Stefan & Jennifer: Reflections on Early Parenthood & Building a Future

Starting Out: Stefan & Jennifer

Jenn: How we thought the future would look was a lot different than what it came out to.

Stefan: So for the first couple of years, we were really just trying to feed the kids and pay the health bills.

Jenn: And now I think this is just the beginning of us kind of starting to breathe. My mom only lives about five or six miles away. During those lean years she gave us money, she helped us, she was the only bank in town that would help.

Stefan: She always says, whatever I plan, I plan to be 100 years old.

Jenn: If my mother lives beyond 100, and she’s doing really well, but she needs more care and financially the money is not there, it would put a strain I think on the family especially to honor what she wants, which is to stay in her home. So we do have to start maybe planning for that a little bit and looking at the future. We owe it to her to be ready, so we’ll figure it out.

Stefan: We get worried about our retirement. That’s what we need to prioritize, as well, I mean we started late for sure too.

Jenn: It’s not because of recklessness; it’s more just not knowing.

Stefan: We should have had some advice earlier—we needed a roadmap, I think.

Jenn: To have somebody come and say that they could help us make a decision about what day we could retire, if that’s possible, then I would love to see that. I’d like to know that our future and that the future for my kids and the future for my mom is somewhat planned for.