Tag Archives: The Smart and Savvy Mom

The Smart and Savvy Mom

I love being a mom. I never question whether or not I would choose another path if I had it to do all over again, when it comes to my kids. However, that doesn’t mean that, from time to time, I envy the people out there who made the decision to wait before having kids. My husband and I were 23 when we got pregnant with our first son (I was 24 when he was delivered) and, yes, he was planned. We had been married for three years and thought that we were ready to become parents.

For the most part, we have done a great job. The only thing we would have done differently is wait a little longer. Instead of having our first kiddo at 24, we probably would have waited until we were 25 before we started trying (if we could do it over). Neither one of us were prepared for how expensive kids really are before we had our first.

Yes, we knew that the little bundle of joy would cost us some money for nursery furniture, baby gear and all of that stuff. But, I didn’t think about the fact that babies grow up and turn into little people, requiring more space and more money. I know, kinda dumb not to think about that, right? But, I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one out there who didn’t think that far ahead when the “baby” talk came up the first time.

Babies do cost money and it doesn’t stop as they get older. In fact, it just gets more expensive. Think about the cost of clothes, groceries, toys, electronics, extracurricular activity fees and equipment, daycare/babysitting costs, college funds, new car (at 16), etc. The list just goes on and on. As I previously mentioned, …