Having children requires planning and a solid financial situation.
One of the biggest decisions that you will have to make in your life is whether or not you are going to have children. Having children can really strain your personal finances – especially if you are not ready for them beforehand. Therefore, the best thing you can do for yourself and for your future children is to make sure that you are prepared financially to deal with the extra burden of dependent children on both your paycheck – and your time.
You can do this by making sure that you have a good home that you can keep (make sure you’re keeping up on your rent or mortgage payments). You should also have a steady job, and some savings in the bank. Beyond that, you should also have already started your retirement funds – just to make sure that there is something for you after you retire.
Finally, good spending habits are key to being able to afford having children on your current (or future) salary. Once you are able to control your own spending ability, you’ll be able to make sure that you don’t spend too much money on things that your children do not need.
One of the important things that you should also start once you’ve decided to have children, is a college fund. This will help them to pay off rising tuition costs in the future – and may even lessen the financial burden on you in the future.
Another thing that you should consider is that you will be under a lot of pressure to buy the next new thing for your children. This means, the newest toys, the newest music, the newest clothing. This is partly due to the massive advertising campaigns that are mainly directed at children. Therefore, you should learn early on how to say no to certain things – there’s no point in racking up credit card debt for unnecessary toys when it may impact your ability to take care of your family financially in the future. As a parent, the word “no” is your best friend.
Therefore, if you’re planning on having children, the best way to preserve your personal finances is to make sure that you have a solid financial situation first.