I’ve got a trick up my sleeve (literally, actually, but we’ll get into that later) that I’m using to help me on my path to financial independence. It’s unusual in that it’s not a savings app and it’s not a mindset that helps me spend less money. But it’s not a secret: everyone’s heard of it, and a vast majority of women have used it in some form or another for a variety of reasons.
The Unconventional (But Critical) Part of My Pursuit of Financial Independence
I am, of course, talking about birth control.
An Ode to Birth Control
Birth control is something that’s been on my mind lately: a few days ago was the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and also the so-called “March for Life” happened recently (I will not go on a rant about how the “life” part is so deeply hypocritical, I will not go on a rant…). There was also a fascinating discussion about sex ed on Twitter (you have to open up the various replies to see all of the many threads), although by fascinating I mean “the state of sex ed in this country is at best laughably horrible and at worst actively damaging.”
Birth control in general is pretty damn awesome. Something that reduces unwanted pregnancies (and therefore reduces the need for abortions and the need to rely on the social safety net, for the old white men in power who like legislating women’s bodies those who care about those things), is good for the environment, lets women have more control over their own lives and decide when and if they become mothers, and is good for women’s societal advancement? Yes, please!
And I shouldn’t have to say this, but I will anyway, before some troll pops up in my comments or mentions calling all women on birth control sluts: women don’t use birth control solely for “consequence-free sex.”
Medical Reasons
There are many, many reasons why a woman will use the pill for medical reasons: endometriosis is a really fucking painful condition, and taking the pill continuously can reduce symptoms. The pill can help treat polycystic ovary syndrome or amenorrhea. Same for hormone replacement therapy for primary ovarian insufficiency. The pill can alsoreduce acne, make heavy periods lighter, and reduce cramps and other PMS bullshit.
Every woman’s experience is different, sure. But in case you think PMS is no big deal and we should all suck it up, every three or four months I’d wake up one morning to absolutely debilitating cramps that left me curled up in a ball until the painkillers kicked in. And I wouldn’t say I dealt with “bad” cramps. Have you ever felt like you were going to pass out, throw up, or die, and possibly all three at once? Yeah, that’s what my not-bad cramps felt like.
The pill can also regulate an irregular cycle:
I went on birth control originally in high school because I’d had my period for two years but I was still randomly skipping months. So my doctor prescribed me the pill, and lo and behold I not only had a period every month, but it started and more or less ended at the same time each month.
While all of the above information is totally true, ultimately it really doesn’t fucking matter whether women are on birth control for medical reasons or for reproductive reasons. Both are legitimate and good reasons to be on birth control. Let’s not act like the only non-shameful reason to be on birth control is to treat a medical condition.
If I got into all of the excuses I see people (okay, mostly men) make for why birth control shouldn’t be widely available and affordable, I’d be writing an entire book. I don’t have time for that and no one’s paying me to do it, so here are two of my favorites.
“I Don’t Want to Pay For It.”
Buddy, I’ve got news for you: it’s included in health care you are already paying for. You’re paying for my birth control in the same way that you’re paying for someone’s insulin, x-rays, chemo, or ER visit. There is not some separate Birth Control For The Females (Ew) fund that your hard-earned tax dollars are going towards. Birth control is regular ol’ healthcare.
I’d also say not forcing people to have children they don’t want or aren’t ready for is about the same level of common good as roads, public schools, and running water. Guess what, you pay for those too! (Damn the government!)
And lastly, great! If we’re not going to make birth control available, then let’s work on making the social safety net a lot more robust so we can better take care of the families who had kids they weren’t planning for (see, that’s actually pro-life)! That’ll be a lot more expensive. Making birth control affordable and widely available is a hell of a lot cheaper, so take your pick about which one you want to pay for.
“Just Keep Your Legs Closed”
Yo, this response is SO BORING. Like seriously, you can’t come up with something more creative than “just don’t have sex”??
I had about five more paragraphs of things I was going to go into, including a whole rant on the utter, harmful nonsense that is abstinence-only sex ed (who spent college unlearning ridiculous amounts of sexist bullshit she didn’t even know she’d internalized? This girl!). But nope, I’m gonna leave it there. YAWN.
The Economics of Birth Control
Why else is birth control awesome? Because kids are really damn expensive. Like $233,610 expensive. In the FI community we (okay, those of us with kids) can argue all we want about how to raise kids so they aren’t terribly expensive: have them pay for most or all of their college education, don’t buy them a car when they turn 16, curtail the amount of toys they get as gifts, don’t enroll them in ten separate activities after school, and so on.
But none of those money-saving child-rearing techniques change the fact that you still need to feed, clothe, and house your kids for 18 years. Someone will need to watch your kid if both parents are at work during the day, and that’s a hella expensive line item for your budget. (Need help starting your budget? Click right on over here boo.)
Maybe your family vacations are hiking and camping instead of cruises, but that doesn’t change the fact that kids need health insurance and routine visits to the doctor. And that’s after whatever it costs for the prenatal appointments and then the delivery of said child.
