How to Build Wealth Even Though You Have Kids

My daughter’s diet is approximately 93% berries. This costs approximately $10,349,580,453 per month. All jokes aside, how are parents in 2025 expected to build wealth when the cost of living and raising a family is nothing short of astronomical?

I have some simple tips for you.

1. Small is better than nothing - even if you can only force yourself to put $10-$20 into an investment account each month right now, do it. It’ll be worth it in the long-run. It may seem worthless right now, but I promise you this habit is muscle building AND time and compound interest will make this small amount much larger over the course of a few decades. No amount is too little. As your children and careers grow, increase this amount as much as you can.

2. Automate it - cannot stress this enough. We are far less likely to self-sabotage when we automate our savings and investing. It’s “paying yourself first” in action.

3. Focus on increasing income - this seems like a “duh” point, but your most powerful tools in building wealth are 1. time and 2. income. This is more effective for your short and long term wealth than anything else. Ask for a raise! Make sure you’re being paid market rate! Don’t join an MLM though. Please, for the love.

4. Cut where you can but don’t obsess - sure, tracking your spending is absolutely useful, but please don’t obsess about cutting costs. There’s only so much you can do and your time may be better spent trying to increase income and focusing on growing that savings/investing rate incrementally. Obsessing over every penny will drive you crazy. Also, your mandatory expenses can only be cut so much. Your ability to earn income is more flexible (even when it doesn’t seem like it).

5. Avoid high interest debt like your life depends on it - credit card debt will crush your ability to build wealth. Avoid it all costs. This is why prioritizing building an emergency fund is so crucial. If your credit card has a high interest rate and a balance, make your payments on time and call the card company to see if they’ll lower the rate!

6. Give yourself some grace, progress is slow - raising children is unbelievably expensive. You may have to lower or completely pause your savings and investing temporarily. While this scenario sucks, it’s not the end of the world and you just need to do what you can to get through it and get back on track. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t give up completely. Give yourself grace, don’t panic. Building wealth happens over the course of decades. You need to be patient, diligent, and disciplined. Don’t look for get rich quick nonsense. Stay the course!

Ok, now I know you want to see some pics from Vape! The Grease Parody’s night on Broadway. Or maybe you don’t, but I’m including them anyway. First of all - holy sh*t. What a night. Second of all, I got to spend a little time with one of my all-time comedy heroes: Rachel Dratch. What a lovely hilarious human. So grateful she agreed to be our Teen Angel for a night. I’m so damn lucky.

For more professional photos of the event, please check out Rebecca J. Michaelson’s photos here! We sold out a 1,500 seat venue and got a standing ovation. I may never recover.

Also, yesterday was my birthday. I’m now 30-something years old. I’m really looking forward to this next year and thank all of you for being a part of it. As I get older, I appreciate the little things a lot more. My family, my friends, and fighting for simplicity in my life. I don’t write this newsletter for fame and fortune, although I wouldn’t necessarily turn those down if they came my way! I write this because I enjoy it and am always looking to improve my skills. If you feel so inclined to share my writing, I will forever be grateful. The best birthday present is you sharing my work and telling me how pretty I am. The choice is yours.

I love to love ya!

-Catie