The author of the original question is almost a mirror of myself about 5 years ago. (as with other posters)
I went to JHU - Moved to NYC (Bought an apt) and was married at 28.
Wife works at an Investment Bank and I worked at a large mgmt consultancy (big 4) Now work for a Fortune 500 place.
Having kids is not so much an impact on the wallet as it is an impact on the lifestyle. However, they tend to go hand in hand
Here's a breakdown of what happens:
Move to the burbs - from 350-1Mill depending on house
Bought 2 cars (as opposed to 1 in NYC) 80K
Get your Suburb admission pass - A Costco Card ~ 100 initial fee + ~ 200 every couple of weeks
Nanny to take care of the kid(s) ~500/week
Wife stops working - negative cash flow
Now - Having said all these things, I personally would do it all over again. My kids are awesome/everything to me
