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Thread: Ain't this the truth!

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    Ain't this the truth!

    To Retire Early, Don't Have Kids




    Sydney Lagier, On Wednesday September 29, 2010, 3:56 pm EDT

    If your dreams include retiring early, you're going to have to save money more quickly than someone who retires at a traditional age. There's a lot of advice out there about how to save more money: Forego a daily latte, give up cable TV, stop eating meals out, and get your books from the library. Sure, you will save a few bucks this way, which will add up over the years. But if you really want to supercharge your retirement savings, think big. Don't have kids.
    [Find Your Best Place to Retire.]
    According to this calculator at Babycenter.com, the cost of raising and educating the requisite 2.3 kids where I live would have set me back nearly a million dollars. That's a lot of lattes. I would have had to forego nearly 273,000 lattes to generate that kind of cash. Even if I stopped at the coffee shop every day on the way to work, it would have taken me 1,092 latte-free years to amass that pile of cash.
    These figures only take into consideration the direct costs, such as feeding, clothing, and educating the kids. They don't include the hit to household income when one parent decides to give up a career or downshift for a few years in order to be home with the kids. Nor do the figures include what Ann Kingston describes as the motherhood premium in a Maclean's magazine article. The motherhood premium is the plateau and subsequent drop in salary experienced by university-educated women after having a child.
    [See 5 Tips for Adjusting to Retirement.]
    The costs also don't reflect the dip in marital bliss. Vicki Glembocki reports in a Philadelphia magazine article that after the first baby is born, marital satisfaction drops in 70 percent of couples. A 2005 study by researchers at Vanderbilt and Florida State University reports a higher rate of depression among parents than among nonparents. "Parents experience lower levels of emotional well-being, less frequent positive emotions, and more frequent negative emotions than their childless peers," according to study co-author Robin Simon. "In fact, no group of parents--married, single, step, or even empty nest--reported significantly greater emotional well-being than people who never had children."
    A growing number of women are deciding not to have kids at all. According to a 2006 Census Bureau report, 20 percent of women in the U.S. between the ages of 40 and 44 don't have kids. That's twice as many as three decades ago. And the numbers go up as the level of education goes up. Some 27 percent of women with advanced degrees in the same age group are child-free.
    [See The 100 Best Mutual Funds for the Long Term.]
    Now I'm willing to bet that early retirement dreams are not influencing these trends. It certainly didn't figure into my own decision not to have kids. But I can't deny the impact that my decision had on my own ability to retire at the age of 44. Of course, if you decide to give up the joys of parenthood, you'll have to be comfortable being out of the mainstream. But then again, that will be good practice for being out of the mainstream when you retire long before you are eligible for your first Social Security check.

  2. #2
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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    Do I stand a chance if I never indulge the morning brew or the evening brewsky? I know I have saved a lot of money by not partaking in either of these compared to some coworkers? Probably still going to leave me a little shy by the time I am 65.

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    Just for the record I have raised 4 kids, and wouldn't trade any of them for a chance to retire earlier. Won't have to...my two youngest are aging me so fast with their decision-making, they are killing me!

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    Quote Originally Posted by dawg80 View Post
    Just for the record I have raised 4 kids, and wouldn't trade any of them for a chance to retire earlier. Won't have to...my two youngest are aging me so fast with their decision-making, they are killing me!

    I have to agree and I only have 1. My hairline has receded so fast I would actually term it an act of cowardess. My body is already planning for an early exit and the kid is only 1 1/2.

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    Quote Originally Posted by techman05 View Post
    I have to agree and I only have 1. My hairline has receded so fast I would actually term it an act of cowardess. My body is already planning for an early exit and the kid is only 1 1/2.


    I know that feeling

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    I have no children. I retired at 47.

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    Quote Originally Posted by BuzDawg73 View Post
    I have no children. I retired at 47.
    What do you do with your time?

