What kind of financial planning is required for polygamy. If someone has more wives and children, about how much money do they need for each wife and for each child they have due to polygamy? How should someone financially prepare for polygamous marriage? If someone is not yet married how do they know when they are financially ready to get their first wife, and their second wife, etc? Is it good to delay on getting your first wife so that you have more funds and can be better prepared for more than one wife? Or is it better to get your first wife ASAP?
-
Biblical Families is not a dating website. It is a forum to discuss issues relating to marriage and the Bible, and to offer guidance and support, not to find a wife. Click here for more information.
Finances
- Thread starter DiscussingTheTopic
- Start date
$17,500 per wife and $6,800 per dependent child. You are allowed to add a wife, or breed, once your income hits those thresholds. Add additional wife or children once multiples of these amounts are achieved.
Seriously now, I suggest that normal prudent financial planning would be sufficient for polygamy. Get married when you are able to adequately support a wife and possible children. Adequately support is a subjective item and depends on the standards that you and your potential spouse are prepared to live under.
I definitely would not delay marrying a first wife in order to financially prepare for the next. Life will change so much after the first marriage, who knows what will be required. As long as you are prepared to work hard and live responsibly, you should be fine. If you are in the USA you are living in a land of abundant economic opportunity, both regionally and historically, so go for it! Abundance is the framework for success and should be your motivation, not scarcity. Best wishes, ylop.
Seriously now, I suggest that normal prudent financial planning would be sufficient for polygamy. Get married when you are able to adequately support a wife and possible children. Adequately support is a subjective item and depends on the standards that you and your potential spouse are prepared to live under.
I definitely would not delay marrying a first wife in order to financially prepare for the next. Life will change so much after the first marriage, who knows what will be required. As long as you are prepared to work hard and live responsibly, you should be fine. If you are in the USA you are living in a land of abundant economic opportunity, both regionally and historically, so go for it! Abundance is the framework for success and should be your motivation, not scarcity. Best wishes, ylop.
So someone with two wives and making $50,000 per year could not even afford 4 children, if their wives do not work?
But someone making $50,000 per year could afford a little more than 8 children?
So if birth control is against someones religion or if they just want a lot of children, is polygamy financially affordable on a budget around $50,000 per year?
But someone making $50,000 per year could afford a little more than 8 children?
So if birth control is against someones religion or if they just want a lot of children, is polygamy financially affordable on a budget around $50,000 per year?
My apologies, DTT, I should have make my joke in the first line a bit clearer.
As someone whose first child was born nine months and two days after the wedding, I say "full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes". As long as you are working hard and conducting your lifestyle in a financially responsible manner, you should be fine. You will be building wealth through your family. And once those children hit their teens, they are quite capable of working, and if you have our own business by that stage, that is more arrows in your quiver.
And of course a lot depends on the lifestyle preferences (and patience) of the women you marry.
As someone whose first child was born nine months and two days after the wedding, I say "full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes". As long as you are working hard and conducting your lifestyle in a financially responsible manner, you should be fine. You will be building wealth through your family. And once those children hit their teens, they are quite capable of working, and if you have our own business by that stage, that is more arrows in your quiver.
And of course a lot depends on the lifestyle preferences (and patience) of the women you marry.
A
Anonymous
Guest
ylop said:
Amen! We are now reaping the benefits of having lots of children in a row. It was very hard when they were young, but God is merciful and His ways are always better than ours!
So having a lot of extra children can be a financial advantage if you start your own business.
Is starting your own business a good idea to prepare for polygamy? Is that something most people can do without large financial risks, or is starting a business only for certain people
Is starting your own business a good idea to prepare for polygamy? Is that something most people can do without large financial risks, or is starting a business only for certain people
DTT, I suggest that polygamy and starting a business are two completely separate issues. If they overlap, there are obvious synergies; however you can be polygamous without having a business, and can be in business without being poly.
Any business venture involves risk. Your personal tolerance for risk is one of many indicators of whether business is for you (ie if you have a high tolerance for risk and dont lose sleep easily then that is one of many green lights required before starting up a business). How about focussing on developing your existing trade or vocation to a higher professional level, and see where that takes you whether in business or continued employment?
Any business venture involves risk. Your personal tolerance for risk is one of many indicators of whether business is for you (ie if you have a high tolerance for risk and dont lose sleep easily then that is one of many green lights required before starting up a business). How about focussing on developing your existing trade or vocation to a higher professional level, and see where that takes you whether in business or continued employment?
