This week focused on two important parts of the marriage relationship - keeping a healthy relationship with the in-laws, and the financial challenges that go with the different stages of rearing children. I am focusing on the financial portion for this post.
As I read chapter 11 of Bernard Poduska's "Til Debt Do Us Part", I could very well relate to the financial challenges that Poduska highlighted with each of the stages of the life cycle. Due to the timing in which our children came, it feels like we have raised two sets of children – the oldest (currently age 24) who was an only child until the age of 12, and then the two younger children (currently age 12 and 6). The age gap presented some real financial concerns, especially since my husband and I married when he was into his thirties. My husband was 52 years old when our youngest was born.
When Poduska was talking about how parents have less time to prepare for retirement due to marrying later, having children later, and children not leaving home until much later, I could really relate to his remarks. My husband gets teased sometimes at work, because in his department he happens to be the oldest, yet he has the youngest child. Associates his age are preparing for retirement and are sending out wedding invites for their children, or posting picture of grandchildren on Facebook. My husband, on the other hand, is feeling the pressure of having to work for quite a few more years to see our children through high-school and missions. The greatest concern is that he be able to work for as long as possible so that we have the insurance benefits for as long as possible.
The last two children were a blessing to our family, but they definitely changed the financial game up for us. Poduska talked about how the grocery budget increases during the teen year, and how the money just doesn’t stretch to the end of the month. We live that life right now. Growing boys never stop eating, and grow out of shoes and pants every time you turn around! We are discovering that this phase creates the biggest challenges to sticking to a budget, but makes a budget more necessary than ever before.
I really liked some of the ideas that Poduska presented, like the 50/50 plan. We have used that one before and find that it not only helps the kids have some responsibility for earning what they get, it also helps them to learn quickly to distinguish between needs and wants.
Something that both my husband and I learned from our parents that has made providing for our family less stressful is the understanding that we don’t always have to have the most expensive, or even the newest of anything. Used cars, used appliances, hand-me-down clothing, and other such things are good enough. “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” are words to live by.
As I read chapter 11 of Bernard Poduska's "Til Debt Do Us Part", I could very well relate to the financial challenges that Poduska highlighted with each of the stages of the life cycle. Due to the timing in which our children came, it feels like we have raised two sets of children – the oldest (currently age 24) who was an only child until the age of 12, and then the two younger children (currently age 12 and 6). The age gap presented some real financial concerns, especially since my husband and I married when he was into his thirties. My husband was 52 years old when our youngest was born.
When Poduska was talking about how parents have less time to prepare for retirement due to marrying later, having children later, and children not leaving home until much later, I could really relate to his remarks. My husband gets teased sometimes at work, because in his department he happens to be the oldest, yet he has the youngest child. Associates his age are preparing for retirement and are sending out wedding invites for their children, or posting picture of grandchildren on Facebook. My husband, on the other hand, is feeling the pressure of having to work for quite a few more years to see our children through high-school and missions. The greatest concern is that he be able to work for as long as possible so that we have the insurance benefits for as long as possible.
The last two children were a blessing to our family, but they definitely changed the financial game up for us. Poduska talked about how the grocery budget increases during the teen year, and how the money just doesn’t stretch to the end of the month. We live that life right now. Growing boys never stop eating, and grow out of shoes and pants every time you turn around! We are discovering that this phase creates the biggest challenges to sticking to a budget, but makes a budget more necessary than ever before.
I really liked some of the ideas that Poduska presented, like the 50/50 plan. We have used that one before and find that it not only helps the kids have some responsibility for earning what they get, it also helps them to learn quickly to distinguish between needs and wants.
Something that both my husband and I learned from our parents that has made providing for our family less stressful is the understanding that we don’t always have to have the most expensive, or even the newest of anything. Used cars, used appliances, hand-me-down clothing, and other such things are good enough. “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” are words to live by.
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