Finances during childhood and your life today

[flygirl22]

I don't think that growing up in a house without a lot of money held me back really. My parents were terrible with money, and they didn't have a lot of it. I didn't want to be like that so I learned to manage my money well. I also picked a profession that I knew would give me a chance to make a good living. I have know way of knowing how I would be different if I grew up with money. It did hold me back a bit financially when I first started out because I had to pay my own way through college, but it was short lived and not that big of a deal.

I have 3 siblings.

When I was really young we were poor. My dad was in school and my mom held 3 jobs to keep us a float. We lived in a studio apartment (parents + 2 kids). When my dad graduated we moved to a smallll town, my mom couldn't work so she stayed at home with us. Still, very poor, no extras, but food on the table every  night. My mom went back to school when we moved to a bigger town, I was in middle school (those 2 years sucked), when she graduated we were pretty solidly middle class, that was right when I started High School.

I only want one children, mainly for financial reasons. And partly just because I don't really want to have to stress about money ever. We could afford to have more, just don't want to.

[turtletop90]

If you grew up in a household with plenty of money, do you think that helped you and in what ways?
My parents barely talked about our finances. I wish they did. Only recently did my Dad share some financial info with me from when I was growing up. Apparently, we had a pretty high HHI, but we also had a big family, so most of it just went right back out. We always seemed comfortable, though.

How many siblings do you have? 4

Feel free to elaborate on your definition of "a lot of" or "plenty" of money.
Not having to worry about paying basic necessities; having enough for extras (nice gifts, family vacations, etc.)

At what point is the financial burden of another child too much to bear for you?
We decided that we really wanted 2 kids, and no more than that. We couldn't afford any more due to HCOL, but that's not the main reason. We just don't want more than 2.


ETA: I forgot to add how it impacts me today. I basically had to learn a ton of stuff about finances as an adult. I didn't have a clue about any of it until maybe my late 20s. I think now I know more than my parents about many things. Also, I wasn't very motivated to find a well-paying career. I majored in Fine Art because I loved painting, and thought everything would just "work out." My parents always valued hard work, but I never learned how to tie it in with money/income. So I've worked hard at all my past jobs, but haven't really made a career for myself.

[holly116]

I grew up in an unstable financial environment. My dad was/is in sales and there were certainly lean years. My mom has a business degree but her anxiety pretty much controlled her completely and she would not work. Even when we faced foreclosure. She very much blamed my dad for not doing enough to earn more which was a big part of their divorce which happened when I was in college.

I remember times where they would drop health insurance, for example. However, my parent are also completely terrible with money so it's not entirely clear if it was a lack of funds or just a lack of living within means. We were always house poor, living in country club communities and not having furniture in any of the rooms on the first floor, leasing cars. We built and moved several times to try and play the real estate market. Paying for anything was always a struggle and things like back to school shopping were really stressful. As far as holding me back, I actually qualified for a lot of grants and even received free books my first few years of college. Their finances sucked so badly that they were denied parent plus loans and I was able to qualify for some unsubsidized stuff on my own. So thankfully they really sucked instead of just kind of sucking?

My parents had three kids. I'm the oldest and they had me incredibly young (mom was 18, dad 24), got married and then my sister is 7 years younger. My surprise little brother is 14 years younger than me

Because of all this, I was drawn to studying business and specifically finance in school. I didn't ever want to live like that and thank God, my DH and I don't. We live in a LCOL city and I'm able to be at home while the kids are little. If I needed to go back to work though, like if DH lost his job or our situation changed, I'd do it in a heartbeat. We are on track and currently save 15% for retirement, have an emergency fund, support charities that are important to us, have ample life and every other type of insurance and haven't had any consumer debt the entire time we've been married. I never want my kids to feel any sort of stress from us about family finances. Ever.

[lys]

I grew up dirt poor.  It did not hold me back as I was determined not to stay poor in my adult life.and worked hard in school and at jobs.  I learned many good life lessons on time management, knowing the difference between a need and a want as well as how to make a dollar stretch, saving before buying and others.
I held me back from taking advantage of some opportunities in school & college where the experience cost $$ more than I could afford (and yes I paid for them, not my parents).
There were 6 people (4 kids of which I am the oldest & 2parents) living in a small 3 bedroom/1 bath house (and my grandmother later came and stayed with us as well)
I was fortunate to have a full tuition merit scholarship to a big ten school - and also worked 24 hours on weekends (12 hours sat & 12 hours sun - well, that did hold me back from partying). Parents gave lots of encouragement - but no $ for college.
I had a very limited wardrobe (12" of closet bar would accommodate it) and 2 pairs of shoes (maybe that is why I LOVE shoes? I bought my own clothing beginning at age 13 with baby sitting money. No allowance once I started to earn my own money - paid for my own entertainment. Parents owned 1 car and I did not buy my first vehicle until after college grad. and had my 1st job.

