Monday, May 08, 2006

If You Wait Until You Can Afford One - You'll Never Have One

That title was a piece of advice I received some 6 years ago. I wanted a child, but I felt that things would be too difficult with my husband still in college and we both were working near minimum wage jobs.

While at work at the grocery store, I was asked by a co-worker why I don't have any kids yet (I had been married for a few years at this point). I just replied that I don't have enough money to have a baby just yet. She just said, "If you wait until you can afford one - you'll never have one."

You know what? She was right and it made perfect sense to me. Much of our lives are spent getting to some point that we feel we are financially secure (and that point varies by person). There comes a point where you have to remember to live life at the present and not just live life for the future. After all, none of us really knows how long we will be here on this earth. Might as well make the best of the time we have here.

It probably wasn't but a few months after that before I became pregnant. Although I was scared out of my mind on how we would afford diapers, formula, etc. - it all went away when I held my son for the first time. Do I regret not waiting until we had better jobs? No way.

No amount of money could ever compare to the first time your child gazes into your eyes.

And if you are wondering - I think it is nearing the right time to try to add another member to our family. My clock is ticking :)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Go for it! It's amazing how you can find room in a budget when you need to. And if baby #2 means debt repayment takes a little longer, so be it. I absolutely adore my children and would certainly sacrifice (and have) paying off debt quickly to see their faces.

Ashley said...

You are so right if you wait until you can afford a child you will be in your 50's. That's great if you are thinking about adding another memeber to the family. My hubby wants children right now. I'm not ready, we've only been married for 8 months and I'm still in my early 20's. He just turned 30 so I think his clock is ticking. wink wink.

BAD said...

I keep going back and forth on having another one. It is so frustrating to feel this way. I guess the biggest thing holding me back is health insurance but I will be looking into that shortly.

Thanks for the words of encouragement!