Maybe It's Better I Don't Have a Baby, Because I Can't Afford Anything

It's not enough that DH and I are swimming in student loan debt. It's not enough that our house is worth less than we paid for in 2004. It's not enough that we just blew $20,000 on IVF that didn't work. On top of that, our retirement accounts must have been obliterated today. I can't even bring myself to look.

Sometimes I think, why be responsible? Why be traditional? I mean, if I was partying in Ibiza all year long I might not have a liver, but I'm guessing I wouldn't have all this debt either. And it hardly seems worth it right now--the house in the 'burbs, the station wagon, the money dutifully poured into the 401(k) each month. So I can be a good, stable parent and my children won't have to take care of me when I don't have teeth. And of course, I have to pay extra cash for those children, too.

Is it really worth a liver?