Financial Consequences of Giving Birth
Not only are kids expensive, but having kids costs women in other ways.
In the year 20-blessed-19 women are still fighting the gender pay gap, most especially women of color. This only gets exacerbated when they have children. For one, the US still shows up on a very short list of countries that don’t guarantee paid leave for new parents. Mothers are punished more than fathers over the course of their careers. And women who stay home with their kids for any amount of time lose out on a ton of money.
Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that women disproportionately handle childcare and housework in families, not to mention all of the emotional labor that goes on behind the scenes.
Given all of those incredibly depressing and enraging statistics, it’s even more clear that not having children until you want and are ready to just makes sense for you and your money.
Y’all, I Really Don’t Want Kids Right Now
Remember that time I wrote about my new birth control but didn’t really want to get political? Hahahaha.
Anyway, I had a doctor put a hole in my arm, insert a plastic rod into it, and bandage me up, all in the name of not having a kid. I’m going to have to get a doctor to open me back up at the point of incision to take out that rod when it expires in slightly over two years.
I had to leave a pressure wrap on my arm for 24 hours so that I didn’t get huge blood clots while that hole in my arm healed up around the newly-inserted foreign object.
Out of habit the morning after I got my implant I reached for a full bottle of contact solution with my bad arm and nearly passed out in my bathroom. It took a good week and a half for it to stop hurting. If I accidentally nudge it (don’t foam roll your implant-containing tricep after a workout is something I learned the hard way!) it still twinges. I did all of this because it was the far less scary alternative to getting an IUD and having a doctor shove a piece of plastic up my uterus instead.
Going off of the pill has meant I’m now dealing with acne issues that I haven’t had to since I went on the pill in high school. Almost a year in and I have no idea when or if I’m ever going to get a period.
Unlike with the pill, I’m no longer on a set schedule and have no control over anything.
Not only did I have control over whether or not I was having a period in any given month (say, if I was supposed to be on it during my family’s beach week), it was really nice to know exactly what day my period would start and how long it would last. That’s completely gone, and my best guesses now about when this natural bodily function will happen essentially boil down to ?♀️.
But I switched from the pill because I was concerned about being able to secure a steady, affordable, uninterrupted supply and because I was on health insurance that would cover the full $1,700 with only the specialist copay coming out of my pocket. I didn’t want to switch my birth control, but I knew sooner or later things would change, and I didn’t want to find myself one day stuck in a situation with expensive birth control and insurance that wouldn’t cover a LARC. Plus, I’ve now got one of the most effective forms of birth control possible (this is notan invitation for someone to chime in with “well actually abstinence is 100% effective”).
I’m telling you all of these details not because I freely share all this personal information or to gross people out (but also, get the fuck over it), but as an indication of what I’m willing to put up with for the sake of not having a child I don’t want. All of this hassle and frustration is well worth it. I’m out here designing my dream life, my dream budget, and kids are not part of the plan.
What Does Birth Control Have to Do With FI?
Not only do I not want a child at this point in life, but I cannot afford a child. Being a woman and having a uterus is already expensive enough. And on the general life front, I may be just within reach of becoming debt-free, but that doesn’t change the fact that my rent still costs me half of my paycheck every month (and it’ll be slightly more from here on out).
I haven’t sat down to figure out my FI number or how many years it’ll be before I can call myself that, but having a child is a guaranteed way to derail those plans faster than credit card interest compounds. Seriously, kudos to everyone pursuing FI with a family!
For a whole host of reasons I’m on the fence about whether I will have a kid or not, and that decision will ultimately be made between myself and my future partner. But it’s a decision that’ll be made way down the road, and it’s thanks to the modern miracle that is safe, effective birth control that I don’t need to think about it at this point in my life.
And in the meantime I can freely continue pursuing financial independence.
Wrapping it up
Is there a larger point here, besides kids are expensive and I don’t want them/can’t have them at the moment? Yeah.
Birth control is important, as is women’s health in general. The physical demands of pregnancy fall to women, so for better or worse the bulk of the responsibility for not getting pregnant does, too. And being able to plan when and if they want to grow their families is a major economic boon for women. Given that we comprise half of the population, that’s a win for everyone. So we should be handing out birth control like candy.
My birth control is a key factor in being able to pursue financial independence. I am grateful I can focus on getting myself to a more secure place financially without having to constantly worry about how on earth I’d manage to support a child.
I couldn’t participate in the Women’s March on Saturday because I was working. But as soon as I get my paycheck for last weekend, I’m going to send everything I made (minus what I’m taking out for taxes) over to Planned Parenthood. If you’re looking for a worthy cause to support this month, I’d suggest that one. A world where women can make decisions about their own reproductive health is the one I want to live in, thanks.
Anyone else want to write an ode to their birth control? Chime in in the comments!
[*]Because I am a cis woman, I’m going to simplify and use “woman”/”female” throughout this post. However, not all women have a uterus and not everyone who has a uterus is a woman!
[**]That’s not me hysterically laughing, that’s you!
This post originally appeared on:
https://www.reachingforfi.com/
