Frugal couple accumulate large nest egg by choosing not to live beyond means

Seattle Times ^ | 01/04/04 | Kathleen Lynn

[Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh]

I thought this was an article from The Onion.

Being frugal helps you to become wealthy? LOL, even the title of the article is Onionesque.

[Screaming_Gerbil]

I was thinking the same thing--especially the "no kids" part.

My first thought reading this was how different life without children would be. Those poor people.

We have three wonderful children, the youngest now almost an adult. Braces, camps, tuition, not to mention the clothes and the long showers have cost us a pretty penny. Kids aren't cheap, but they are worth every cent.

Good for you. However, some people are not so lucky.

My wife and I have no children. My wife is an insulin dependant Diabetic (been that way since 18, and not thru being overweight). Pregnancy would be high risk for her - and she didn't want kids. I could have married someone else if I had really wanted kids...

However...

Mental Illness (BiPolar Disorder and Depression) along with Alcohol abuse run in my family.

My parents spent all thier money bailing my brother and sister out of trouble. They let them move back in with them, then eventually had to call the police to get them to leave...

And my brother and sister (now 43 and 41 respectively) are now (for all I know) living on the street or in a homeless shelter somewhere.

Sometimes you get lucky and everyone turns out alright - other times you get the one bad apple, but if you're very unlucky, it could be one big disaster.

Like who are you going to marry, having children is a purely personal decision.

[Dec31,1999]

I hope you're not confusing my criticism of my country on this subject for a lack of patriotism. (US Navy, Submarine Service, 16 yrs and counting)

Absolutely not. Thank you for your service to our great country!