Over the last two days, I explained how 90s sitcoms give us a nostalgic, if not confusing, look at what life was like in the idealized American Dream that is television.

Many of the tropes that they use in TV shows have questionable sustainability if viewed from today’s standards. From expensive apartments in major metropolitan areas to going out for coffee every dang day, there’s so much we can pick apart!

One trope that stands above many others is the concept of the multi-child household.

Okay, okay. It DOES make for fresh storylines when you can draw upon the diversity of family members in each age group to hit all of those demographics.

Young kid? You’ve got a bullying storyline.

Dad in the family? He can run into trouble with his job (usually getting fired) and try to hide it from the family out of shame.

Edgy teenager? There’s your coming of age story – making terrible decisions about friendships, dating, clothing, or even drug abuse.

And for the lady of the house? Surprise pregnancy storyline.

These stories practically write themselves, but let’s focus on the math of adding children to a household.

In the metro New York Area (where many sitcoms take place), the average yearly costs associated with a family of 6 (2 adults and 4 kids) for housing, food, taxes, transportation, health care, and other necessities come close to $150,000 per year.

The median household income (per the 2015-2019 census) in NYC was just short of $64,000.

Granted, the parent characters on these shows are usually portrayed as having some fantastic job, like a talk show host or working for a large publishing firm, so logic would dictate that the incomes of their fictional households could facilitate these expenses.

Unless, of course, they entrust the moody teenager with babysitting duty, which would save them loads on childcare. We’ve all seen that episode; they nearly burn the house down, but they learn a valuable lesson in responsibility, and our heroes get to save $40,000 a year on childcare.

Real life is definitely not like anything you see on TV. Their struggles are nothing like the ones we encounter on a day-to-day basis, and sometimes we need a little help making the right financial choices to support our families and our futures.

The ball’s in your court. Give us a call at 513-563-PLAN (7526) or go online to have a short 15-minute talk with us about your goals for yourself and your family.

Regards,

Nikki Earley, CFP®