I think you're on the right track. We collectively have an inflated sense of what qualifies as being in an appropriate financial/lifestyle position to have chil

I think you're on the right track. We collectively have an inflated sense of what qualifies as being in an appropriate financial/lifestyle position to have children (I know, because I do it too), but it's not necessarily the same as what qualified decades back. If you have an extra bedroom to fit bunks and can afford a bit more food, public schooling is fairly affordable and a lot of the rest is optional. We just got the bills for our kids' school year and it is nothing dramatic. The extra-curricular stuff (music, sport, etc) is what adds up. Holidays, especially overseas, are expensive. Interior design fit-outs for showy rooms are expensive. Growing up, I didn't have a console until late teens. My children are 5-11yo and we would have 5+ consoles in the house. Last week, my mother (born in the 50s) was saying that she can't recall having an actual toy of her own while growing up. Now many of us plan to have a bedroom per child, study nooks, a second living room and/or parents' retreat, a dressing room, en suites, pool, and so on.