A
Anonymous
Guest
DiscussingTheTopic said:
Well, having alot of children is an advantage is many, many ways! We don't currently have our own business, but we have a farm, and the saying, "Many hands makes light work" is certainly true.
We didn't have lots of children so we could exploit them for our own purposes; rather, we feel that the Lord desires us to have as many children as He sees fit, for His honor and glory.
Your children are your wealth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them!
This may not be of help to you but here is a practical example of some finances broken down. A polygynous household could do very well finanically if each member of the household works, or if three work and one remains home with childen, or if two work full time and one works part time. Most of the economic standards are built off of a monogamous model. When three or more unite and they break the 100,000 per year mark under one roof they can do well financially.
Here is a modern day example:
Husband: 45,000 per year.
Wife: 30,000
Wife 2: 20,000
Wife 3: 15,000 part time
Total 110,000 dollars Gross income.
Net income after a high tax bracket of 35%. = 38,500 in taxes. Left with 71,500 disposable income.
71,500 / 12 months is $5,958 per month.
Suppose you pay 1,000 for home (rent or mortgage)
-700 for vehicle(s)
-800 food
-350 utilities (power/water)
-150 (phone)
-350 insurance (term/life policies)
-200 clothing
-200 entertainment
-250 miscellaneous
I may be missing something but the above would leave you with $1,958 per month and if saved $23,496 of savings each year. Of course, I did not factor in your free-will offerings to your religious organism that you could support if you have one.
Also, this is based upon a view that sees Proverbs 31 women who make profits by their work. Some do not think women should work. I believe Proverbs 31 teaches a woman can work and make an income and bring in income to the family.
The plural family model is certainly something that can be a huge blessing financially. And I'm working with some average numbers above.
I know this is not exactly what you were asking for but I thought it might be of some use to you as you evaluate some simple budgeting line items.
Dr. Allen
Here is a modern day example:
Husband: 45,000 per year.
Wife: 30,000
Wife 2: 20,000
Wife 3: 15,000 part time
Total 110,000 dollars Gross income.
Net income after a high tax bracket of 35%. = 38,500 in taxes. Left with 71,500 disposable income.
71,500 / 12 months is $5,958 per month.
Suppose you pay 1,000 for home (rent or mortgage)
-700 for vehicle(s)
-800 food
-350 utilities (power/water)
-150 (phone)
-350 insurance (term/life policies)
-200 clothing
-200 entertainment
-250 miscellaneous
I may be missing something but the above would leave you with $1,958 per month and if saved $23,496 of savings each year. Of course, I did not factor in your free-will offerings to your religious organism that you could support if you have one.
Also, this is based upon a view that sees Proverbs 31 women who make profits by their work. Some do not think women should work. I believe Proverbs 31 teaches a woman can work and make an income and bring in income to the family.
The plural family model is certainly something that can be a huge blessing financially. And I'm working with some average numbers above.
I know this is not exactly what you were asking for but I thought it might be of some use to you as you evaluate some simple budgeting line items.
Dr. Allen
Tlaloc
Member
Keiths list of ballpark figures is very good, and its great to point out that a cooperative model of any type (like a polygamous family) gets a great advantage over the 1-2 family income structure in a monogamous society.
The thing to consider is that income increases mostly linearly (not counting tax brackets) as more people join but expenses do not.
Take a case where one person can just barely pay the bills and expenses. Adding a second person adds their entire income, but the rent\mortgage\property tax is the same, basic phone service is the same (perhaps you have to pay for one more cell), electricity costs increase only slightly (only by the amount the new person does things by herself), heating\cooling stays virtually the same (heating may be slightly cheaper). Food and clothing costs increase almost linearly but you do get more leverage because of the increased demand. You can go from buying expensive small packs to relatively cheaper bigger packs of things to possibly being able to do things like get whole lambs or sides of beef.
Income increases faster than expenses as you add people.
The same idea applies when adding a stay at home mom, Going from two too three adding a stay at home mom is not a 50% cost increase, probably not even a 33% cost increase.
I hear a lot of talk about 'food and clothing' not diminishing. Thats right, but we need to keep in perspective that food and clothing is not normally the largest part of our budget so increasing it is not as bad as it can sound. .
The thing to consider is that income increases mostly linearly (not counting tax brackets) as more people join but expenses do not.
