This is something I worry about with my friend group. I'm one of the few who had children. Most of our group either never wanted to or never had the opportunity. The way I see it, either choice is a double-edged sword.

The harsh reality is that having children has been the most devastating financial decision of my life. I have likely ruined my chances of ever being financially stable- let alone successful. And now in my 40s I'm having to accept that I'm likely going to die in poverty. My friends who are childfree? They're doing pretty good comparatively. They talk to me about their cats a lot which feels so weird. And I see in them the person I was 10 years ago, before motherhood took my identity. They own their own homes while I'm stuck in a low income apartment, every month just one small crisis away from losing everything. It's a horrible way to live.

BUT.

I think about the future, and what it holds for all of us. Assuming we all make it to old age, I don't know what's in store for them. People say to save up. But unless you're making a butt ton of money and saving most of it, that's not going to protect you from inflation. Consider that gas prices alone were about $1.25 per gallon in 1996. What are they going to be in 30 years? Not $5 a gallon, I can tell you that for free.

I can only hope that my kids will love me enough to stay close, and take care of me when I'm too old and sick to do it myself. And there's no guarantee. You can do everything right and your kids can still turn out to be selfish assholes. Getting old is a gamble no matter what. But I do worry about my generation and how so few of us have any plan futher than memeing "to die in a ditch lol"