Ask a mother of 14 continued

Question: One of the things that I've been wanting to ask but have felt it was not an appropriate question to ask - is it financially hard on the family? I have always thought that the man (husband/father) has to be making lots of money to be able to run a big family like that to be able to keep up with the demands of the family. Is health insurance an option? I know not everyone has health insurance these days, but I've just always wondered for those with large families. Smaller families have financial difficulties too.

Answer:Interesting question! I think for us it took a change of mind about money and things. We live on one income. My husband is an RN and works in the ER of a busy hospital. We have good insurance through his job- but we pay a rather high price for it too.

Let me give you a little background on us. When we married my hubby said TWO kids max. :) I am an RN also but quit working many years ago- once we had three children. As our hearts changed about life and children, so did our views on what we needed to live. I stopped working and we bought a smaller house. We got rid of the new cars and began to drive older used cars. We cancelled magazines and premium cable. We bought bulk and generic. Little by little we learned that we could live on one income- if we wanted to.We are careful about what we buy, but do have "normal" things. A cheaper recliner can be as cozy as an expensive one. Netflix movies are as good to watch as movies you buy. Free computer learning sites have as fun games as places you pay for often.

By shaving a little here and a little there we can still be "normal" and have lots of kids!Some things are different. We do not pay our kids way through college. They work summers and save!They work while in college. Is it harder? Yes, but if we were rich- we would do it the same way. Our kids respect themselves. They value their education because it was not given to them- they earned it.

Our house is small. We like each other though, so don't mind being together! Kids don't need a dozen pairs of shoes, and twenty pairs of jeans each. Who really wears 30 shirts? They wear the few they love over and over anyway- so don't buy the others!People are often surprised at how darn normal we are! LOL! Thanks for the question. I hope I answered it. If you want more details let me know. Hugs, Barbara