How do kids impact your path to FIRE? Here's how they made the path easier for me and 6 benefits that can offset the costs.
The day my first child was born was the day my FIRE journey truly began.
When you have kids, their is a massive but effortless shift in your priorities. I had no more time for trash TV, video games, or people who drain me. Financial security was no longer a desire, it became a necessity.
That visceral response made it easier to focus on growing our income and investing well.
Having Kids Gives You an Unfair Advantage for Achieving FIRE
You have real motivation to protect your family.
This isn't the kind of rah-rah, success guru, short-lived motivation. You now have a core, character change in your gut to keep your family safe. This is the kind of motivation and drive that will not fade away.
Having this focus and this priority shift, will make it easier for you to find time for the things that matter.
They Cost More But The Government Offers Some Benefits
Yes, on the surface, kids do increase your financial costs.
There are some very common benefits that high-income parents in tech can use to offset the costs.
529s - It's an investment account that will grow tax free. It also allows for some income tax reductions, the specifics vary by state. If you don't think college will be a necessity, there can still be tax benefits here that are worth Googling. NYS gives you a $10k income deduction for filing jointly.
Tax Credits - This isn't a place for tax advice. But there are a few different tax credits you can discuss with your accountant. If both you and your partner work you can also look at the Earned Income Tax Credit.
FSAs - Childcare and Medical FSA accounts are through your employer. They are special accounts you fund with pre-tax dollars to use on specific expenses. Every year, I max these and every year with two kids, we spend them. Between the two accounts it's almost a $2500 tax savings.
While kids are more expensive, there are options to offset some of that financial cost.
Tech Companies Also Have Some Perks
The stress and time spent parenting is very real.
Working in tech we are very privileged to have some awesome perks. Here are a few my employer offers that I've taken advantage of as a parent. Don't sleep on these if you have the benefits.
Child Care - My company offers up to $2k per kid in baby sitting or other non-FSA expenses related to child care.
Spring Health / Maven - Mental health and parent counseling. I can't tell you how nice it is to have a therapist for me to vent to and an occupational therapist to consult about my kids. These appointments always feel like work, but I get so much value and benefit each time, I'm glad I had the call.
One Medical - Or other concierge medical service where you can get instant access to a doctor. Helpful for reducing anxiety when debating "should we go to the doctor or wait and see."
Having kids is many things. Expensive in time and money, rewarding (at times when they are not being little a**holes).
One thing that's helped me is to reframe how I view my kids.
They cost more money and time but the motivation and priority shift has been a boon to my FIRE journey.