My experience growing up poor has impacted my views on money, saving, being debt averse which has proved to work out well for us.  We paid off 2 home mortgages, but spend little on cars (depreciating asset) and live below our means overall with a good deal of savings and well funded retirement.

I have 2 children - that was all I can handle both emotionally and time wise.

[mokes]

I think DH and I were both very fortunate to have our degrees paid for and not have the burden of student loans. We benefited from good educations and knowing we had many opportunities available to us. It's also easier to take risks when you have a safety net. Our parents paid for our wedding. I also had the benefit of understanding credit and maintaining good credit from an early age.

However, my sister and I grew up in the same household, and her money management skills are not great. I think this is more a function of how my parents treated her -- she was a sick child, and my parents spoiled her and didn't push her like they did with me -- than how they managed their own money, for the most part. Similarly, my DH is pretty frugal but his younger brother is super entitled.

I don't have kids so I can't really comment on the last part.

[genet313]

If you grew up in a household without a lot of money, do you think it has held you back in life at all? My parents owned a business, and there were definitely lean years, and I can remember them, based on where we could shop for clothes, what we were eating, how often we ate out, vacations (really, no vacation), how often my grandparents would bring over groceries, etc.  My aunt/uncle never had kids and lived closed, so they did a lot for us and my grandparents did too, which helped.  However, they eventually started doing well and invested a lot, mostly real estate, which has paid off for them and given them financial freedom.  

ETA: My parents view of finances and how to handle finances had more of an impact on me than anything else.  Even during the lean times, I may have been upset not to shop at the Gap or whatever store was cool in 1992, but it didn't hold me back at all.

How many siblings do you have? 2 younger brothers

Feel free to elaborate on your definition of "a lot of" or "plenty" of money.  We make plenty of money now, with both of us working.  We have no debt (except for the impending mortgage) and live comfortably.  "A lot of" money for me would mean we're able to pay off the mortgage early and have significant retirement and other savings, plus a funded college fund.

A lot of people (in MMM) responded in a thread last week that for financial reasons, they won't have any more kids. At what point is the financial burden of another child too much to bear for you?  I'm pregnant after IVF (and multiple other failed treatments).  We had decent coverage for this round, so weren't OOP for the whole thing.  But we will be 100% OOP for the next child.  I would like to do IVF again, I want 2 children.  I am willing to go back to work after this first child is born to save the money to do another couple of rounds of IVF if need be, but at some point, it will be cost prohibitive for us.  

After that, of course, there's the cost of raising a child, but as long as I work, I don't worry that we'll be able to afford 2 children.  If DH makes significantly more money, I'd like to SAH, but that's unlikely at this point.  I do like my job, which compounds this, but the most important factor is that I make a good salary and it's really hard to walk away from that.  It feels not "smart" to walk away from that, if that makes sense.  Luckily, I have family who want to provide weekday care for my child, so I can work without having to dip into my salary for daycare.

[L]

My parents aren't on any Forbes lists, but they are definitely not middle class (even though they think they are...) We lived modestly but obviously my parents paying for six figures of undergrad and grad school, first cars, rent, etc helped me and my sister start out adulthood financially ahead of many of our peers.

It's also affected my perception of financial stability. It's unlikely that H and I will be able to amass that type of wealth ourselves and I constantly compare my career to what my parents were doing at my age. I don't feel like we're ready to have children (and I have been on the fence on this issue) in large part due to worry that we won't be able to give our future children everything I had without receiving help from my parents (which I don't want to need).

[v]

My parents were never struggling, but I grew up in a household where specifics were never discussed because they considered none of my business. Which is fine -- they weren't.

