A few months ago we welcomed TresMoneyFinance into our lives. As is tradition here at the site – I like to do a short reflections post on being a Dad. Here is the one I did for BabyMoneyFinance and the one for SegundoMoneyFinance in case you wanna go back and review!

I was once told that being a Dad is the best job in the world and so far I agree! It definitely has its hard days but doesn’t every job? The bigger kiddos are at such a fun age where they’re getting into hobbies and activities and are all sorts of fun to play with and watch them grow into their own little people! Now with TresMoneyFinance, we feel like we at least halfway know what we’re doing and although the level of craziness in our house has increased, it doesn’t feel all that much worse than with just 2 kiddos! 

Here are a couple of thoughts I’ve been noodling on:

Thankful for paternity leave

I’ll just come out and say it so you can gasp and we can move on, but I get 6 months paid paternity leave from my corporate job. That’s right – as a Dad I get 6 months off. Tres was born and I said “ok cool see y’all in 6 months”. I’ve had no job work to do since then. I get 80% pay and full benefits while I’m on leave. It is truly amazing and I am so thankful for this time. With BMF and SMF, I only took about 3 months, but with Tres I decided to take the full 6. Like many corporate jobs, the threat of layoffs are real and our company was not immune to them last year. I learned a hard truth – I am just a number. I very well could have been let go, but I wasn’t. I then rethought my relationship – it’s purely business and if they can lay me off any time, I will take full advantage of benefits while I’m here. PS this relationship has been great since then! 

Mrs. Money went back to work about 2 months ago, so I’ve been solo parenting TresMoneyFinance. The first 3 months it was super nice to be off and just help Mrs. Money recover. The process of having a baby and recovering can be quite a lot and I’m thankful for the chance just to be there with her through that. Since she’s back at work it’s been such great bonding time and being able to help around the house (lol it’s the cleanest it’s ever been!). 

It honestly was kind of tough to decide to take all 6 months – I felt weird about it as the Dad, I felt weird about it as a hardworking driven young professional and I mean Tres could go to daycare now if we needed it. There are lots of studies out there showing how paternity leave works wonders for relationships both with your kid and your spouse and honestly I feel like I’m a success story. There’s so much more to our lives than our work and this has given me a chance to practice being a better Dad and Husband…and work will still be there when I get back! 

Going to be expensive (but worth it)

As with many employees, the start of the new year brings (hopefully) a small raise here or there, or perhaps a bonus. I was fortunate enough to get a small raise and I joked with Mrs. Money that all that money instantly is going to raising and supporting Tres! More diapers, more food, more doctors visits, some new clothes and some new toys here and there – all these will add up! I also have committed to saving $4,000 annually for each kid’s college and so that’s another $4,000 I need to come up with this year. 

On the other side of the coin though we already have a lot of clothes and for sure have plenty of toys, so we won’t have to buy a whole additional kid’s worth of stuff with Tres. Mrs. Money thankfully saved a ton so we just need to pull it out of the attic! 

If there’s one thing Mrs. Money and I have learned with the first 2 kids it’s that life will always hit you with all sorts of curveballs and it certainly won’t be easy but if you work together and work smart, you can figure it out! At least that’s what we’re telling ourselves now! 

3rd kids feel easier 

I feel like there’s always a joke about the 3rd or 4th kid and how they’re just along for the ride with your family. We’re feeling that now for sure – Tres has been such a trooper and is fitting into our life well! Of course we have to slow down a bit and it looks different but we’re making it work and having fun!

Also with a 3rd kid it’s funny how things that would have bothered or worried us with BabyMoneyFinance or SegundoMoneyFinance we just brush off. We’re slightly more experienced now as parents and it helps! “Tres isn’t sleeping? Meh Tres will sleep when they’re ready”. “Tres isn’t eating? Meh just give it some time and try again later”. Also having 2 older siblings we joke that Tres is going to have to be tough keeping up with them! 

For right now we’re trying to take things slow and enjoy the precious moments with Tres! 

Summary

I love being a Dad and feel so blessed having 3 wonderful kiddos. Sure there are days I’m scared, nervous, overwhelmed, exhausted and worried about money but I’ve learned with the first two that it’s better to not over stress and instead just roll with it! I’ve got a great life partner with Mrs. Money Finance and we’ll figure things out one day at a time!