Looking for random posts on SN, I came across Why have kids by @cryotosensei. I had missed it when it was posted. It's a great post, by the way! I agree with him.

However, while reading the post, I remembered a discussion I had with a friend of mine regarding having or not having children. She is in a long-term relationship, and once, while we were exchanging messages, I asked her without any hidden intentions: Why don't you have kids yet? To my surprise, she wrote me a long answer and I would like to share it here as she wrote it (translated by me, of course):

Why we don't have kids?

Well, with a salary of 400 euros for me and 350 for my boyfriend—how?

I work in a well-known coffee chain. I don’t get days off; I work all seven days of the week. Paid leave and bonuses are a joke. I make 400 euros and still feel lucky because the work environment is at least calm. I’m 28, approaching 30. The dream of motherhood feels far away.

My boyfriend is 27. He studied to be a car mechanic. But everywhere he applied, he was turned down for lack of experience. No one has explained how to gain experience if no one hires you in the first place.

He started working as a delivery driver at a restaurant for a short time, but it’s been two years now, and he’s still there. We’ve been together for 5 years and live together. We get no help from our parents. He has no parents or siblings, and mine live in a village. At best, they might give us some groceries at Christmas and Easter if we can manage to visit them, assuming we’re not working.That’s where their support begins—and ends.

So, let’s add this up. 750 euros for two people. 400 goes to rent for a small apartment. This year, we begged the landlord to lower it to 350, and she wasn’t happy about it. Who can afford to pay 350 euros for a apartment with these salaries? No one explained that either.

We’re left with 350 euros. Electricity, water, phone, internet, and building fees cost 130 euros.

Down to 220 euros. 220 euros for two people to eat. We buy only the basics at the supermarket. I can’t even remember the last time I bought new shoes. To buy lipstick and underwear like any woman, I save my tips for two months. Of course, we buy condoms in bulk. How can we afford a child for 220 euros? When do nappies alone cost that much?

So, dear friend, can you tell me how we can afford a baby?

How would you answer my friend?