Although this may be surprising to some, not every person and/or couple wants to have kids. Some people aren’t interested in taking on the extra work that kids require. Others don’t want the financial responsibility associated with children. There are financial benefits of not having kids, for instance, choosing not to have children means not having to pay for a child’s (or children’s) birth, day-to-day expenses or college. Over an individual’s lifetime, this can add up to a significant amount of money. Some people choose not to take on such expenses because they don’t have the money to, others simply because they would rather not.
Financial Benefits of Not Having Kids
No Birthing Expenses: Having a baby delivered isn’t cheap. In fact, it cost a significant amount of money to do so. This is especially true if a person doesn’t have insurance. Those that do not can expect to pay between $9,000 (vaginal delivery) and $15,000 (Cesarean Section). If complications arise, they may end up paying much more.
Delivery costs for someone with insurance is significantly less. However, most insurance plans will require that the insured pay some sort of co-pay. This could end up being several thousand dollars. A person or couple who decides not to have a baby wouldn’t be saddled with this expense. This is in addition to pre-natal care, diapers, formulas, clothes, toys, etc.
No Day-to-Day Expenses; It costs money to raise children. The day-to-day expenses, like daycare can be prohibitive. Parents have to pay for food, clothes and other essentials which can quickly add up, especially if a person has more than one child. Individuals with multiple children would see these costs multiplied by the number of children they have.
No College Expenses: College is becoming increasingly expensive. In fact, it is becoming so costly, that many parents cannot afford it. Many parents can’t afford to send their child to a four-year college. Instead, they can only send them to a junior or community college because they can’t afford anything else. Some parents can’t afford to send their child to any type of college.
There is often an assumption that every person wants kids. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are many people who decide against having children. Some do so because of financial reasons. The financial benefits of not having kids are pretty substantial. Adults that decide not to have children don’t have to pay for the day-to-day expenses associated with having children or for college. Over the course of a person’s life, this can add up to a substantial amount of money.
Have you ever considered the financial benefits of not having kids? Would this affect your decision?
I think one of the biggest financial benefits of not having kids is the fact that both partners can devote more time and energy to growing their income. There are plenty of executives and entrepreneurs with kids, but I would say they usually have a lot of help in terms of paid help or a stay-at-home parent.
I don’t think folks who truly want kids should let money stand in the way, but I also don’t think it’s wrong to factor money into your decision-making process. The way I see it is, given how expensive and time-consuming kids are, people better be certain that they are ready to become parents. That’s one decision you can’t undo.
I tend to agree with you on the money bit. I personally only plan on having 1 kid. This will keep the expenses very low
I can respect that every person has to make their own decisions in life. But when it comes to kids, people have to think beyond the financial. Having kids is one of the biggest “investments” you’ll ever make and one of the greatest “returns” you’ll ever receive.
Thanks MMD. I’m not trying to say people shouldn’t have kids. I’m just trying to initiate the conversation that people are too afraid to have because it sounds bad.
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[...] from Young Family Finance published Financial Benefits of Not Having Kids, saying, ‘Discover some of the financial benefits of not having kids. It may surprise you to [...]
While I certainly wouldn’t argue that it is less expensive not to have children I think a lot of people grossly overestimate how much kids cost or put too much stock into what is ‘expected’ for parents to do for their children. I’ve been doing a series called Baby on a Budget: http://www.preservingpennies.blogspot.com/2012/02/baby-on-budget-hand-me-downs-and-second.html about how we save money while raising our kid. He’s barely cost us anything yet and he’s 9 months old. I was also able to make arrangements at work that will require us to have very minimal childcare. I plan to contribute to my children’s college fund to help them out if they decide to go but I won’t be paying for it all- regardless of whether I can afford to or not.
[...] questions which needs to be answered is how much needs to be saved for their college education. (Those without children do not need to worry about this financial burden). With the cost of college going up each year [...]