Should You Have a Third Child? How to Think Through the Decision

Marriage Kids and Money: Personal Finance for Families

Andy Hill

Investing, Business, Kids & Family, Parenting

4.9 • 604 Ratings

🗓️ 8 April 2026

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Should you have a third child? And how can you help your kids graduate college debt-free? In this episode, we explore one of life’s most personal decisions: whether to grow your family. We walk through a thoughtful 7-step framework to help you and your partner decide if a third child is right for you—covering emotional readiness, relationship strength, finances, and the value of time. Then, we’re joined by educator and author Shelley Branine to talk about how families can avoid student loan debt. We dive into why college costs have skyrocketed and how strategies like dual enrollment can help students earn college credits in high school—often at little to no cost. If you’re thinking about expanding your family or planning for your child’s education, this episode will give you clarity, confidence, and practical next steps. Resources and Links 📚 📖My new book, "Own Your Time" https://marriagekidsandmoney.com/ownyourtimeamazon 📞Voicemail for Questions: Leave a voicemail at ⁠marriagekidsmoney.com/voicemail⁠ to have your question answered on the show! 💻 Sponsors and Additional Resources ⁠⁠https://marriagekidsandmoney.com/resources⁠⁠ 👉Connect with me on social media: LinkedIn: ⁠AndyHillMKM⁠ Instagram: ⁠MarriageKidsAndMoney⁠ CREDITS Editor: Johnny Sohl Podcast Support: Michelle Ahmed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is sponsored by my new book, Own Your Time.
0:03.0	I wrote it for parents who are doing everything right on paper, but still feel stretched
0:07.0	thin.
0:08.0	Own your time gives you a clear path to take back control of your money, your work, and your
0:13.0	family time.
0:14.0	Find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
0:16.0	Own Your Time by Andy Hill.
0:19.0	Bringing a life into the world is one of the most meaningful things that we can do as humans.
0:24.5	Not everyone gets that opportunity.
0:27.0	So if you have the love, the desire, and the ability to support another child emotionally,
0:33.2	physically, and financially, that is a beautiful thing.
0:36.6	Music physically and financially, that is a beautiful thing.
0:47.8	This show is dedicated to helping you, strengthen your family tree, and live financially free.
0:49.9	Welcome to the Marriage Kids and Money podcast, everybody.
0:53.5	This is Andy Hill, and today we're going to do two things.
1:00.0	First, we'll be reviewing a question from Mike about whether to have a third child or not. Second, we'll be answering a question about keeping college affordable, reasonable, and debt-free for our children.
1:07.0	Our new friend, Shelley Brennine, author of Finnish College in High School, is going to be here to help us out.
1:14.9	All right, let's jump into today's show.
1:18.5	This question comes in from Mike from North Carolina.
1:22.3	Mike writes, hi, Andy.
1:24.0	I've enjoyed listening to your pod the last few years.
1:27.2	Thanks for all that you do.
	...

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