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I heard Elon Musk saying people should just have kids and they won’t regret it. It’s easy to say such a thing when you’ve got $242 billion in the bank. The cost of raising children is something a guy as rich as Elon can brush off like a minor inconvenience. Elon believes that people are overthinking it, but I don't know if he’s ever reached a point in life where he was broke or within so strict a budget that he had to choose between paying rent or daycare for his kid. People who experience that will not give you the same advice Elon is giving.

I have friends in their mid 20s with kids, and I’ve seen how stretched and stressed their lives are compared to me with no child. One of them, Sarah, recently told me that every paycheck brings her a little bit of relief but it is then followed by the same old panic of how take care of herself and her kids with the money? From diapers to food, doctor visits, school supplies and that’s even just scratching the surface of her expenses.

I'm sure at this point Elon is just detached from the very real struggles many average people face. Maybe he doesn’t think kids are expensive but for your average joe who has had wage stagflation outpace inflation since they got out of college starting a family is not an easy thing at all.

If I had to talk to him I'll tell him, what you're missing here Elon, is that it's not just the cost of diapers or school fees. It's the stress of thinking if your children will have what they need. If they'll be safe, healthy, cared for. It's wondering when something will go wrong and being anxious because something always does go wrong.

That popular saying, "It'll work out" is not a universal truth. For some, it doesn't just work out, reality can be as bitter for some as it is sweet for others. There's no rule that says that financial realities bend to optimism.