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    I think the biggest myth about retirement is that you will get bored. The truth is you can stay as busy as you want, or you can be not busy if you want. It can change from day to day because it is all up to YOU. I got involved in taking art classes, something I enjoyed while at Tech. I ended up teaching some pottery classes and doing exhibits of my work in galleries around the area. I only involve myself to the extent I want. There are days where I accomplish absolutely nothing other than turning on the computer or picking up the remote, and that is fine with me.

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    Can you skin a buck or run a trot line?

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    More and more people are opting to remain childless. Which should make Aub happy, he was always worried about over-population.

    I have a few friends that are in their 40s and 50s and have remained childless. They do have a lot more disposable income than I do! My two sons, both in their 30s and both gainfully employed, still cost me money. Now, we have our first grandchild...so guess who provided $3K to open an account with a stockbroker for her? No...not the Tooth Fairy! It was me! Not to mention that my wife thinks our grandaughter needs every outfit that Dillards, Target, and Stage have in her size. How many outfits can she wear?????

    Still.....my kids are my treasure. I would not wish to kill to defend my cash stash, I would, but I would feel bad about it...I would not hesitate to defend my kids with deadly force. Money can be replaced. You never get over the loss of a child...

    For you childless folks...if that is your wish, fine. But, you will never know what it means to have a bond with someone, as a parent does with a child. YOUR parents know! But, you don't. And you are the poorer for it.

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    Quote Originally Posted by maddawg View Post
    Can you skin a buck or run a trot line?



    I am sure I could do that if I learned how. But I wouldn't.

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    I'd rather work the rest of my life than not have my son. And I'll probably have to!

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    Quote Originally Posted by dawg80 View Post
    More and more people are opting to remain childless. Which should make Aub happy, he was always worried about over-population.

    I have a few friends that are in their 40s and 50s and have remained childless. They do have a lot more disposable income than I do! My two sons, both in their 30s and both gainfully employed, still cost me money. Now, we have our first grandchild...so guess who provided $3K to open an account with a stockbroker for her? No...not the Tooth Fairy! It was me! Not to mention that my wife thinks our grandaughter needs every outfit that Dillards, Target, and Stage have in her size. How many outfits can she wear?????

    Still.....my kids are my treasure. I would not wish to kill to defend my cash stash, I would, but I would feel bad about it...I would not hesitate to defend my kids with deadly force. Money can be replaced. You never get over the loss of a child...

    For you childless folks...if that is your wish, fine. But, you will never know what it means to have a bond with someone, as a parent does with a child. YOUR parents know! But, you don't. And you are the poorer for it.

    I think you are making an assumption that we don't have children because we want money. I suppose that may be the case for some, but I don't believe for most. Since I have never wanted children I do not feel the poorer for not having the bond that you experience. That is something you cherish, but I am perfectly happy living without. The strong love I have for my dogs is a very intense feeling for me. I could easily say if you do not have a dog, you are the poorer for it. That comes from my perspective of life, not necessarily yours. I am happy you have a fulfilled life because of your children, and thank goodness there are people who desire to have children, but please don't assume my life is diminished without them because I would not trade my life for yours.

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    Quote Originally Posted by Dawgmatic View Post
    I'd rather work the rest of my life than not have my son. And I'll probably have to!


    I truly believe once people have a child they can not imagine their life without that child. I used to ask guys I worked with why they decided to have children, and it was pretty universal that they could not see their lives without them, once they had them. What was interesting was their comments on why they had them. Very, very few ever said it was because they wanted children. The most common answer was because they were expected to have them or they felt pressure to have them. I wish someone would do a big study about this because I did not expect those responses. It makes me wonder if men would choose to have children if there were no external forces working on them. I am sure if I had asked women the responses would have been different. In 1975, I can distinctly remember an episode where I experienced this strong paternal feeling, which resulted in a phone call to the woman I was pinned to while at Tech, thinking that relationship needed to be resurrected. That paternal feeling lasted about 30 minutes, and never returned. It is funny how it is such a specific memory for me. Anyway, not sure where I was going with this post. I guess it would be interesting to hear people's various experiences on this topic. (But I don't want to be accused of hijacking a thread. :icon_wink

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    Re: Ain't this the truth!

    What kind of dog do you have?

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