Young kids are not expensive, and they don't care much about having a lavish home. IMO you want to have kids by no later than your mid 30s. You don't want to be 60 and dealing with teenagers.
It depends if you want them to go to daycare or not and what kind of quality of life tradeoffs you are willing to make.
If you do, then they are going to bring back sicknesses every other week for a couple years, which means lost work time / $150 to $250 for the ones that require doctor visits.
Pregnancy and birth alone will prob take most families to the out of pocket maximum, anywhere from $3k if your employer is generous to $17k per year (legal maximum) if it is the cheapest insurance.
I assume licensed, inspected daycare in even the cheapest COL areas is $10k per year. But this is where grandparents who are willing to serve as backup or guardians while you work can make a world of difference.
I actually think that when they are young is the most expensive period - unless you have family nearby to help, either one of you gives up work or you pay a large amount of money on childcare, or some combination thereof if you work part-time. Although we haven't reached the teenage years yet so I am prepared to change my mind!
