Kids, with and without PPCs [Archive]

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maximus

10-01-2003, 02:22 AM

So says this father of four children, ages 7, 5, 3 & 1.

Nice planning ! One every two years :D

Kati Compton

10-01-2003, 03:05 AM

So says this father of four children, ages 7, 5, 3 & 1.

Nice planning ! One every two years :D
Where does it end??? ;)

Four kids is a lot. I bet that takes a ton of energy. To take care of them, I mean. :oops: ;)

JustinGTP

10-01-2003, 03:19 AM

Now now, PG rated site as someone so kindly told me :roll:

PetiteFlower

10-01-2003, 04:05 AM

Kati Compton

10-01-2003, 04:15 AM

FYI - split from http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18712&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Talk about kids all you want here. :)

maximus

10-01-2003, 05:44 AM

PG, not G!

Anyway 4 kids is a good number. My mom is 1 of 4, and I LOVE having such a big family with lots of cousins :) We all like each other, too, I want to be just like my grandparents when I grow up :)

The cost of raising 4 of them will be huge... Doing mortgage, personal loan, car loan, and 4 kids at the same time ....

PetiteFlower

10-01-2003, 01:44 PM

That's why I have to wait until I grow up ;)

ctmagnus

10-01-2003, 10:30 PM

"I don't want to grow up,
because If I did,
I couldn't be a Toys'R'Us kid!"

Except Toys'R'Us doesn't carry Pocket PCs :(

Kati Compton

10-01-2003, 11:15 PM

Except Toys'R'Us doesn't carry Pocket PCs :(
When I was a kid, they carried C64's and 128's...

maximus

10-02-2003, 02:09 AM

Yeah, it is amazing to see the cost of bringing up kids these days (meal, health, education, toys, etc. etc.). I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, two is the maximum number I will go for kids ...

Brad Adrian

10-02-2003, 02:13 AM

PetiteFlower

10-02-2003, 04:28 AM

maximus

10-02-2003, 04:55 AM

I "only" have three children, and I still get surprised looks and comments when people find out I have that many. Is our Yuppie world really THAT conditioned to what the perfect little family looks like?

Nope. I think it is not the 'perfect little family' image ... but the 'affordable family' image.

When I was a kid:
Highschool monthly fee was around $50.
Entrance fee to nice highschool was $1000.
A nice lunch was around $2.
Cough medicine was $2.
A dozen of pampers cost $5.

Present day:
Highschool monthly fee is around $300.
Entrance fee to a nice highschool is $4000.
A nice lunch is around $10.
Cough medicine is $10.
A dozen of pampers cost $15.

Back then, one can have 4 kids at the cost of 1 kid today.
My mother has 11 brothers and sisters. But imagine the cost of having 12 kids these days.

PetiteFlower

10-02-2003, 05:45 AM

Most of the world though has free public education to 12th grade though, and a lot of countries have free university as well. I think it's horrible that you have to pay to put a kid through high school! I was raised to think that education was a basic fundamentall right, not a privilege you have to pay for.

Things are more expensive now but wages have increased too. I'm sure when you were a kid the average income was also a lot lower! It does sound like things are more expensive in your part of the world though, I think school lunches are not more then $5 now(and those can be free to families who can't afford it), cough medicine is $3-5 also. Don't know about diapers, last time I was with someone buying diapers was when my sister was a baby and she's 14 now. I think they were around $10 then? But for a big box, more then a dozen, for sure. It's been a while!

I'd be more worried about paying for college, these days you have to start saving as soon as the kids are born. I don't want my kids to have to be $20k in debt from college, even after going to a state school, at only age 22 like I was.

ctmagnus

10-02-2003, 06:56 AM

I "only" have three children, and I still get surprised looks and comments when people find out I have that many. Is our Yuppie world really THAT conditioned to what the perfect little family looks like?

Most people have 2.something kids. They probably think you must have worked really hard to create that extra fraction of a child.

;)

ctmagnus

10-02-2003, 06:57 AM

Most of the world though has free public education to 12th grade though, and a lot of countries have free university as well.

Darn. I'm living in the wrong country.

maximus

10-02-2003, 07:07 AM

Most of the world though has free public education to 12th grade though, and a lot of countries have free university as well.

Darn. I'm living in the wrong country.

Yeah, same here. Down here, even kindergarten is not free.

