Quote Originally Posted by The Leaper
The best way to build wealth for retirement?

DO NOT HAVE KIDS BEFORE THE AGE OF 30!

Among my friends and acquaintences that are roughly my age, it is glaringly obvious that couples who have children before the age of 25 find it far more difficult to get ahead than those who wait to have children. Most of the friends I have who do not have children yet bring in a combined six digit income and are reasonably well off. Most of the friends I have who started a family early usually are behind the eight ball just keeping up with regular expenses...let alone saving up for retirement.

The amount of money that a couple can make in 3-5 years after marriage without the constraints of children can pay down a lot of debt and build up a solid savings that will earn interest over 20+ years.

The $10 investment in birth control each month is probably the best investment any couple can make until they secure their financial position. Otherwise, it will be an uphill battle no matter what.
I'd concur that it's a great fiscal idea if you can. I had the general rule to be married about 5 years be4 kids. Call me an anal planner, but I wanted to save some bucks and make sure we weren't a statistic before having kids.

Problem many fall into, especially with 2 income spouses and no kids, is they free spend w/o a conscience. We did a lot of that, but I still threw a bunch of money into tech stocks, and then watched them go threw the roof and then back down to the floor.