Kindergarten is expensive, a pretty normal nursery that can cover working hours will soak up pretty much all of the earning potential of the person who is paid

Kindergarten is expensive, a pretty normal nursery that can cover working hours will soak up pretty much all of the earning potential of the person who is paid the least in the relationship. Nevertheless, it's something you can do with one child, but it won't make the finances much easier. If you have two pre-school children, you're back in the exact situation described. The article is pretty accurate - a single earner providing for a family and renting in London will not find it easy if they're earning less than 90k (much over the average). On the plus side, once the children are school age, costs go down, and it becomes more possible to be a 2 income family again. You can think of it as 3 years of difficulty but then it'll get bearable again.