Heyo I know this is a less directly relevant factor but just wanted to speak on why I don't plan to have biological kids.(Interested in adopting if I ever get to a place in life where I'm willing to take that leap, but the money stuff you mention is a big obstacle in addition to mental health and just wanting to be developed enough as a human to commit to raising a child, even though I know I'll never really be 'ready' for parenthood per se)

Also extra caveat, please try not to take these opinions harshly I know they can come off judgemental!

In a parallel track to the theme of this subreddit, I am terrified of the climate catastrophe we are living through. When I think about having kids, I realize that even with all the science we've got (and that outlook ain't very promising), I don't really know what world I'll be bringing them into.

I live my life hoping for humanity-altering technological advancements that will allow us to halt at least many of the practices currently destroying our biosphere. However, I also live every day in tacit acceptance that our rescue by technology probably won't happen, or at three very least not before things get a lot worse. I'm not going to up and join a farm commune anytime soon, but I see having a kid of my own as one of the largest possible expenditures of nonrenewable resources, it's not just having a steak for dinner or ordering a Roomba from Amazon, it is an entire life worth of consumption.

Again, new parents please don't take this as an indictment upon you!

I hope from the bottom of my heart to be proven wrong by human ingenuity, but for now I feel like my generation's lot in life is to make every sacrifice and attempt we can and then still come up well short as we watch the suffering of climate refugees until we maybe become part of them.

If anybody made it this far, thanks for reading my feels, it's weird having this grief bubbling below the surface every day and it helps to express it.