<prompt> Human: My husband and I want to start a family at some point. We are 30 and 29 yo.I make 85k, corporate world salaried. Husbands base salary is about 75k, construction, but with overtime he usually makes close to 90-100k.We live in the Chicago area, so taxes and utilities are higher compared to the rest of the country.We set a tentative goal for a savings of 30k before we even try to start having kids. I think we can achieve it if we work really hard and are really aggressive in saving.I am a saver and had about 40k saved up before getting engaged. Husband is more of a spender but had some money saved up. We paid for our wedding completely on our own and purchased our home with no additional financial assistance from family, which set us back significantly I know, I didnt want a big wedding either, big financial regret for me personally. There were also other typical financial setbacks that come with owning a house and cars, per usual.As of right now, we have about 16,000 saved up. Husband missed two weeks of work due to some slowdown but we should be back on track now.By the end of this year, Ill have my student loans and any remaining credit card debt paid off.Ill also be starting a very-part-time retail job to bring in some extra income while husband chases overtime opportunities and side work.I think Im a little negative because I worked my ass off for all those savings prior to getting married, only to watch it dwindle away in a matter of months. Because of that, I feel very ill-prepared for the future and I feel like I am way behind.How much did you have saved up before you had kids? Did you feel like it was enough, or not? What was the biggest expense you were unprepared for?x200B;A few other things maybe I should note:- I already spoke to the HR rep at my company and discussed options for maternity leave. I can use a mix of vacation time, short term disability, and FMLA to at least get SOME kind of pay while I am taking care of baby. So, planning on that.- I work from home the majority of the time, so childcare costs shouldnt be a huge issue. Unfortunately, I no longer have a relationship with my parents and our relationship with in-laws is iffy and they will be living in Arizona at that point anyway.- Im not really the type to buy all of the newfancy stuff, so Im not overly concerned about spending too much on unnecessary things for baby. I am all about buying things second-hand, making our own baby food, etc.- I know what everyone says, youre never really prepared and I understand that completely. But, better to try to be as prepared as possible, right? :x200B;TL;DR - Chicago-area couple wants to have 30k saved before kids. We have 16k saved up now with an estimated annual joint income of about 160-180k. Is this enough to have saved up?x200B;edit: Budget posted belowx200B; 9,600 total monthly income standard, no OT, post-tax, post-health insurance deduction, post-retirement deductionHome: Mortgage: 2200RecyclingWaste Services: 100Water and Sewage Services: 80ComEd Electric: varies but averages about 150Nicor Gas: varies but averages about 50x200B;LoansFinance:Car Payment: 500Monthly finance payments for AC and washerdryer broke down after we bought the house: 450Student Loans: 300x200B;Other Payments: Cell Phones and Plans: 200Internet and Dish TV: 200Gym Membership: 20Car Insurance: 200Monthly Parking, Gas, and Tolls: 600  <response>: Median household income in the US is 59K a year. Let that sink in, 59K a year median household income. Now pair that with the average household size is 2.6 people per household. But really thats probably a bit low because of singlesetc. But either way, that means the per person would be at around 22-23K. So assuming no savings rate and all income is spent on the family, you can treat that income as the expense rate. Which actually aligns to the cost that the government usually points out as price per kid per year. Honestly, if you are unable to save making 160K even with a child or 2, there is another issue present. 