At any rate, the amount of money my parents had didn't influence me. The way they handled their money did. My father (and his parents before him) had more than their fair share of German/midwestern practicality in them. I learned from a very young age that things like library fines were groundable offenses (throwing money away!), credit cards are not to be abused and you do NOT pay interest on them ever, you do not pay ATM fees unless it is a dire emergency, it is exceedingly important to save for retirement, etc. I have some weird cheapnesses as a result but I think it contributed greatly to me being financially responsible.

It is interestingly to contrast it to my husband's upbringing. His mother grew up poor, and in contrast to my family (where frugality is seen as a virtue), to them you it is very, very important that you never look cheap/look like you can't provide enough food/etc.

[kadams767]

If you grew up in a household without a lot of money, do you think it has held you back in life at all?

I don't know if saying that it held me back in life is 100% accurate, because I have a pretty nice life now, but it was definitely a big factor in a lot of things. Money was really, really tight around my house growing up and it was really hard to hear my parents fight about money, to know that everything I wanted to do cost money that they didn't have. I spent a fair amount of time as a kid feeling hurt and resentful that we couldn't afford things the other kids had. My parents made it sound like the other kids were just spoiled brats, and looking back on their attitudes towards it now as an adult, I can see that it was all very unhealthy. It took me quite awhile to not be resentful of people with money, or even to realize that most of the people my parents would tell me were rich and spoiled were actually just, well, not poor like us.

I was not able to attend my first choice college, had to miss a lot of extracurricular and campus activities during college because I had to work all.the.time, that kind of stuff. I mostly wish that I had a little more financial freedom when I was younger to make a few different choices, if that makes any sense. It was hard to make virtually every choice when I was 18-26 based on money (that I didn't have). It was a really, really stressful time for me.

How many siblings do you have? One.

Feel free to elaborate on your definition of "a lot of" or "plenty" of money. "Plenty" of money would have meant being able to pay all of our bills on time, not be scrimping just to get gas in the car, and be able to afford a few extras like new clothes or a school trip without it being a major issue.

A lot of people (in MMM) responded in a thread last week that for financial reasons, they won't have any more kids.
At what point is the financial burden of another child too much to bear for you? We don't have kids, and my financial paranoia is a big part of it. I have serious issues with having a kid that I couldn't "properly" afford. It's probably delusional, but I would have trouble if I had kids and couldn't afford stuff for them like reasonable activities, some vacations, and college.

[partyof4]

If you grew up in a household with plenty of money, do you think that helped you and in what ways?

Yes. Being financially well off allowed my parents to send us to private primary school, high school and college. In my community, going to my high school opens tons of doors career wise. Both of my jobs and both of my husband's jobs were attained through high school connections. Our alumni events are the best networking events in the city. Also, since they paid for my college, don't have any student loans.

How many siblings do you have? one biological and three adopted

Feel free to elaborate on your definition of "a lot of" or "plenty" of money. Large house in a great neighborhood, the best schools, new cars when we turned 16 and then again for college graduation, elaborate vacations and down payments for houses for all the kids.

[kadams767]

Sept 29, 2014 14:59:17 GMT -5 operagirl said:

Friends had more non-tangible things I wish I had: my parents never read a book; never went to the opera or symphony; never discussed anything intellectual, nor made any effort to understand what interested me.  Friends' parents were more engaged, more worldly, and I wanted that. 

This is another really big thing that has impacted me, and operagirl said it well.  It was hard enough for me that my parents couldn't afford most things I wanted to do, but it was even harder for me that they couldn't even understand WHY I wanted them.  I often felt like an outsider in my own house for wanting more, like it was absolute insanity to wish I could go on the class trip to D.C. or the French club trip to Paris. 

[carfar]

Sept 29, 2014 11:32:04 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

If you grew up in a household without a lot of money, do you think it has held you back in life at all?

My parents are divorced and I lived with my mom, in a VHCOL area, so money was very tight. I don't think I've been held back in life much by this, mainly because; My grandparents did have money, and helped out sometimes, especially when it came to things for me. My mom was also always on the look out for opportunities for me,  I also went to school in a very affluent area, I had friends who had things and got to do things (and invite me along) I would never have been able to do on my own. I think if these things were not the case, I would've been at a disadvantage. 

If you grew up in a household with plenty of money, do you think that helped you and in what ways?

I do think the financial assistance I did receive helped me.

How many siblings do you have?

Only child.. this helped. 

Feel free to elaborate on your definition of "a lot of" or "plenty" of money.



A lot of people (in MMM) responded in a thread last week that for financial reasons, they won't have any more kids.
At what point is the financial burden of another child too much to bear for you?


