Life decisions and outcomes go through a big calculation engine. Every life scenario has pros and cons, associated probabilities and timeframes. So, financial

Life decisions and outcomes go through a big calculation engine. Every life scenario has pros and cons, associated probabilities and timeframes. So, financial independence: obvious pros. Cons: low probability event in short time frame. Kids: pros: they're awesome. They make you very happy on balance. (I would assign a high probability to that). Obviously a subjective point of view. They are also way lower maintenance (cost) than you think. Cons: they take up a lot of your time. Also there are interaction effects. Getting kids will reduce your available time needed to work to get financial independence. So you need to weigh these things out. Point is, money (or lack of it) shouldn't be too much of a deciding factor in the kids decision. IMHO