I make more than the average household in my state as a single man.
I can barely keep my life afloat.
I have a girlfriend who so makes more than the average household in my state.
She can barely keep her life afloat.
We are both in relatively stable positions.
Ain’t no way in hell we could afford to buy a house and have a kid. We would need at least 100% more money. At a minimum.
I have a friend who, between his wife and him, do make nearly 100% more than us. They have a kid. They… Are hoping their lease agreement doesnt change because what’s available for housing is a joke, and expensive.
It doesn’t help that most “pro family” research groups are right wing lunatics telling our leaders that it’s not their fault that people aren’t having kids
If I bought an average 4br 2 bath house today and got two average car leases and spent an average amount on utilities, taxes, food, kids clothes, and live an otherwise austere life, it would run about $7500/month.
If I wanted to save for vacations, hobbies for the kids… Pay for private school and college? Itd be about $14k/mo.
So basically raising 3 kids requires your household pulls down between $150k and 350k to live the American dream.
A person goes to college, works a few years, meets somebody and doesn’t want to rush into anything—maybe wants to pay off student loans first or save for a house, which takes a few years or more.
Maybe? Most people I know in this scenario wait until they have their financial lives in order (have enough money to save a little something after paying for all of their expenses including student loans) before even getting married. If they can’t save they are typically not getting married. And then they try to save more before buying a place before considering having one child. By the time they reach a stable financial level they may have aged themselves out of a larger family.
The only people I know who are having kids in their 20s or earlier into their relationships are having unplanned pregnancies.
Archive Link : https://archive.ph/NbViJ
Also, if people can’t afford homes and have less job security, you can see why there is a difference
I make more than the average household in my state as a single man.
I can barely keep my life afloat.
I have a girlfriend who so makes more than the average household in my state.
She can barely keep her life afloat.
We are both in relatively stable positions.
Ain’t no way in hell we could afford to buy a house and have a kid. We would need at least 100% more money. At a minimum.
I have a friend who, between his wife and him, do make nearly 100% more than us. They have a kid. They… Are hoping their lease agreement doesnt change because what’s available for housing is a joke, and expensive.
It doesn’t help that most “pro family” research groups are right wing lunatics telling our leaders that it’s not their fault that people aren’t having kids
If I bought an average 4br 2 bath house today and got two average car leases and spent an average amount on utilities, taxes, food, kids clothes, and live an otherwise austere life, it would run about $7500/month.
If I wanted to save for vacations, hobbies for the kids… Pay for private school and college? Itd be about $14k/mo.
So basically raising 3 kids requires your household pulls down between $150k and 350k to live the American dream.
Minimum wage pays $14,500/year.
Thanks for the archive link. From the article:
Maybe? Most people I know in this scenario wait until they have their financial lives in order (have enough money to save a little something after paying for all of their expenses including student loans) before even getting married. If they can’t save they are typically not getting married. And then they try to save more before buying a place before considering having one child. By the time they reach a stable financial level they may have aged themselves out of a larger family.
The only people I know who are having kids in their 20s or earlier into their relationships are having unplanned pregnancies.