Did any of you read the Time article “The Childfree Life” this past summer? For those of you who didn’t, the short version is as follows: people who don’t have kids turn out quite happy, not to mention wealthy. In the, over-populated, increasingly economically unstable world we find ourselves in- this has become a not-so unpopular idea. Today’s infographic has the same idea, and points out that raising a child is actually more expensive than a brand-new Bentley Continental GT. Now that’s a fly ass car!
Now, I’m 21 — and I know my feelings could change in the future, but I plan on not having kids. For every reason detailed in the infographic, and every article titled “Have We Mortgaged Our Children’s Future because of (insert ‘Obamacare’ for Fox News or ‘Bailouts’ for CNN)” it’s a scary time for us twenty-somethings. Not having kids seems like a solid way to avoid drowning in debt.
Today’s Infographic does a fantastic job of putting a tangible amount to the kids or no-kids dilemma: having kids has an inverse relationship with being able to afford a 190,000 dollar car. 190 thousand dollars!? That’s a lot of scratch, you could buy a vacation home with that money, or 13 of these jet-skis. You could start your own jet-ski rental company! In all seriousness though, I wouldn’t blow the extra money from not having kids on a Bentley, or a baker’s dozen of jet-skis, it would definitely have to be the Martin Personal Jetpack which is rumored to cost around $200k when it hits the market in 2015. If it’s a kid or a jetpack, I’m going jetpack.
Ok, ok. Back to being serious. More young people than ever before are considering the benefits of not having kids. Not so they can use the extra money to buy tons of cool shit (ok that is a little bit of it) but for reasons that are as complex as they are numerous. Economic uncertainty, environmental degradation caused by over-population, and a change in cultural expectations are a few of these reasons. It’s a unique time we’re living in, which may call for unique measures. Give today’s infographic a look and decide for yourself. [Via]