6 Signs That Tell You, You are (Financially) Ready to Start a Family

For most of us, there comes a certain stage in adult life where you start thinking about starting a family. Especially for young adults who are physically ready to have kids, committing to such a life-changing step is hard.

We have all heard new parents complain about money and the huge amounts of debts they owe to almost every family member. The smart thing to do is to find every trick in the book that can help you decide whether you are financially ready to start a family. 

Here are 6 signs to look out for on your quest:

1. Your Savings Are Piling Up

This might be a little ambitious, but listen up; most people will overspend when they do not have a target amount to reach in a certain time frame. With some basic accounting, you can work out the percentage of income you need to save up when planning for the huge commitment of starting a family.

Start a trial period to test this adjusted income simulation and see how well you do and how much extra savings you will end up with. Only then can you assess whether your savings can cover you or not before you take the plunge.

2. You Have a Solid Life Insurance

True, this is a little somber, but so is the case with all essential talks. You need the peace of mind that you can only have when you know your family will be financially cared for should any unfortunate incidents befall you. When you have your own family, you want to make sure that you are planning ahead for any potential drastic situations.

Make use of the employee benefits you are entitled to and use your life insurance option. Otherwise, look for insurance providers with life insurance policies that you see fit for your situation, with the right kind of payout you want to leave behind for your family. 

3. You’re Well Past the Mid-Career Stagnation

All young adults face this stagnant phase in their careers where they seem to be stuck in a rut. The annual increase in your income is unmentionable; it somehow leaves you feeling poorer. You are swamped with bills and rent that frustratingly eat up most of your salary.

However, there comes a point where things turn around in your favor. Perhaps a new position, a salary restructure, or a change in career—any of these is enough to make your career flourish and finally leave you financially comfortable.

4. You Do Not Have Any Debts

Between your student loan and credit card payments, you can be drowning in so much debt that you are barely getting by. Once you have all of these under control—even if not completely settled—and have a repayment plan that is not burdening, this might be a good sign that you are financially stable enough to start thinking about building a family.

5. You Do Not Need to Think About Affording Basic Needs

If you are still at the phase where you need to cut out coupons and vouchers in order to afford your groceries, then you are definitely not there yet. You need to get to a point where you can comfortably provide for your basic needs of food and shelter before thinking of adding to your list of dependents.

An interesting trick to try out next time you are upgrading your almost-new smartphone just because the newer version is out; check to see if you have any feelings of remorse, blaming it on your “spendthrift” self. If not, then you are good to go. You should definitely believe that you can afford to start a family before you actually do.

6. Your Calendar is Packed With Upcoming Vacation Plans

If you can afford to fly home for a family get-together on Christmas or a summer vacation to the Caribbean with your friends, then follow it with a skiing trip during the holidays, this is an obvious clue that you’re ready to start a family—and that you are one of the blessed ones, indeed!

For some people, the answer to the question of having kids is quite simple. But, for others, many factors need to be contemplated and “slept on” for years and years before reaching a conclusion. Most of the factors will be straight-up financial, or will somehow have to do with finances in an indirect way.

This is totally understandable; not everyone can afford to have kids! So, when you start wondering whether the time has come to grow your family, keep an eye out for these 6 signs and you will surely be able to make the right decision.