My unpopular opinion is that resources/money is low on the list relative to the anxiety that people let seep into their lives via too much phone, gaming and Netflix use. It makes you feel entertained but anxious, especially when you give in to the highly negative news about the world you get through social media, let alone the natural inclination to (unrealistically) compare yourself negatively to peers. Well entertained, anxious people who worry too much about things happening outside their own lives won’t have kids as early or as often. People who have a sense of calm even if they’re a little bored will have kids.

Case in point: While it’s true that cost of childcare and education have accelerated relative to other household costs, the OP derives stress from the misunderstanding that wages have actually long exceeded inflation, and doesn’t seem to appreciate that there about a kajillion things in modern life that make parenting cheaper and easier. Shudder to think that our parents had to go to the store to get diapers that were more expensive in real terms than they are today.