There is just one question you need to answer when deciding on your family size. I want to share this question with you, but first I would like to explain a few things.
Did you know that, based on numbers put forth by the United States Government, in 2025 the cost of raising a child from 0 to 17 is $313,00? That works out to $18,400 per year, per child, or $1530 per month. This means that:
- Three children cost $4602 per month, $55,224 per year.
- Ten children cost $15,300 per month, $183,600 per year.
- 15 children (our family size) cost $22,950 per month ($ 275,950 per year, $ 4,681,800 total).
Did you catch that?
FOUR mILLION, SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY-ONE THOUSAND, EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS
This is absolutely insane!
Why? Because we have 15 children, and yet our total income over the last 42 years of child rearing, adjusted for inflation, barely breeches one million.
Even for the average family this is untenable. The average salary in 2024 (before taxes) was $59,436. After taxes (in our area in the Northwest) the take-home was only $47,736.
You may be wrestling with the question of how much of a family you can afford. You are looking for details, hoping to find information that will help you make a responsible decision.
As the mom of 15, I understand your concerns, and I hope this post will help give you what you need to go forward.
Neither my husband nor I came from money or privilege. Both of us were reared by single moms who struggled financially. At one point in his childhood, my husband lived in a migrant shack in the off season. From the ages of eight to fourteen I lived in a trailer court and caught the school bus in front of a topless bar. You could say we grew up on “the wrong side of the tracks.”
But Jesus made all the difference. He came into our lives (separately) when we were still teens and gave us reasons to hope and change our trajectory. Because of our faith in God, we both had hope for a brighter future.
In that future we saw better things than what we had grown up with, including a lasting marriage and a stable home.
Within our hopes and dreams we were expecting children, but from the beginning finances were tight. At one point, while expecting our second child, we became homeless.
After living in the homes of others for a few months, we found a tourist shack to rent. It wasn’t much; a ten by twenty foot building meant for visitors during the summer.
We thought it was heavenly.
At that time there was a recession and jobs were scarce. My husband fought to find a construction supply delivery job that paid minimum wage, which back then was $3.35 per hour (when he applied there were 40 other hopefuls, all older than he was, standing in line outside the building).
Within his meager paycheck we had to find room for rent, utilities, car payment, insurance, and food. There was no place for “extras” such as clothing or entertainment.
All that we owned fit in the back of a pick up truck. We didn’t have much, but we had faith in a big, big God.
And He provided.
As I mentioned earlier, we were expecting our second child, a boy. Our first child had been a girl, so we had all the girl clothing we needed, but we did not own boy clothing, and no way to purchase any.
So we prayed.
Then, one Wednesday evening after service, someone at church pointed out that there were a few boxes of clothing under a table that had been left for anyone in need.
I cautiously walked back to the table and took a peek inside a box. I instantly rejoiced to find outfit after outfit for our son, each of the highest quality and in wonderful condition! There were enough items included to last until he was a toddler.
This was just one miracle of provision in a long, long string.
Throughout the last 42 years we have seen fat times and lean times. There have been great jobs, and job loss. There have been nice, big houses, and small houses where we had to practice ingenuity.
With each new pregnancy we had to ask one question, the only question that really counts:
Do we trust God?
Not one of us knows the future. Will there be great wealth and prosperity? Maybe. Will there be lean times when we will barely scrape by? Maybe.
One thing my husband and I have learned is this: no matter what we have struggled with, there is not one of our children that we would have done without. Each one is precious to us, each one has given us so much joy, and each one has been a blessing to someone in the world.
The human beings we birthed have cost us some in housing, food, and education, but their worth is priceless. They have all added much more than they have cost.
God is their Creator, and He knows their worth. They will each play a part in His ultimate plans, and the Bible tells us His plans are good:
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
Thank God we did not let the government statistics sway us. We took a million steps of faith into the black abyss of unknowns, and He built a bridge of bright hope under each one.
You may not be able to afford children in the eyes of the world, but in God’s economy you will always have what you need. He promised, and He will fulfill.
For a podcast on this subject, please click below:
Powered by RedCircle
Here is the Babies Unit Study playlist:
