Avoiding Having Kids Costs Money Too

Avoiding Having Kids Costs Money TooThere are a ton of posts out there that talk about the cost of having kids, but not many (or any) about the cost of not having kids. While we already have a kid and know how expensive it is, our goal since then has been to not have any more kids. Oddly though, avoiding having kids can still cost money.

Birth Control

If you or your partner are taking birth control pills or using some other kind of contraceptive to avoid getting pregnant, there’s usually a price attached. Sure some people are lucky and have a way to get birth control for free through state assistance or great health insurance, but not everybody. Most likely if you have health insurance you’ll be paying something. Whether it’s a co-pay for the visit and/or prescription or deductibles. Some people don’t have any health insurance or assistance and have to pay for the visits, exams and prescriptions themselves, which can really add up.

Condoms

Even if you’re not concerned about STDs, condoms can be a great way to avoid having kids. For those who really don’t want kids, it’s best to double up and use a condom and another form of birth control every time. You can never be too safe. Condoms cost money, unless you get free ones from a doctor’s office or local health department. Otherwise, they can be found fairly inexpensive to more expensive depending on your specific needs (material, size and added benefits). If you’re paying for them, then each time you have sex, you’re sort of paying for it.

Example:

Trojan Value Pack (36 condoms) for $15.89—Each condom costs: $0.44

If you have sex once a week:

Cost per week: 44
Cost per month: $1.91
Cost per year: $22.88
Cost in 10 years: $228.80
Cost in 25 years: $572.00

If you have sex 3 times a week:

Cost per week: $1.32
Cost per month: $5.72
Cost per year: $68.64
Cost in 10 years: $686.40
Cost in 25 years: $1,716.00

If you have sex once a day:

Cost per week: $3.08
Cost per month: $13.38
Cost per year: $160.60
Cost in 10 years: $1,606.00
Cost in 25 years: $4,015.00

*Okay, now I know there are some people lucky enough to get it more than once a day, but most people should be able to relate to the examples.

Vasectomy

Some guys think vasectomies are evil and refuse to ever get one, but some guys are all for it. If a guy knows he definitely doesn’t want kids, then why not get one? It’s a much easier, simpler procedure than a woman having a hysterectomy and can also be reversed if the guy changes his mind later on in life. You do have to wait around 6 months to make sure your soldiers are standing down, but obviously the benefits far outweigh the wait.

From my research, I’ve found the price for a vasectomy to be between $400-$1,500. Since going for the cheap end seems scary, let’s just use $1,000 for the average price. Even if you didn’t use any other forms of birth control aside from condoms, the vasectomy could more than pay for itself—unless you have sex once a week or less. Imagine how much money getting a vasectomy could save if you were using other forms of birth control too.

Abstinence

The easiest, 100% guarantee that you will not have kids is to abstain from sex. I don’t recommend this one, it seems sick and sadistic, but I’m sure it works for some people.

Abortion

No, I’m not saying people should go out and get abortions or not get abortions, just that it’s how some people avoid having kids. You can’t just go out and kill babies for free though, it costs money too. I’ve never really looked into it before, but I’d imagine it cost between $200-$700…feel free to correct me if I’m way off here.

 

How much do spend to avoid having kids?

 

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About Jen Perkins

Likes: saving money, being debt free (aside from our house), zombies, travel, getting money, blogging and dogs. Dislikes: debt, being broke, bunnies, wasting money, not having enough money to travel the world and paying interest. Facebook  ♥  Twitter  ♥  Google+  ♥  RSS

Comments

Avoiding Having Kids Costs Money Too — 26 Comments

  1. Interesting post! Luckily my birth control is only $2 a month with my insurance.

    Recently, the boy’s work started offering (with their insurance), $10 vasectomies. He works at a 90% male dominated place, so of course they’d offer that in order to save money.

    • Doesn’t it need to be like 10% of your gross income to claim the tax deduction? I’m sure a lot of people are able to deduct it on their taxes, but I don’t think we’ll ever get that close. :-(

  2. Interesting breakdown. Another reminder that I need to get laid lol. When you’re not getting any action, you’d gladly pay these kinds of expenses. $4000 to get laid everyday for 25 years? Sold!

    • LOL. I guess it just depends on how much you like sex. Personally, I’d pay $40,000 for 5 years if I could get it whenever I wanted it. :-)

  3. Jen,
    Fascinating and funny piece. While I’m not anti-having children, I imagine it’s still far more expensive to have a kid. However, loving parents never see their children as a dollar sign.

    -Christian L.

    • Yeah, it’s WAY more expensive to have kids, but it’s worth it. :-) Even when they’re out to get you…every single day.

    • Thanks Sean. :-) Yeah, I could find any out there, but then again, I really SUCK at finding stuff online.

    • Thanks for finding that Remy. :-) That’s still pretty expensive, using condoms and/or birth control still seems like a better option, but everybody’s different.

  4. As a parent of two little ones, I can assure you that even the higher end of any of the options listed are way cheaper than having kids! LOL! But I wouldn’t trade it for the world :)

  5. You forgot the price of the morning-after pill for those crazy emergencies, which ranges from $25-$50 depending on where you purchase it.

    Also, let’s be fair, when you don’t have kids, your nieces and nephews expect you to give great Christmas and birthday presents because there’s no excuse.

  6. LOL Very original Jen, I like it. I bet there aren’t many people who have calculated their not having kids costs.

  7. I am thankful that not having kids, despite these costs, still costs far less than having children. :-)

    I also, more recently thanks to my job, now have awesome insurance and as long as I get generics, I don’t pay for anything.

    • Yep, having kids can get pretty spendy. Congrats on the awesome insurance, free generics rocks. :-)

  8. IUD: cost depends on type inserted and what your insurance covers. Good for up to FIVE years.

    And it also works as a ‘morning after pill’ for I think five days after unplanned sex (the actual pill is only what, 2 days after?)

    • I’ve never taken the morning after pill, but I found online that you can take it up to 72 hours afterwards. :-)