Is there ever enough money?

So I made the mistake of logging into the Personal Finance section of MSN today, admittedly, not the most intellectual source of information, but I'm pretty sure I won't get flagged at work for going on that site.

Sigh.

Do you have any idea how much babies, college, mortgages, and retirement costs? Of course, the short answer is "more than you have!" Now, don't get me wrong, my husband and I are blessed, blessed, blessed. As a girl my parents filed bankruptcy and we survived on welfare and food stamps for a few years. I am most proud of my mother for busting her hump to raise four children on her own, go to college so she could support us, and get us off welfare. We were not going to get comfortable getting something for free, and we certainly weren't going to let being on welfare be the end of our story. She instilled in us the value of working hard and earning a living. That earning a living is something to be proud of, no matter where that means you work.

And my husband and I live a life better than I could've dreamed of as that young girl. We both have fulfilling jobs that pay well enough that we can afford everything that we need and a lot of what we want. We even have some left over to save. We can usually afford a few long weekends away each year.

But now that there is an extra being to support, another set of dreams and goals and wants and needs to finance, there is just a bit more pressure. Daycare, diapers and rice cereal will soon become days at Chuckee Cheese and soccer shoes, then Prom and car insurance then college.

I read http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/ - a fabulous blog with concrete advice about saving money, but also making more money, by performing above and beyond at work and also by creating alternate income sources. The philosophy being that if one source of income goes away, you'll have a secondary income to support yourself and your family. This philosophy struck a chord with me. But how does a working Mom with an already jam packed schedule find a way to make more money? Well, there are lots of options, and I haven't sorted them all out, but the sense that I should be doing this remains.

We save through http://www.ingdirect.com/, who up until recently had the best interest rates we could find. At one point the interest rates were over 4%. I think now they're barely over 1%, but they say they still beat the national average. We've had a savings account at http://www.ingdirect.com/ for 4 years, so we're loyal at this point and hope our loyalty is paid off with a return of the higher interest rates. (Stupid economy!)

We want to provide everything we can for our child(ren). Music lessons, math tutors, vacations, occasional new clothes, but most importantly (for me anyway) a sense of security. The knowledge that the heat will always be on, there will always be food (more vegetables than chips, but still, there will be food) in the kitchen, that if they are sick they will go to the doctor, that what they need will be provided. I know only too well that there are too many people in this world who can't count on those things being true.

So when I start to read about the cost of college, that children cost a billion, trillion dollars to raise (only a slight exaggeration) and that to retire comfortably I need to be saving roughly all my income, I start to freak out a bit. How can I possibly provide all that? But then I remember where I came from, how far I've made it, and that I never imagined I'd have a life this good.

If I've made it this far, just how far can I make it? Pretty far, I bet.