Thanks for posting. Keep saving – it gets harder after you own a house and have kids.
My biggest regret is that I delayed working until age 27, so I had only 3 years to earn money before having my first child. So those of you saving, keep it up. Once kids come along, and you lose that second income and have more expenses, you can’t save as much.
And before you say women can keep working after baby, the most lucky babies are the ones who fall asleep nursing in their mommy’s arms and wake up in a quiet room; no comparison to getting a bottle, Gerber baby food, and a noisy daycare center with the typical 2-month staff turnover. Older kids still need an encouraging word, a loving touch, a snack prepared. I’ll never leave my kids with daycare or home alone after school as long as we can afford to be there. Husbands benefit when kids and the wife are happy, dinner is made, the house is clean and humming. These choices cost money, and we made the decision early on to get a mortgage reliant on only 1 income.
Homeownership is very expensive too. Just ask your homeowning friends how much they spend at Home Depot, and on other remodeling and repairs.