Well, we have to pay exorbitant adoption fees just to try and start a family... so that alone may prove too much for us to have a second.. so we'll see.     

[my3bears]

If you grew up in a household with plenty of money, do you think that helped you and in what ways?

Absolutely. Education was a huge priority for my parents. Plus no student loans so I was able to live independently right out of college and put extra money directly to savings and investments.

How many siblings do you have?

One.

A lot of people (in MMM) responded in a thread last week that for financial reasons, they won't have any more kids.

At what point is the financial burden of another child too much to bear for you?

My dad put so much pressure on me as a kid to not waste my expensive education and prepped me so much about how I need to get a high-paying job and make so much money so I can give my kid all the things he gave me that... he scared me into not wanting to have kids. :'(He's devastated, to put it lightly. There are a couple other factors at play, too, but I would never tell him that his pressure is one of the factors, he's upset enough as is. 

[my3bears]

Sept 29, 2014 15:38:50 GMT -5 L said:

My parents aren't on any Forbes lists, but they are definitely not middle class (even though they think they are...) We lived modestly but obviously my parents paying for six figures of undergrad and grad school, first cars, rent, etc helped me and my sister start out adulthood financially ahead of many of our peers.

It's also affected my perception of financial stability. It's unlikely that H and I will be able to amass that type of wealth ourselves and I constantly compare my career to what my parents were doing at my age. I don't feel like we're ready to have children (and I have been on the fence on this issue) in large part due to worry that we won't be able to give our future children everything I had without receiving help from my parents (which I don't want to need).

Sitting here with you on this one. I feel exactly the same way. 

[macmars45]

No growing up without a lot of money hasn't held me back at all. I feel like my parents lived very frugally and saved a lot even though we didn't have a lot to begin with. If that makes sense. We never went without the basics but never had the extras unless they were hand me downs from cousins or church families.

I have 4 older sisters (one of which is a twin).

H and I are starting the process of TTC and only want 2 kids. We live in a HCOL area so even if I/we wanted more we wouldn't (outside of an oops of course) because we want to be able to provide for them.

[imojoebunny]

Sept 29, 2014 11:32:04 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

If you grew up in a household without a lot of money, do you think it has held you back in life at all?
If you grew up in a household with plenty of money, do you think that helped you and in what ways?
How many siblings do you have?
Feel free to elaborate on your definition of "a lot of" or "plenty" of money.

A lot of people (in MMM) responded in a thread last week that for financial reasons, they won't have any more kids.
At what point is the financial burden of another child too much to bear for you?

My parents have money.  I never knew it growing up.  We did not have a super fancy house or spend a lot on stuff. We had property, rentals, vacation places, land, but I didn't have nice clothes or toys, unless I earned them, and bought them myself.  

I don't think it held me back in life, it made me strive for more.  

I have one sibling.  The financial burden of another child is not what keeps us from having one.  My brother had a third.  He has some very expensive health problems.  We all feel very fortunate that my brother has a job that covers that, that they can afford the co-pays, deductibles, ect, but more than that, it is an emotional and time commitment.  My DD has had a lot of "diagnosis" she has grown out of, some expensive.  I had a lot of health problems after DS was born.  The financial burden if we have these problems again is workable, but ultimately, two is the number we can work with.  

By plenty of money, I mean enough money to provide health, education, shelter, food, and a reasonable level of happiness to your kids, which sometimes means money and sometimes means work, and often both.  

[Deleted]

If you grew up in a household without a lot of money, do you think it has held you back in life at all?
My parents were in a precarious situation when I was 3-10 years old. Due to my dad's job loss, the walked away from a house and worked very hard to scrape by for a few years. All of my clothes came from JC Penneys, on the sale rack. My dad told me later that during this time period that the sometimes had $30 in the bank at the end of the month. In retrospect, I recognize that we were probably okay, and this is the average American experience for a lot of people. In the context of later, though, it's a different experience than many of my peers. 

If you grew up in a household with plenty of money, do you think that helped you and in what ways?
My dad took a huge promotion when I was 10, and tripled his salary. When I was 17, my dad took an even bigger position and we moved. My dad has said that they didn't have a college savings account for me or my sister until I was 13. Between 1996 and 2011 they paid nearly $120k in college educations for my sister and I. Obviously, that's a big help now. We had a big house, a fancy boat, nice cars and a vacation house, and I acquired expensive tastes (Gap sale rack, yo!). 

