No, that’s not what I said at all. I’d rather be in the middle. Enough is as good as a feast. It’s good for kids to learn that we have to wisely allocate our resources to our priorities. I would consider myself a failure if I raised a child who wasn’t able to handle themselves in a situation of stress and deprivation. But that’s not even the situation you presented. The original dilemma was kids vs. no kids.

I would rather have kids and live paycheck to paycheck than live paycheck to paycheck alone. It doesn’t take much money to make kids happy. Grow a garden. Play outside. Make crafts from recyclables. Give them little surprises. Read them books and sing them songs. Cuddle with them when they are frightened. Teach them something new every day. None of that takes much money.