Financial concerns cause young M’sian couples to postpone having children.

Similar to other young couples in the nation, Mohd Ariff Zainuddin feels that starting a family right now is not his main goal. After two years of marriage, the 27-year-old stated that it was too soon to talk about creating a family with his 27-year-old wife Sheila Yaakob. “There are just too many good reasons not to pursue having a kid together. Our primary motivation is financial in nature, as we have other financial obligations and child-rearing is an expensive endeavour in today’s world. They were renting a one-story home next to Taman Johor Jaya, he said. “My wife and I are both busy working, and we hardly have time for each other as our dream is to buy our own house first before starting our family,” he added. For five years, 32-year-old bank worker Junaidah Mutalip has been married to 34-year-old businessman Mohd Adam Muhammad Ismail. “I want a girl so I can dress her up, but my husband has always wanted a son so they can watch Manchester United together. Noor Hadayah Ahmad, a senior counsellor officer at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) psychological and counselling service department, stated that having a plan is crucial for each relationship. “A marital plan is essential for couples. They should make a list of their ideal goals for their married life, which should include when they hope to establish a family and become financially stable. “Young couples will face financial difficulties if they take out loans or even use credit cards to fund extravagant weddings. “Many of them would feel that having a child is an extra burden on their finances on top of paying other loans and bills,” she said, which will lead them to postpone their goal of when they want to have a family. Noor Hadayah went on to say that in order for young couples to better comprehend the challenges they face together, it is imperative that they communicate and listen to one another.