Some people have a profound emotional desire to have children. But I don’t. Young as we are, it would take a pretty big financial, practical and emotional shift for that to change.

My husband and I have good jobs, a supportive family and a happy home. We both enjoy being around children and find babies unfailingly adorable.

Still, financial security is a very high priority. My worry that I may not always be able to guarantee that for my family is a major factor in my decision-making, although it’s hardly the only consideration. And while I may never feel financially at ease enough to comfortably afford children of my own, I take heart in knowing that my husband and I will be able to give an extra boost to the young people in our lives we already know and love, and the others that we will grow to love.

Part of what I imagine makes parenting so hard is the challenge of making financial compromises, and the emotional fallout from those choices. It must be difficult to accept that no matter how you set aside your own interests, you cannot afford the very best of everything for your child.

And sometimes the interests of a parent and a child conflict head-on. Parents see their original financial goals derailed in favor of new ones. Saving money and paying down debt is even harder when earnings have diminished and expenses have increased because of the addition of a new stakeholder who is now the most important priority.

“But who will care for you when you are old and sick?” some well-intentioned people ask. I don’t believe in bringing people into the world for personal gain, and even if I did, swapping the supposed promise of elder care for the certain need for us to provide child care is not worth it.

I’ve learned from firsthand experience that the professional support that comes from good long-term care and health insurance policies is superior to what family can offer. When I was the primary caregiver for my father as he was dying of pancreatic cancer, it was painfully clear to me that regardless of how much I loved him and how hard I tried to care for him, a qualified professional would have done a better job.