Take a case where one person can just barely pay the bills and expenses. Adding a second person adds their entire income, but the rent\mortgage\property tax is the same, basic phone service is the same (perhaps you have to pay for one more cell), electricity costs increase only slightly (only by the amount the new person does things by herself), heating\cooling stays virtually the same (heating may be slightly cheaper). Food and clothing costs increase almost linearly but you do get more leverage because of the increased demand. You can go from buying expensive small packs to relatively cheaper bigger packs of things to possibly being able to do things like get whole lambs or sides of beef.
Income increases faster than expenses as you add people.
The same idea applies when adding a stay at home mom, Going from two too three adding a stay at home mom is not a 50% cost increase, probably not even a 33% cost increase.
I hear a lot of talk about 'food and clothing' not diminishing. Thats right, but we need to keep in perspective that food and clothing is not normally the largest part of our budget so increasing it is not as bad as it can sound. .
One thing that I don't agree with. In our family, hubby and first wife are legally married. Their income is separate from mine. That means that we each might be in a lower tax bracket than if my income were added into theirs for tax purposes. As a result, we may actually come out ahead of the game. At least until I get to the place where I have a professional's salary.
SweetLissa
SweetLissa
So the way I see it a bachelors degree in a field like Chemistry, Nursing or Engineering usually results in $50,000 per year and if you advance in rank through higher college degrees and experiences your income might reach a ceiling of $100,000 a year, I have not researched this too much but that seems to be what I heard.
So I do not think advancing in my field is enough if I want to do polygamy because my income would hit a ceiling.
I would have to find some other source of getting food at a reasonable price through farming bargain shopping etc. or find a way to make more money.
So it seems to me like some investment in business or farming might be necessary and I heard farm land is hundreds of thousands of dollars (from a farmer I asked) and therefor I do not see how I could save money for a farm even working in my career, after I graduate and get hired.
Thank you everyone for the help. Any more advice would be appreciated.
Financial is my main concern about this topic for me personally. Most everything else is a green light for polygamy for me personally.
So I do not think advancing in my field is enough if I want to do polygamy because my income would hit a ceiling.
I would have to find some other source of getting food at a reasonable price through farming bargain shopping etc. or find a way to make more money.
So it seems to me like some investment in business or farming might be necessary and I heard farm land is hundreds of thousands of dollars (from a farmer I asked) and therefor I do not see how I could save money for a farm even working in my career, after I graduate and get hired.
Thank you everyone for the help. Any more advice would be appreciated.
Financial is my main concern about this topic for me personally. Most everything else is a green light for polygamy for me personally.
If its food your worried about you should check into square foot gardening a lot of food can be grown in a little space and I would say with just a couple acres you could raise a couple steers a year and have plenty of meat. There was a thread about living off the grid i htink that disscussed this a little. Here is a link that will give you a wealth of info on living off the land and doining it with as little land as possible http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/index.php As far as Finances go it all depends on your life style, if you have to have a new car for all then its going to take a lot of money. But at the same time with more than one or two incomes even if they are minimum wage your doing better than the average mono family. Also getting debt free as soon as possible and staying that way will make small paychecks go a long way.
Tlaloc
Member
Yeah, but so is a house in a city, here at least.
But you wouldn't be looking into commercial farmland by the section unless that farmland was a business investment. A hobby farm on an aceredge with a house can produce food for a lot of people if tended too, plus you have space for housing.
Here at least a smaller peice of developed land with trees\barn\housing is still not much less than a square mile of good farmland.
Anyway, with farming you'll generally want a different type of land if your trying to make money than if you want to feed a family, though if you have enough money there is quite a bit of synergy in having both. The biggest difference is that commercial farming aims to produce large quantities of one or a few crops, while family farming aims to produce a small amount of a wide variety of crops.
I like Dr Allen's breakdown idea. I truly do. Thanks.
And I do believe in the economies of scale. They make sense. There's no doubt about it that shopping at Costco and sam's Club helps out. We even go to restaurant supply stores when possible.
But I'm wondering ... where can we rent a home big enough for a husband, 3 wives, and ?..? kids (don't forget the dog, the cat, the ferrets, the love birds, and the very large lizard) for $1000 a month? Or run a food budget for that large a circus of $800 /month at today's prices?
