The (High) Cost of Kids w/ Emily Oster #902
How to Money
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 3.2K Ratings
🗓️ 6 November 2024
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Here on the podcast we don’t shy away from the fact that we’re big fans of having kids- Joel has three, Matt has four. But that is not typical here in the United States where the average is 1.6 births per woman… but why? We think the costly nature of having kids is one of the reasons. Depending on which study you’re looking at and the cost of living cited, we’ve seen upwards of $400,000 per kid! But even still, should it be all about the numbers? Should that data drive all of our decisions? Luckily we’re joined by someone who is a parent and knows all about the data- Emily Oster. Emily is a professor of economics at Brown University, the author of books like Expecting Better, Cribsheet, and Family Firm, and now host of the new podcast Raising Parents. And while you might know her as the lady who says it’s ok to have wine and coffee in moderation while pregnant, or as the health economist who shared unpopular opinions on Covid policies during the pandemic, we’re excited to share our conversation that’s all about our money and kids: making career breaks and staying home with the kids, why we need to approach family decisions the way a business would, Emily’s take on allowances, and more!
Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances:
- Knowing your ‘money gear’ is a crucial part of your personal finance journey. Start here.
- Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical.
- Join a thriving community of fellow money in the HTM Facebook group.
- Find the best credit card for you with our new credit card tool!
- Massively reduce your cell phone bill each month by switching to a discount provider like Mint Mobile.
- Don’t be cheap and forego getting a life insurance policy. Compare rates with Policygenius.
During this episode we enjoyed an Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!
Best friends out!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to How to Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt. |
| 0:03.5 | And today we're talking about the high cost of kids with Emily Oster. |
| 0:07.3 | Okay. Yeah, so Joel, we don't shy away from the fact that you and I, like, we're big fans of having kids. |
| 0:30.9 | You've got three kids. |
| 0:31.7 | I've got four. |
| 0:33.2 | Actually, recently at a personal finance conference, I mentioned that to someone that I had just |
| 0:37.1 | met, that I've got four kids. |
| 0:38.3 | She literally did a spit take when I told her that. |
| 0:41.5 | But I think there's multiple reasons for that, I'm sure. |
| 0:44.2 | But the costly nature of having kids is a big reason for sure. |
| 0:48.4 | It's not what most folks are doing these days. |
| 0:50.7 | And depending on what study you're looking at, itends on where in the country you live as well. |
| 0:54.4 | I've seen upwards of like $400,000 per kid. |
| 0:57.5 | So we're hoping to set the record straight today with Emily Oster. |
| 1:01.7 | Emily is a professor of economics at Brown University. |
| 1:05.6 | She's the author of books like Expecting Better, Cribsheet, Family Firm, |
| 1:10.3 | all relating to the different stages of |
| 1:12.0 | parenting or soon-to-be parenting that you're in. And now she's host of the new podcast |
| 1:17.2 | raising parents. And you might know her as the lady who says it's okay to have wine and coffee |
| 1:22.4 | in moderation while you're pregnant or who shared unpopular opinions on COVID policies during the pandemic. |
| 1:29.2 | She's not afraid to dive into the controversial, but we're excited to talk about all things |
| 1:33.7 | that are going to be kids and money related with you today. Emily, thank you for joining us on the |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.