What is your wife worth
During a discussion of life insurance with a (all male) group of friends, a soon to be father mentioned he missed out on getting life insurance for his wife before she became pregnant.
Friend 1: what is she worth anyway
Father to be: half mil
Friend 1: haha, I was making a joke
Father to be: haha, so was I
Friend 1: i guess i need to figure, babysitter = $5/hr * 24*7 * 52 * 18
If that statement offends your or not, isn’t really important. Look at that tidbit of math that was spouted off as a joke.
$5/hour x 24 hours/day x 7 days/week * 52 weeks/year * 18 years
$786,240
Children are a shared responsibility, but rarely 50/50. You probably cannot pay the primary care provider what they are worth to you.
Using the same formula, how much are children worth to you? Just like any other investment, if they are not going to be worth more to you then the time and effort you put into them, they are a poor investment.
I don’t expect anyone to plug some numbers in a formula and decide if children are right for them. But it does help visualize the magnitude of the commitment children require.