PetiteFlower

10-02-2003, 01:47 PM

I thought canada did have free university for citizens? Course I've been wrong before :)

ctmagnus

10-02-2003, 10:28 PM

I thought canada did have free university for citizens? Course I've been wrong before :)

Nope. We have to pay through the nose (and several other orifices as well) for it.

maximus

10-03-2003, 01:39 AM

How about health, is it fully covered in Canada ? for any illnesses including cancer, leukemia, AIDS, etc. ?

GoldKey

10-03-2003, 01:57 AM

I've been given a hard time for wanting a big family from the zero-population-growth crowd too.

Of course after I have the first and second I might not want any more! Things change :) But that's what I want now :)

That's alright, my wife and I are given a hard time for not wanting ANY kids by our friends and family. But at least we may average out someone elses larger family to help with the zero pop growth. :D

Kati Compton

10-03-2003, 03:05 AM

How about health, is it fully covered in Canada ? for any illnesses including cancer, leukemia, AIDS, etc. ?
From what I understand (and I'm sure a Canadian can tell you more), basic health is covered, but most jobs also provide supplementary health insurance, which the employee may or may not pay for. This might cover perscriptions, etc.

PetiteFlower

10-03-2003, 04:08 AM

The US does pretty good for healthcare too, for kids anyway. If you're not fortunate enough to get family health coverage through your job, you can get free coverage for your kids from the government, which would cover any illness and preventive care and also prescriptions as far as I know. Family coverage through an employer can be expensive, depending who you work for, or it can be very affordable, it all depends on how good the coverage is and how much of the cost your employer subsidizes.

Once you're covered though they can't really exclude any illnesses you develop after coverage begins, you're covered up to any lifetime or annual max that the plan might have, except for rare things like if you're injured while breaking the law, you won't be covered, or if you're hurt in a car accident then the car insurance is responsible for it not the health insurance. Some plans have pre-existing condition limitations, but there are very strict laws governing what is and is not a pre existing condition, and it's very rare for employer-sponsored health plans to have these clauses, because the cost to do the investigations would outweigh any savings that the limitation might bring.

I work in the health insurance industry, can you tell? Any other questions?

ctmagnus

10-03-2003, 04:26 AM

Any other questions?

Yes. How long have you worked in the health care industry?

Do you enjoy your job?

What is your favorite part of your job?

:mrgreen:

maximus

10-03-2003, 05:17 AM

So, critical illnesses (the expensive illnesses like cancer, etc.) are not covered by the government ? How about employers ? do they cover illnesses like cancer etc. ?

PetiteFlower

10-03-2003, 01:33 PM

No, they are, of course they are. Once you have coverage, then the plan has to cover ANYTHING that happens to you, within the restrictions of the plan, and they are not allowed to restrict coverage for particular illnesses. That goes for whether your coverage comes from the government or from your employer. Your insurance will tell you that you have (for example) a $15 copay to see your family doctor, and a $25 copay to see a specialist(may or may not need a referral to see a specialist), and a $50 copay if you go to the emergency room, and maybe you'll have a $100 copay to have minor outpatient surgery, and a $200 copay if you have to be inpatient at a hospital. That's it, that's all you'll be responsible for, unless there's a lifetime maximum on your plan, which won't be less then $1 million, if it's on there at all. The insurance companies negotiate with the doctors and hospitals to reduce costs to them so they can stay in business.

I've worked in the business for going on 4 years now, I do really like the business and my job. Right now I'm working processing Medicare supplement claims for AARP's insurance--I pay old people's medical bills for them. It's actually pretty satisfying in that respect, I'm doing a Good Thing :)

maximus

10-06-2003, 02:20 AM

I pay old people's medical bills for them. It's actually pretty satisfying in that respect, I'm doing a Good Thing :)

Kudos ! :way to go: :D

DrtyBlvd

10-27-2003, 02:46 AM

Going back a few posts -

Cost wise - here's a shining example for you... arising from a TV show called 'Wife Swap' - No, no no - what happens is the wives swap houses for 10 days and they film it - frightening viewing, it really is.

Family No1 - 2 Kids, both parents earning, total household income?

£36,000.

Mortgage of c£120k...

Familly No2 - 7 kids, both parents unemployed, total household income?

Sit down for this, if you aren't already...

£37,000.

Mortgage? Nope.

State handouts, predominently for having 7 kids, but also due to "poor health" of one of the parents (Asthma, and she SMOKES ffs!) and the other was made redundant(?) I think...

http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/W/wife_swap/shows/02/

Astonishing really.

Me? I'd have a football team, 'cept the coach has benched me...