Both of my millennial kiddos have informed me that I probably won’t be a grandma and tbh I don’t blame them one bit. By the time I was their age I had an entry-level job, my own place, a car, and money left over for a vacay. Good luck with that these days, let alone being able to afford a human.

Every time I do our household budget I’m acutely aware that the only reason we’re not in the red is that the section of the template I use that is for expenses related to children has $0 allocated to it

I'm a first wave elder millennial, and I have just now, at the age of forty one, gotten to a point in my life where I feel like I could even *begin to consider* having kids.

Exactly. Both my children were premature (in their 20’s now). The births cost us less than $50 despite an 11 day hospital stay for my youngest. Now a normal uncomplicated birth costs thousands- even with insurance.