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​This Family Has 13 Kids And No Debt On A Single Income

​This Family Has 13 Kids And No Debt On A Single Income

Lucky number 13, huh?

Anonymous

Anonymous

The Fatzinger family is pretty unusual; they have 13 children, no debt, and own their house outright and all on a single income.

How on earth did they manage that?! The answer is they are as frugal AF.

The jury is out on why they did it - maybe 13 kids sounded like fun at the time.

Rob and Sam always wanted a lot of children; they have more kids than Captain Von Trapp and enough to make a football team with subs.

Large Family
Large Family

Image Credit: Facebook

They have 13 kids between the ages of four and 26, with 12 being biological and, because that wasn't enough, number 13 was fostered at 12 weeks. They hope to make it official and adopt.

Lucky number 13, huh?

Rob remembers proposing to his girlfriend by asking: "Who else will give you 10 kids, a house with a white-picket fence and a dog?"

Her response was: "Kill the dog and make it 11 kids and you got a deal."

Ah, romance.

Large Family
Large Family

Image Credit: Facebook

To be honest, this sounds like a match made in heaven. There can't be that many people who want a brood that big.

Because this is an all-American love story, Rob and Sam decided to home-school their children. Not because school is expensive or anything but presumably because they just love to be around their huge family ALL THE TIME. The thought of it is making me claustrophobic.

Their oldest daughter is 26 and married. She finished her graduate degree at age 21. Despite growing up in a big family, Rob and Sam's tight budget made sure that education and hobbies were a priority.

The next four kids are in college. As you know, in the US, university costs more than an arm and a leg. But no one in the Fatzinger family has ever had a student loan.

Large Family
Large Family

Image Credit: Facebook

They hate debt and refuse to burden anything; no car loans, credit debt or student loans. Instead, Rob and Sam encourage their kids to work part-time or side jobs from the age of 12 and attend community college (which is very cheap) for two years and then transfer to third year at a university. A very canny option in the States.

The Fatzingers used to own a bookshop until they had to sell it in 2000, and since then Rob has been working as a computer software analyst. They didn't even think about retirement or savings until 2005 - but he's planning to retire in 10 years.

Is that due to smart savings or is he planning to get his 13 kids to support him in retirement? I know what I would be doing.

Words by Laura Hamilton

Featured Image Credit: Facebook