A recent conversation in a Facebook retirement group made me consider the value of children in our lives.
Welcome to the 160th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a quote of the week. Along with the value of children in our lives, this week’s edition has nuggets of good news about balcony solar, renewable energy projects in Ontario, and the cost of EVs.
On my mind this week: The value of children in our lives
A couple of weeks ago, I followed an interesting conversation in one of the retirement-related Facebook groups I’m in. Like most of these groups, the conversations often turn political and the comments can be questionable, judgmental, and sometimes nasty. I mostly read them to glean insights for my retirement coaching work.
In this case, the person who initiated the conversation asked for advice from the group about how to save enough to retire early. Many of the comments were practical and helpful, but I was disappointed with the number of responses that simply said, “Don’t have kids!”
Anyone who has kids knows it takes a lot of money to raise them to adulthood. But simply saying “Don’t have kids!” ignores other variables that can have just as big of an impact on retirement savings. It also disregards the value of children in our lives—the intangible and non-financial aspects of having kids.
My husband and I had two daughters, saved for their education, and still managed to save enough to retire at 60.
How did we do it?
It’s all about our choices
First and foremost, we still live in the modest-sized house we bought when we got married. We resisted the temptation to upsize and buy more house than we really needed. Looking back, that was one of the smartest money moves we made.
Over the years, we prioritized retirement savings over other things we could have spent money on. Unlike many who seek F.I.R.E., we didn’t sacrifice our current happiness to fund early retirement. We still travelled and bought things that we needed, but we lived within our means and didn’t fall prey to the constant messages to accumulate more stuff and keep up with the latest trends.
The non-financial value of children
When I think about my blessings, I put my daughters at the top of the list. Parenting is tough, but they have enriched my life in so many ways.
I often joke that we could have retired earlier if we didn’t have kids, but I wouldn’t give my daughters up for anything. Because you can’t put a price tag on all the love, joy and laughter they’ve brought to our lives.
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Three highlights of the week
It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- Last weekend was our Alpha Weekend Retreat. It was refreshing and exhausting all at the same time. I came home on Sunday afternoon and had a nap—something I rarely do.
- We had some really warm days this week, with the temperature hitting 20C on a couple of days. We got our patio furniture out and I took the time to sit on the deck and read a book.
- On Thursday, we went to the St. Jacob’s farmers’ market. It was so nice to get outside and walk around.
Things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. As we celebrated Earth Day earlier in the week, I was happy to find several bits of good news on the renewable energy front. Here are three things I learned this week:
Balcony solar taking off in Germany
As of the end of 2025, more than a million balcony solar panels have been installed in German apartments. The number of installations has more than doubled in the past 12 months. The environmental impact of the energy generated by the panels each year is equal to taking 67,000 cars off the road.
These balcony solar panels plug into a regular wall outlet. The payback period for the purchase cost is two to five years, and the panels last 20 years.
(Source: Happy Eco News on YouTube)
Renewable energy projects in Ontario
Despite the Ford government’s best efforts to prioritize costlier natural gas and nuclear projects over renewable energy, 14 wind and solar projects will come online in Ontario by 2030. The 1300 MW of energy from these projects will power over 350,000 homes.
All of these projects have Indigenous partnership of 50% or more.
(Source: National Observer)
EVs becoming more affordable in the U.K.
For the first time ever, the average price of new electric vehicles in the U.K. has fallen below gasoline-powered vehicles.
Autotrader reports the average price of a new electric car listed on the website in the first three months of the year was £785 cheaper than gasoline-powered cars. During the same time period, battery electric cars accounted for 22% of U.K. new car sales.
(Source: The Guardian)
Quote of the week
Children empty our pockets and fill our souls.
Tim Fargo
I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
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You and your husband made the best choices and you’re absolutely right about the non financial value of kids. The return on investment – if we’re gonna use financial lingo – far exceeds what we have to put in. Intangible and immeasurable worth.
Thanks, Ab. Funny that you say “return on investment” because I initially titled this post “The ROI of kids” but—as a fan of plain language—I changed it after I wrote it.
We were in our late 30s when we had our girls. I often think about our life before they were born and how it changed (for the better) after they were born. And I do wonder what our life would be like now if we hadn’t made that choice. Hmm…feels like a topic for another post. Mother’s Day is coming! 😂
Enjoy your Sunday. The sun is shining!
I had very personal and strong reasons for wanting children but I’ve watched things change as they became adults. The whys for and against are still very personal among them and their peers, but (at least for 2 of my kids) they are very clear in why they are choosing not to have children. Something brought this topic to mind for me the other day and I began thinking about my 2 granddaughters, wondering what they will choose. As I see who they are now at 13 and 10, their personalities, etc. I suspect each will make a different choice.
I think the thing that got me about the comments was the purely financial focus. Children are not commodities and you need to look beyond the financial impact at the bigger picture of what they bring to your life.
Whether or not to have children is a very personal decision and one not to be taken lightly. For many years, I said I would never have kids. It took me to my mid 30s to realize that family matters more than anything. Now I look at the messed up state of the world and wonder if I made the right choice.
As for my girls, they’ve both said they don’t want kids. That might change if/when they’re in long-term relationships, but I’m not holding my breath.
The financial was never a consideration here, but then that was also a different time when I had kids…:) Placing the focus on just one aspect is wrong, I agree.
I don’t like the blanket statement of don’t have kids. however, I’ve seen a lot of crappy parenting so maybe people should think hard about having kids. but living within your means is key to sound financial.footing
Oh, I agree 100% on the bad parenting, LA. And yes to living within our means. It’s a simple message that has been lost in our consumption-driven world.