If You Can’t Afford the Crib, You Can’t Afford the Baby

I was listening to The Daily podcast while driving around yesterday, the episode was soliciting financial questions surrounding ‘Trumps economy’ and the challenges faced by the average person.

I force myself to listen to The Daily so I know what “a New York Times reader” is thinking about. And I have to be honest: it sounds like most people don’t think.

The call that really got to me came from a 27-year-old woman. She’s due in October, and her question was: should I buy a crib now or wait? She was worried about the cost… and tariffs… and how unfair it all is.

That was it. That was her crisis.

And I don’t say that condescendingly—I say it because it’s tragic. Not because of the price of the crib, but because we’ve built a system where people hit their late twenties, start families, and still have no idea how money works.

Here’s the truth: If you’re stressing about buying a crib, you’re not ready for a baby.

Not financially. Not structurally. Not strategically.

Because someone—right now—in your city has a three-year-old. Which means they have a used crib they’re trying to get rid of. You could buy it for 30 cents on the dollar. No tariffs. No freight. No excuses.

Take the other 70%, put it in Apple stock, wait twenty years, and congratulations—you just funded your kid’s college. Or their startup. Or your retirement. Or all three.

Or—and this is the part that frustrates me—you can do what most people seem to do.

Complain about prices. Blame capitalism. Say the system is unfair. And go buy the full-priced crib “Made in China” anyway.

The last caller was a woman who “did an amazing job saving for her daughter’s college and now, with Trump’s tariffs, the account has taken a HUGE hit and where will the money come from??!” Here’s a few reminders, none of which were provided by the host or the guest. The market is basically the same level as it was the day Trump was elected. College is a four year program, you don’t need to start paying for it today. Stocks don’t always go up, if you can’t tolerate the loss, own bonds, but then don’t complain when they barely keep pace with inflation. And finally, maybe $30,000 a year to get college degree has no ROI.

It’s not the system. It’s the mindset. We’ve trained people to think about consumption instead of accumulation. About comfort instead of compounding. And about how to feel better instead of how to get better.

I get that life is hard. I’m not minimizing real struggles. But buying a crib is not a crisis—it’s a moment. A test. A small fork in the road between “default” and “deliberate.”

And it starts with financial literacy.

Not degrees. Not slogans. Not hashtags.

Just basic awareness.

Like this:

• Everything depreciates except knowledge and equity.

• You don’t need new. You need useful.

• Used cribs don’t lower your value. Ignorance does.

We’re raising a generation that thinks investing is only for the rich, and parenting is a right instead of a responsibility. It’s not cruel to say that if you’re not ready financially, maybe you’re not ready structurally. That’s not judgment—it’s alignment.

And maybe, just maybe, if more people bought used cribs and bought into the idea of ownership over optics, we wouldn’t need to talk about tariffs or subsidies or how unfair the world is.

Because we’d be building wealth instead of waiting for someone else to give it to you.