust me that all we can do is to make sure that her daughter is raised with as much love as possible-because that's her real legacy now, her daughter. Much more than any donations in her name or whatever would ever mean.

That said? If you're strapped for cash, sure it's easier to get by without kids. And you can do calculations all you want that show that kids cost a LOT of money to raise. But at the end of the day, the truth is that having kids also drives you to work harder-pretty much all the most successful people I know are largely driven by a want to really make their family better off, not out of some insane greed for their own well being.

They work hard to make that money so they can pay for their kids' schooling, for those piano lessons, for that nice school in a nice neighborhood, for those SAT classes, whatever.

But if really all you want is to have enough money to live comfortably and then die, and not need to work too hard? Then sure, it's easier to do that without kids. Of course, a life where you don't really work hard for any greater purpose...well, that just seems like a waste to me (but then again I chose a profession where I'll work crazy hours).

So, in summary? I honestly think kids might "cost" a certain amount of money to raise, but they also drive you to work so much harder that you probably make more money in the end. Think of the richest people in the world, people like Warren Buffet, Sam Walton, Bill Gates, etc. Did any of them not have kids? Steve A. Cohen (of SAC) has FIVE kids and he works insane hours.

Kids cost money, but they give you a reason to work that hard.

If you hate kids and honestly only care about your own comfort, then yes, it's an easier life without kids. But not really a richer one at that.

But when my cousin died...well, that's when I realized just how important family can be. And I can't possibly imagine giving kids up, pain in the butt though it may be to raise 'em, just so my life could be slightly easier. Yeah all those hours partying on the beach, or playing video games, or whatever are going to get replaced by hours helping your kid with homework and making sandcastles on the beach (see you can still go to the beach). Of course, only the activities with your kids actually matter anything in the end, nobody's going to care that you chilled a little more on the beach but your kid could cure cancer some day, or save someone's life in a fire, or even just be a great parent themselves.

So, until we can become immortal and never die ourselves and do all those great things personally, just about the only way we can make sure there'll be great people around on the planet is to raise those great people ourselves so they can make the world a better place when we can't anymore.

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This is a silly question. Of course having kids makes a significant impact to your finances -- so do a lot of other things. If your only goal in life is to secure wealth, then you probably wouldn't be happy having kids. You also probably wouldn't be happy doing a lot of things that don't make financial sense, like taking expensive vacations, driving new cars, buying expensive flat panel TV's, etc.

But the simple fact is that having children is not a financial decision. There are many very good reasons for having kids, and almost all of them have nothing to do with securing more wealth. If those reasons are not important to you, then probably would be happier without kids.