Let's all confess our financial follies

re: Let's all confess our financial follies

MESIMPSON — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:59:28 GMT

Kids are great. Hey someone has to have them, right? But, I think most of those that have kids get the timing all wrong. The time to raise kids is after you retire, when you have the time, money and wisdom to do it right. Not in your 20's or 30's when you're still trying to get your own life under control.

re: Let's all confess our financial follies

Stella — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:36:15 GMT

Not all parents feel their children are the greatest thing in the world. I love my kid, but my regrets lie mostly in the arena of "I wish we had waited longer to do it". Some of the time, it's a pain, and I hate that I can't do what I want or need to do when I need to do it, and the fact that I can't ever get any time to myself. But a lot of that has to do with other matters related to my SO.

I know a few childless by choice couples, including an aunt and uncle, and while I respect their decision, I don't know that if I went back in time I wouldn't do it again.

As far as financial foibles, I would have to say asking too much for our house when we sold it a few years ago, and then leasing it, and then ending up having to pay double mortgage when we really couldn't afford it. And also learning to manage my money the hard way-through debt collection and later consolidation after college.

re: Let's all confess our financial follies

beth — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:08:39 GMT

I do not think the author's intent was to imply that people regretted having children because of what it cost them. Perhaps it is more that they regret not being more financially stable (or financially stable at all) when they had their kids.

I am at that point in my life. I am nearing 30 and would love to have children, but what kind of life would my precious child have if it's mommy was working 75 hours a week just to put food on the table?

The point was not to say that having children should be a financial decision but rather to say that choosing WHEN to have them should rely on your financial ability to give them the best life possible.

re: Let's all confess our financial follies

Danielle — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:47:16 GMT

I spend so much money on jewelery I should open a store. Did I mention that I use my credit cards to buy it? The ones with minimum payments high enough to equal an average car payment? (I'm obviously too selfish to reproduce, so let's not go there)

re: Let's all confess our financial follies

Typical middle-class guy — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:29:59 GMT

My foibles: 1. Giving my wife an expensive engagement ring, wedding and honeymoon. 2. Buying a house at the height of the real-estate boom. And yet, I still think these are the best and the most enjoyable mistakes I made. My wife appreciates #1 and we both wanted a house to live in (not as an investment), no matter what its current price. OTOH, 3. I sunk a lot of money in the stock market during the 2000 bubble and have nothing to show for it.

re: Let's all confess our financial follies

Working — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:51:14 GMT

I don't regret having a child on my own and being poor. I regret that the richest country in the world can't provide me with employment that earns a reasonable income for someone with a college degree and cannot provide working hours that are flexible enough for those struggling to be "supermoms." Instead, it provides us with worthless free programs that don't do much for us, and allows single and poor parents to carry a stigma. People complaining that they are supporting needy America, obviously have been very lucky, and have never had to go a day hungry in their life. Those people shouldn't have children. They love money, not humanity. They are worthless to the entire world. The rest of us have learned that the true currency is faith.

re: Let's all confess our financial follies

Drowning In Debt — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:39:46 GMT

I'm just out of college and $85,000 in debt from tuition and other college expenses. It's overwhelming to think about, but I don't regret it. There needs to be a better way for people like me. I come from a middle class family and I have 3 siblings. My parents are not by any means poor, but they couldn't afford to pay for all four of us to go to college. Therefore, I borrowed my way through school and did recieve aid from scholarships, but not nearly enough. You think the housing market is bad now, just wait until my generation, "the debt generation", is out there. We're too overwhelmed with student loans and credit card debt to ever buy a house.

re: Let's all confess our financial follies

PHX13 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:23:13 GMT

I think one of the worst things people do is to compare themselves to each other in general. This is how you get people who are not academically inclined going to colleges (even state colleges) that they cannot afford and aren't willing to pay for later, people having babies because it is in fashion, and twenty-somethings driving cars that cost more than their parents houses. At 28 I do not have a car loan, but I have student loan debt. My parents could not pay for college and I learned my money mistakes the hard way. If you do have children, teach them about money early and don't let them make the mistakes kids make now. I don't have children and as one of six kids, I may never have children. If you can't afford it, don't do it. There is no excuse.

re: Let's all confess our financial follies

susanosf@yahoo.com — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:19:35 GMT

Me too...no children and extremely happy. 48 yrs old and have never wanted any, and never experienced a 'maternal feeling' in my life - so why do parents insist on saying having kids is the greatest thing in the world? Plus, when this is stated 9 times out of 10 there is an almost desperate air about it - as if it's the politically correct thing to say. Maybe these parents discovered after the fact, that it's not quite what it's cracked up to be? Now....Freedom of choice....that's the ticket!

re: Let's all confess our financial follies

shouldknowbetterbynow — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:01:57 GMT

credit cards - lenders were way too free with credit limits and now they are facing mega default rates

mortgages - lenders made them too easy to get - same result as credit cards

stock market - bunch of greedy investors wondering when the other shoe is going to drop and how to escape before the youknowwhat hits the fan

average consumer - in the middle of the whole mess!

Kids - priceless!