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...didja hear? Baby 18 was born today. Jordyn-Grace Makiya, 7 lbs., 3 oz., 20 inches. Delivered by c-section due to transverse positioning. Wonder who picked that name? I'm happy for them, though. I hope Michelle has a quick and easy recovery.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I did hear, I didn't think anyone else knew who they were! Apparently the kids all took a vote for the name.
Posts: 12 | Registered: Oct 2008
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Wooowww. And according to the parents, they can actually afford to raise all of these kids by working in real estate. I wonder what it would be like to grow up as one of 18 children.
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Based on how much my brother and his wife make in real estate, being able to afford 18 kids does not surprise me at all.
Posts: 2223 | Registered: Mar 2008
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How much does it cost to raise a kid these days? Supposing they all went to public schools and public universities (barring loans or some of them not attending or working for themselves) it would cost well over a million dollars just to send the kids to college- it would be closer to two million if any of them did private or needed expense money. Of course, they could do loans and work as well, which they probably would.
But I mean, 18 kids? Can you imagine the bills? I wonder how Mrs. Dugger's insurance company feels about her at this point?
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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The kids are home schooled. Also, you don't have to pay for your kids to go to college. My parents certainly did not and we turned out pretty good (well, I am still in grad school, but I think it will turn out well). Also, there are a lot of ways to cut costs, especially if you can do things in bulk. And of course the Duggars get money for their tv show and their book.
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Yeah but still. I mean, color me impressed, but it's still got to be astronomically expensive. And no, you don't have to pay for college, but what parent doesn't end up shelling out as much as they can in the end?
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Yes, it's expensive. I think somewhere they were quoted as spending about $2000/mo. on groceries. (Of course, that's pretty good, considering they usually have one in diapers, they end up spending around $100/person/month on food and toiletries, including diapers, toilet paper, toothpaste, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, etc., etc. I know lots of families that spend twice that per person per month.)
But, some of us don't mind spending our money on our kids. And, like us, they very rarely buy new (although I wish they would spend some money on decent car seats for their kids. That's one thing we always buy new.) They've chosen to have that many kids, so they make sure they can support them. Like when I tell KPC that I want another baby and he says, "Okay. I'd better start making more money!" (And he does. )
Some people grow their wealth, the Duggars grow their family. And I think they do a pretty good job at raising responsible citizens, so I don't really see a problem with it. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Orincoro: And no, you don't have to pay for college, but what parent doesn't end up shelling out as much as they can in the end?
College financial aid counselor here. To answer your question, plenty. Some even refuse to provide their tax and financial info, which makes it difficult for their kids to take out loans either.
I have no problem with parents who expect their kids to take out student loans in their own names (or work, or both) to pay for college. I do have issues with parents who refuse to even provide necessary documentation (or who drag their feet so much that the student's ability to register is imperiled).
As for the OP, 18 kids is definitely not for me. But more power to any family that can handle it! Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:Some even refuse to provide their tax and financial info, which makes it difficult for their kids to take out loans either.
My mom's (abusive) step-dad did that. Luckily my mom and her sister were both able to get full scholarships for their first few years of college, after which he was out of the picture.
My husband put himself through college. His parents were unwilling to cosign his loans. I'm actually okay with that, they had made very clear that that was their policy. He had adequate time to find a cosigner (my aunt and uncle) and is now quite happily able to pay the loans.
We have small savings accounts for our kids into which we put money that their grandparents, etc. give them. But we do prioritize retirement savings and paying off our debt over paying for our kids right now. Our thought is that we don't know how much the situation is going to change in the time it will take them to get there, interest rates are so low that that money can do better things for us (pay off debt that is at a higher interest rate than what we could get for the money, for instance) right now. College costs going up, interest rates going down, many changes happening-- it's just not the time for us to be putting that money there.
We would never, ever impede our kids' ability to go to college if they wanted to by withholding information, etc., though, and if we were in a position to cosign on their college loans and that's what they needed, we would consider it.
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KQ, I wasn't disparaging the family for making that choice. I will say that it is not something I think I would do, for many many reasons. I was in an ideal situation, in which my parents were willing and able to pay for my education in full. I would want to do that for my kids- I had enough friends in college who worried about money to know that I wouldn't want my child, if I ever had one, to have to focus on anything but being a student.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by scholarette: Based on how much my brother and his wife make in real estate, being able to afford 18 kids does not surprise me at all.
Hmmm, being in real estate now (post-bubble) with 18 mouths to feed seems like a scenario that would make me super-nervous.
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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My father was of the sort who wouldn't even provide financial information. My mother could've paid for me to go to school but refused from the rationale that when my older brother and sister were of an age to go to college, she couldn't've afforded to help them pay for it, much less pay for it, so it was unfair to help me pay for it. Also, she cosigned on one of my brother's loans and he dropped out of school and defaulted, so she was opposed to cosigning loans with me. Probably that's part of why only one of my siblings finished school, and she finished last year, just before her 38th birthday.
Posts: 1751 | Registered: Jun 1999
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quote:Originally posted by scholarette: Based on how much my brother and his wife make in real estate, being able to afford 18 kids does not surprise me at all.
Hmmm, being in real estate now (post-bubble) with 18 mouths to feed seems like a scenario that would make me super-nervous.
They're in commercial real estate-- they don't buy and sell, they buy and rent out, AFAIK. So probably a bit of a pinch, but I'm betting not hit near as hard as residential real estate has been.
Also, technically, their oldest is married and moved out. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Orincoro: Yeah but still. I mean, color me impressed, but it's still got to be astronomically expensive. And no, you don't have to pay for college, but what parent doesn't end up shelling out as much as they can in the end?
Mine refused to pay a dime... probably more parents than you might think, unfortunately.
ETA: should have read the whole thread first. I see rivka and Dean made the point
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I hope Michelle has a quick and easy recovery.
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