More money or more children?

More money. I'm done at 2 :)

It isn't our children who are making us tight on money, it's our mortgage. Haha
But honestly I am sticking at two so that we have more money to do more things with/for them. I always thought I wanted 7 children, but when I became pregnant it dawned on me that I really wouldn't want that. Not that I don't love a big family, it's just we would never be able to afford all we want to do as a family with seven kids. We have two and knew from the start that, that would be the perfect amount to do all we wanted to. It allows us room to have family vacations and provide those extra special things for them, which is what we wanted when we had kids.

More money... I also stopped at 2 for that reason, but those that choose differently-no worries as long as they can provide a decent life independently... its all good! BTW- attention also played a key role- WE felt we could not provide the attention to more than 2 in the way WE wanted to. Again, if you feel differently and its working- yeah for you!!!

I don't plan on paying for their colleges or wedding. They will each be given X amount for it & then be expected to cover the rest.

I would never give up a child for more money. We have three-we can afford our three. We may not have brand new cars (both are less than 6 years), a huge fancy house or extra money to blow through but we can afford what we have, kids have college funds, we take a trip a year and kids do extras and we're happy with what we have. I could give two $h!ts to keeping up with the Joneses.

You seriously have to ask this?  If you can't afford kids, you should not be creating kids.   Everyone NEEDS to earn money now.   That means, we should not be creating children that we cannot afford.   If you bring a child into this world, you need to be able to afford all of his needs, including a college education.    People really need to start wisening up.

Dear Anon:33,

No, what we NEED to be doing is rethinking our priorities! We DO NOT NEED a new car every 2 yrs, humongous homes and 5 acre housing lots that we aren't even going to use. We DO NOT NEED designer clothes & shoes. We DO NOT NEED the latest & greatest electronic gadgets & toys.

We DO NEED support, love & family. When we are old & gray, are we going to be reminiscing about that great big TV we bought when the baby was 2 or are we going to be reminiscing about how our 2 y/o preferred the box the toy car came in to the toy car? Are we going to be thinking about how much joy our cars brought to us or how much joy our children brought?

Our families sustain us througout our lives; right to the very end. Can we say that for things? I would rather live my life with a little tight around the edges financially than deny myself the neverending & bountiful riches that a family can bring.

We can afford to have 6 kids we chose to only have one. We love our son and felt very content as a family after his birth. I think people should have as many children as they want providing they can afford to care for them properly and most importantly give them the love and support they need. We didn't choose money over kids we only wanted one. My son is 15 years old and a great son. He is healthy, happy and well loved.

OP here.

Anon 9:33, I paid for my own college education, and I was happy to do it. I never assumed it was my parents responsibility to pay for my adult needs, and I won't feel guilty if I can't do it for my children.

Personally, I would prefer to have more children and make the money stretch. My children don't need everything to be brand new. They don't need to be involved in three different expensive activities each. They need a family who loves and cares for them, and for us, it means more children rather than more money. Not everyone feels this way, and that's fine... but nobody is bad or negligent for choosing one or the other.