by Jenny Carlson

Created on: November 10, 2008

The question often asked when potential parents are thinking about procreating is, "Can we afford a child"? My firm belief is that if people waited to be financially secure they would never have children. From personal experience I can tell you that we made "not having enough money work". The key to affording a child is simply cutting back on the luxuries that you once spent your income on.

I can tell you that when I first found out that I was pregnant I was an avid user of birth control. I did not miss a single day and I still got pregnant. Yes folks, I was that 1% everyone talks about. During the nine months my husband and I talked about what we would do to be able to afford having a child. There were many things to think about.

At the time I was working 40 to 45 hours a weeks. I had guaranteed over-time. I worked in a warehouse and I could get as much overtime as I wanted to. I got paid great and had wonderful benefits. You don't get much better than Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Here's the problem we faced. My husband wanted me to stay home with our daughter so that we would not have to use day care. This is wonderful in theory except for the fact that we were both working full-time and this would mean an enormous pay cut for our family by quitting. Believe it or not, I worked in the warehouse, lifting boxes, until the day that I actually gave birth. I had to work so that I could save money. By the eighth month of my pregnancy I was working 38 to 40 hours a week. I needed the days off to relax and get our little one's nursery ready.

Another thing that I failed to mention was that before I found out that I was pregnant I decided that I wanted to go back to school. I already had my Bachelor of Science in Psychology. I never got my Masters. I decided that the field of Psychology may not be what I wanted to do. So, I decided to enroll at Branford Hall Career Institute. It was here that I decided to study how to become a Paralegal. When I began school I was six months pregnant. So, on top of working all day I was going to school from 5:30 PM until 9:30 PM. Those were some incredibly long days.

I had a lot to overcome. I began with a class of 10 students. In the end only 5 of us actually completed the program. Let me tell you, most of the people that I worked with and went to school with did not think that I was going to complete this program. I started school six months pregnant and on December 14, 2006 at 9:03 AM in the morning my little Kahlan Eve was born.

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