How many kids can we afford?

My husband Steve and I have 3 daughters. My husband and I both come from big families and want to continue to have more children (with small hopes of having a boy) but with the current economy and future costs of higher education we are in limbo on whether we can afford it. We both go back and forth depending on who saw a baby that day or whether it is bill paying day! Obviously everyone thinks the "octoplet lady" went way overboard but if we want to be able to take our kids on vacation every year, have a nice retirement saving and send them all to college, is considering a fourth child overboard?

Having a larger family is fine, but you also want to consider the quality of life you can give them. If money is that much of an issue, you'd better think long and hard if you should have another child. Kids are expensive. I read somewhere that it can cost 250K per kid by the tmie they turn 18.

In all kindness, it sounds as if you want your cake and eat it, too. You want a large family and you want a worry-free lifestyle. Children are a blessing from God and are a lot of responsiblity financially, timewise, spiritually, socially, etc. It's best to "count the cost" now, before adding more children to the family and regretting your decision to have them. (Baby's are sweet, but they do turn into teenagers!)

Of course having a fourth child is reasonable. Demanding that you have all the material things that you crave is not reasonable, unless you have an endless supply of money.