My CELL bill, for 6 phones + texting + 2 data packs + 2 data cards (admittedly, part of this is business requirement) runs approx $600/month. Vehicles do need repairs, kids have school projects. Don't forget legal fees, glasses, medical fees, vacation time, the cost of celebrating birthdays and special days, and will all three wives do ok with the one-house/kitchen thing, or will you nd up needing 3 houses, a la Big Love, to keep all three from tearing each other's hair out (most unattractive!)?
i say this, NOT to criticize Dr Allen's post, but to expand on it. Most of the standard new home consruction for a very long time has been built around the 3 bedroom 2 bath model. i'm just not sure how the economies of scale, with 3 wives + kids, is likely to work in that situation. And if you try to look for an 8+ bedroom place, with parking for the vehicles, and room to effectively grow a garden, and have even a bit of private space for each family member, I suspect the costs incolced will still go up quite a bit. ... unless, of course, you get cheap land somewhere (20 acres / $40,000 / Montana wilderness) and build your house(s) with cob or somesuch. *grin* Which would, admittedly, be more fun.
Ok ... enough of my rambling thoughts on this topic. Very much enjoyed the posts so far.
And I do believe in the economies of scale. They make sense. There's no doubt about it that shopping at Costco and sam's Club helps out. We even go to restaurant supply stores when possible.
But I'm wondering ... where can we rent a home big enough for a husband, 3 wives, and ?..? kids (don't forget the dog, the cat, the ferrets, the love birds, and the very large lizard) for $1000 a month? Or run a food budget for that large a circus of $800 /month at today's prices?
My CELL bill, for 6 phones + texting + 2 data packs + 2 data cards (admittedly, part of this is business requirement) runs approx $600/month. Vehicles do need repairs, kids have school projects. Don't forget legal fees, glasses, medical fees, vacation time, the cost of celebrating birthdays and special days, and will all three wives do ok with the one-house/kitchen thing, or will you nd up needing 3 houses, a la Big Love, to keep all three from tearing each other's hair out (most unattractive!)?
i say this, NOT to criticize Dr Allen's post, but to expand on it. Most of the standard new home consruction for a very long time has been built around the 3 bedroom 2 bath model. i'm just not sure how the economies of scale, with 3 wives + kids, is likely to work in that situation. And if you try to look for an 8+ bedroom place, with parking for the vehicles, and room to effectively grow a garden, and have even a bit of private space for each family member, I suspect the costs incolced will still go up quite a bit. ... unless, of course, you get cheap land somewhere (20 acres / $40,000 / Montana wilderness) and build your house(s) with cob or somesuch. *grin* Which would, admittedly, be more fun.
Ok ... enough of my rambling thoughts on this topic. Very much enjoyed the posts so far.
Tlaloc
Member
I dunno, we could buy something pretty decent for 1000$ CDN a month, but that would probably be 25-30 years to maturity which is undesirable. A side of beef runs around 400$, and that'll feed quite a brood for a while, but I tend to agree 800$ for food is lowballed for so many people even with bulk buying.
Thank you for the advice about farmland and finances.
So if you are certain you want your wives to be stay at home moms and not have a job outside the house. (Titus 2:5)
Then if the wives are unemployed, is it reasonably possible to get enough food if you do not use birth control?
So if you are certain you want your wives to be stay at home moms and not have a job outside the house. (Titus 2:5)
Then if the wives are unemployed, is it reasonably possible to get enough food if you do not use birth control?
DTT, I think you are over-analyzing the situation. So much will change as you take each step towards your promised land. Just work hard and live responsibly, the rest will fall into place and probably be quite different to what you first envisaged.
And I must share that I have a smile on my face about your last post, imagining a scene in the newly-expanded DTT household.
DTT: Wives, I have good news and bad news.
Wives: (in unison) What is it dear?
DTT: The good news is you are all staying at home and not using birth control...the bad news is we are going to starve
Please forgive my sense of humour and if you dont find it funny, the problem is with me not you.
Anyway, staying at home, breeding and eating are not mutually exclusive activities (although I think could cause problems if attempted simultaneously)
ylop
And I must share that I have a smile on my face about your last post, imagining a scene in the newly-expanded DTT household.
DTT: Wives, I have good news and bad news.
Wives: (in unison) What is it dear?
DTT: The good news is you are all staying at home and not using birth control...the bad news is we are going to starve
Please forgive my sense of humour and if you dont find it funny, the problem is with me not you.
Anyway, staying at home, breeding and eating are not mutually exclusive activities (although I think could cause problems if attempted simultaneously)
ylop