No its not a right to have a child, but for people who have that Want to have one then they have every right to try for that,.

Yes there are plenty of people that shouldnt have children, just as some people shouldnt own animals, sadly this isnt in direct correlation to money though. Someone who has worked all their life and then decides to get pregnant has every right to take time out to raise their child the way they want and if they choose to take tax credits whilst they do that they have contributed towards it so have every right to.

There are always people who abuse the system - ie: claim all the benefits and have no interest in working.

I dont want to go back to work just now, however I dont claim tax credits - only my child benefit which all are entitled and we survive on hubbys wage only, we get by with enough money for supermarket, mortgage and car, but we have little extras and cant afford holidays this year at all.

However I wouldnt have it any other way, I have loved bringing up my boy and he is great fun. It goes far too fast for me to have put him in childcare and i feel I can go back to work once they are at school.

Iso - I think the point I was making is financially would you ever be ready as what realistically is going to change? Is your mortgage going to get paid off, are your bills going to reduce, because they are things that are constants and they will continue to be the same for many years so if it really is that tight perhaps if you want to have kids, you would need to look at either doing a different job or your partner doing that to get more money in or looking at working in evenings etc when baby is younger.

We went from two wages to one and whilst our mortgage isnt huge ( only about £400 a month) we still are skint at the end of every month. The good thing about baby stuff is you have to buy it once and then its good for more than one baby anyway and loads of things can be picked up free or second hand etc.

anyway good luck with whatever you guys decide.

Pidge its great you are thinking it through though - i'm sure you'll make a lovely mum when the time comes x

Another consideration is how many children you would ideally like, if possible, Pidge. Obviously the sooner you get started, the more children you could potentially have

As I started late, I have decided that one is enough for me Ben has an older step-brother though, so I am quite glad he won't grow up as an only child.