40% of young US women say they aren’t having kids because they’re too expensive

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“I don't think that money was a good enough reason for [older generations] to decide if they were going to have kids, which is awful,” Sanchez tells Moneywise. “I think any reason to not have children is a good reason to not have children.”

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And nearly one-third of millennial women who don’t have children in the Credit Karma report point to the cost of fertility treatments, egg freezing, adoption or surrogacy keeping them from family planning as well.

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Extra costs for same-sex couples Canadians Nicole Skutelnik and Nikki La Croce, both aged 36, explain that the costs of having children are far more complex for a same-sex couple or folks who can’t conceive on their own. “[It could cost] tens of thousands of dollars, to try for kids, first and foremost, and then in a case where that doesn't work out, now you're going multiple rounds, and it ends up being just such a significant amount of money that you spent before you even have the child,” La Croce, who grew up in Pennsylvania, explains. “I think it would be really draining emotionally.” Skutelnik, who posted a viral video last year with a list of 163 reasons why she didn’t want kids, notes that with housing affordability moving further out of reach, it’s entirely possible that a child would be unable to move out even after enter entering adulthood.

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“Even if I did want kids, I don't feel like it would be enough to feel secure and still get to have the life that I want,” Skutelnik says, adding that the financial stress of straining to make ends meet would prevent her from being a good parent too.

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Garcia says she knew at 16 years old she didn’t want to have kids. She got her fallopian tubes tied to prevent pregnancy when she was 25, which was fully covered by her insurance, and she says the procedure was totally worth it. She explains that she and her husband were able to purchase their first home, which is an investment that many Americans among their age cohort are struggling to afford and might not have been a possibility if they did have kids. They pay about $2,200 a month on their mortgage and have fully paid off loans on Garcia’s Honda Civic and her husband’s Jeep, while enjoying vacations abroad as well. “I love my freedom,” she says. “We're able to just get ourselves things that just make our lives so much easier.”

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Garcia Cisneros points to a mindset shift among millennial and Gen Z Americans as well. Younger generations are moving away from traditional pathways, like getting married, purchasing a home and having kids, and spending more on experiences and what brings them joy. “If we're not gonna be able to have the ‘American Dream’ anymore, then how do we make something that does work for us?” she says, offering examples of friends purchasing property together?? or folks living more nomadic lifestyles through travel. “Now we have options, and there's technology and there's access, so it just changes the game completely, redefining what life can look like for us without embracing what used to be normal.” La Croce knows she never wants to have kids, but she loves being an aunt to her niece and nephew. She and Skutelnik say it’s incredibly important for them to be good role models to the children that are in their lives, even if they don’t have children themselves. “And also it affords me the opportunity to spoil them a little bit more,” La Croce adds. “I can be more liberal with my spending with children that aren't mine.”

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