Have a child
In bad economic times, people tend to put off having kids. Birth rates typically fall during recessions, sometimes dramatically.During the Great Depression, for instance, the fertility rate dropped to a then-historic low of 2.1 children per woman, compared with 2.8 in 1928, according to the Population Research Bureau. The oil shocks of the 1970s sent the rate to another new low, 1.7 children per woman.
Bureau demographer Carl Haub expects the rate will drop again as layoffs mount during the current recession.
"You can look at the fertility rate and the level of employment in a country," Haub said, "and the two go together."
But Sally and her husband, Scott, who both work as actuaries in Portland, Ore., saw no reason to wait. She's due to have a baby in June and has given her employer notice that she won't be coming back to work.
"I feel kind of guilty, shouting out that I get to quit my job when other people are losing theirs," said Sally, who asked that the couple's last name not be used. But they have been living "well below our means for years to keep open the option for one of us to stop working or for us to pursue lower-paying occupations."
One example of their frugality: Rather than upgrade to a more expensive home as their earnings rose, the couple remained in the small two-bedroom, one-bath home that Sally bought eight months after her college graduation, when she was earning $40,000 a year.
"Our cars are paid off," Sally said. "We've banked our raises rather than spending them. . . . So here I am, pulling the trigger despite the current state of the economy."
- Talk back: How do you cut costs for a baby?
Amanda Skyora of Union, Ohio, is also due in June, but she and her husband, Brian, aren't quite so well-prepared.
Sykora's family has a history of miscarriages and problems getting pregnant, so her doctor urged to her to start trying with the idea that "if we did not become pregnant in six to eight months, he would step in and help."
"We thought it was going to take a long time to get pregnant," said Skyora, who works in insurance. "We thought we'd have plenty of time to save up."
More from MSN Money
So Skyora went off her birth control in September. Two weeks later, she was pregnant.
The couple have made progress. They have only $1,000 in savings, but Skyora just sent in the last payment on what had been $20,000 in credit card debt. Her husband, a welder, floated the idea of buying a new truck, which she vetoed.
"I am determined that we start putting every extra penny into savings," she said. "My goal is to have $5,000 (saved) before I have to go on maternity leave."
My take: I believe you shouldn't have more kids than you can afford -- and that if you wait until you're sure you can afford kids, you'll never have them. (Dealing with paradoxes is, by the way, a skill you learn as a parent: The days are long, but the years are short, etc.)
So do the best you can. You have at least nine months to start getting your finances in better shape; if you can start earlier, even better. To Amanda, Brian, Sally, Scott and all you other parents-to-be, I say congratulations and welcome to a wonderful new world.
See "8 smart tips for affording a baby."
Published Jan. 22, 2009
< previous | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Rate this Article
High