AND THEN, in true American fashion, my dad lost his job again and my parents came damn close to losing it all again. Through some very hard work and scraping by (my mom didn't make a retirement contribution for 6 years), they're in a much better place now. 

I type the whole story because it underpins how precarious financial stability can be, and the value of saving early and often, and living below your means. I know what it's like to have "nice" things, and appreciate value. I'd rather spend big money on something nice, and not have to replace it often. That said, we still don't have an iPad in our house because we both have smartphones. 

How many siblings do you have?
1. My mom had a hard time getting/ staying pregnant, unfortunately. My parents may have also felt broke when I was a kid because they were paying $$$ for fertility treatments. 

Feel free to elaborate on your definition of "a lot of" or "plenty" of money.
It's so contextual...

"A lot of": assets to fall back on, which could be sold or from which you could live off of the gains without touching the principal. Being able to pay for things in cash and not worrying that if you lose your job you'll have to sell it in a horribly depressed market (ahem, lake place real estate ca. 2009). 

"Plenty of": Able to cash-flow monthly expenses while still making contributions to retirement and some savings. College savings for the kids optional (but something I highly value). 


A lot of people (in MMM) responded in a thread last week that for financial reasons, they won't have any more kids.

At what point is the financial burden of another child too much to bear for you?


We talk about this a lot. We'll be really tight when we have a second and have to pay for 2 in daycare/ preschool at the same time. Given the age gap (DD will be 2 in November and we'll TTC next summer, so the kids will be at least 3 years apart), it will be short-lived pain. But, given our ages (I'm 31, H is 36), if baby #2 is born in Spring 2016 (I'd be 33, H'd be 38), we'd have to jump on TTC pretty quickly again if we wanted #3. And we definitely can't afford 3 kids in preschool/ daycare. Nope. Not even close. Not even if we stopped retirement contributions. 

And that doesn't even get H needing a truck that can handle 2 car seats or a bigger house. 

[Deleted]

If you grew up in a household without a lot of money, do you think it has held you back in life at all?

I grew up in a household with little money. When my youngest sibling was born it sent the already precarious financial situation into a tailspin. There are 4 kids in my family and we all lived in a 1br apt at one time. I've gone back to see the house I lived in before that and its crazy how bad it was. Its one of the reasons we have an only-I want to make sure he gets all the opportunities/resources I can give him.
One of my siblings just got notice he's getting kicked out of his house (foreclosed on) and H has a sibling and nieces who have kids and can barely feed them. They have asked for help from us and it stresses me out because I know what the situation is like and I want to help but at the same time I want to protect everything I have because I don't want to end up there. I fear the cycle of helping will never end until that happens.

[itsme]

If you grew up in a household without a lot of money, do you think it has held you back in life at all?
I grew up on welfare.  Both parents worked low paying jobs like fast food for most of my childhood.  Eventually things got better (after I left the house) but money management was a huge issue for my parents.  My mom came from an upper middle class household in a VHCOL area.  She had a full ride to college but put that aside for my dad.  She had me at 16 and her second kid at 19 (3 days after her bday).  My dad came from an extremely poor single parent household loaded with 7 kids.  I found out a few years ago that my grandparents gave my parents upwards of $25k to get them out of debt.  That only lead to them adding on more debt.

I think it could have held me back in life but at the same time I learned a lot from having been poor.  I know I am terrified of ever being in a situation where we have nothing.  I've lived it as a kid and now as an adult I never want my kids to experience that.  I learned how to save and how not to let CC debt eat my life away (currently $0 in CC debt and never want any again).       

How many siblings do you have? 
3

Feel free to elaborate on your definition of "a lot of" or "plenty" of money.
I don't have an answer.  I think that if we made $50k more we'd be in an OK position.

A lot of people (in MMM) responded in a thread last week that for financial reasons, they won't have any more kids.
At what point is the financial burden of another child too much to bear for you?
Having a third child would be too much to bear financially and it would take a toll on my already wavering sanity.  Having a second kid has added quite a bit of expense to our lives.  If we had another I'm pretty sure travel would be out of the picture for us.  I want to be able to give my kids what I didn't have and adding another would take that chance away. 

