WHEN is the right time???

[migirl]

I know that residents make small potatoes, but how bad is the crunch when there aren't any loans to pay back?

I'll give you an answer based on our experience, as we've got one little one now and no loans to pay back.

Compared to when I had a *paying* job and before Jack was born, life is ... actually about the same. We've still managed to put money away into retirement, keep a healthy emergency fund, and pretty much maintain our previous lifestyle. We're just spending our discretionary income in different ways. We don't go out to the movies anymore (used to go once or twice a month), we don't buy stuff for ourselves as much (I haven't bought an article of clothing for myself in almost a year!), and we don't eat out at nice places as much. We stay in and watch movies (thank goodness for Netflix!), mostly buy little toys and such for Jack, and eat at family-friendly places which are cheap but good for loud babies. We also don't have any car payments which helps, and get the occasional handout from our parents whenever we see them. We do have a mortgage, but other than that we're managing ok.

We are going to start trying for a baby this winter. Anyway, I am rather extreme in my approach to financial security but what we have been doing for the past year is living off of my income and banking all of dh's income (you can do this by maxing out the 403 retirement contribution and then having the rest direct deposited into a mutual fund). We wanted to get used to living on one income and we wanted to save for the baby's college fund. Depending on how long it takes for us to get pregnant we are actually going to have quite a bit of money to put into the college fund/pay for daycare and other expenses.

I know this wouldn't work for everyone based on salary and cost of living - - its been an adjustment for us certainly. But, you basically lose the equivalent of a residency salary (i.e., 45k or so minus all the taxes) or more when you have a baby, either because one person stays at home or because you pay for childcare and other baby expenses. In our case, we are both going to continue to work but daycare costs and education (college $) is an absolute top priority for us. Living on one income has given us an opportunity to do a financial "test drive" of parenthood . . .

[Vishenka69]

We're still trying to figure out when the right time is. Obviously it's not now, as neither one of us is ready. Luckily we'll both be 29 when we get to the land of champagne and orgasms, which gives my biological clock some time to start working. I'm still trying to figure out if I even still one, as it's been deathly quiet my whole life. Most of our non-medical friends has recently started having kids but the majority of fellow residents are holding out until the end.