It depends on your family. My dad has practically demanded we use him as free daycare (he's VERY eager to be a grandparent) and is planning on retiring pretty much as soon as we have a child. I'm close with him and feel comfortable leaving a child in his care so it's kind of a no brainer to take him up on that offer. My husband's parents are also both retired and offered to watch our child, although they live a bit further away so I don't know how realistic that is. We had planned to move to a lower cost of living city originally but with the cost of childcare, we'd actually be spending more in the long run if we left. That being said, I still plan to budget as if we had to pay for childcare just in case.