[niq]

Sept 29, 2014 11:32:04 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

If you grew up in a household without a lot of money, do you think it has held you back in life at all?
If you grew up in a household with plenty of money, do you think that helped you and in what ways?
How many siblings do you have?
Feel free to elaborate on your definition of "a lot of" or "plenty" of money.

A lot of people (in MMM) responded in a thread last week that for financial reasons, they won't have any more kids.
At what point is the financial burden of another child too much to bear for you?

My parents made good of money, but didn't really show it. A lot of it went into the house, private school, and college savings. We got to do any activity we wanted, but my parents were not big on buying stuff or going out to fancy restaurants. Vacations were low budget road trips. After they divorced some activities became a stretch, and we bought less stuff.

I don't think it "held me back" at all and if anything it helped tech me that stuff doesn't buy happiness.

The third kid is too much, but only because our college savings goal is to have our kids go to any college they want and graduate debt free. If we adjusted that goal we could afford a third and possibly fourth, but at that point our ages would be a bigger factor. Or if we have some permanent change in income ... msniq gets an attorney position or big promotion, I keep getting large RSUs, etc.

[Deleted]

I grew up MM middle class (heh). No, we were probably wealthy. Not like hedge fund wealthy but my dad earned well into the six figures.

As others have said, the biggest advantage to me was graduating from a top university without debt, which was a tremendous leg up financially. I'd like to be able to do the same for my own child(ren) someday.

However, let's just say parents are generous to a fault and frugality is not their strong suit. My entire childhood was over the top. Although I don't know the specifics, I suspect they're now far behind my in-laws who always watched every penny and invested them wisely. DH grew up MC/UMC but his parents are now the millionaires-next-door ... quite literally. So I learned most of my money management skills from his side of the family!

As far as kids, I think my mental capacity to handle more will be exhausted before my financial capacity! One is hard enough!

[ellipses84]

Growing up we ranged from poor/working class to lower middle class. I grew up with 2 siblings, but gained more siblings after my parents divorced each other and remarried people with kids/ had more kids. There were definitely times we were on welfare and food stamps, particularly when my mom was single and getting no child support.

It hasn't held me back in life. I always had one stable, loving parent and my family always emphasized the importance of an education and a great work ethic. I excelled in school and always planned to go to college. I worked odd jobs since I was 12 and got a real job as soon as I turned 16.

My mom completed her degree, got a much better job and remarried when I was in high school, so unfortunately I did not qualify for financial aid but she never had the money to save for my college prior to that. They also hadn't been able to pay for my older siblings (who chose not to go anyway) so they didn't think it would be fair to pay for me. I was the first person in my family to graduate high school and go straight to a 4 year university and graduate. I paid for it all myself, with student loans. One is a parent loan, but I have made every single payment on it myself, starting my sophomore year of college. I think the only disadvantage I have is the huge student loan payment I still have every month and that impacts how I live my life now, but I wouldn't have my career without it.

ETA: My childhood doesn't really impact how many children I want to have, our current budget does. I suppose if I had no student loans I could afford one more in daycare. Money would be very tight to live off one income, I like my career and don't want to take a break, but working full time with multiple kids sounds even more stressful, so that's more of a reason we may be done with kids. I'm completely undecided on how much we will help our kids with college, but I am not determined to pay all of it for them.

[lime]

If you grew up in a household without a lot of money, do you think it has held you back in life at all?
/ If you grew up in a household with plenty of money, do you think that helped you and in what ways?

My parents were very poor, but upwardly mobile when I was born, so we have been lower, middle and upper class. They were very much savers and not spenders, so I learned a lot about savings and investing. When I had access to a decent income after grad school, I was able to use that knowledge to get started saving for retirement. It's a huge "gift" that I am very grateful for. 

How many siblings do you have?
1
Feel free to elaborate on your definition of "a lot of" or "plenty" of money.
IDK if I can put a label on this exactly. (I just took a sleep med and am a bit stoned, so my first answer was poetic-garbage.) 


A lot of people (in MMM) responded in a thread last week that for financial reasons, they won't have any more kids.

At what point is the financial burden of another child too much to bear for you?
I'm CF, but if I did have a child, having a 2nd child would have to mean that our lifestyle as a family of 3 wasn't compromised. My parents were both raised in poor families that had way too many children for the amount of money they brought in which led to major sacrifices. For instance, my mom had no toys (that is zero) as a child and only had a single doll growing up. That level of poverty I would not force on anyone.