Does anyone else feel financially terrified of marriage and kids in their mid-20s?

I’m in my mid-20s and lately it feels like everyone around me is getting married, settling down, buying homes, having kids, or at least moving confidently into the next stage of life.

From the outside, I’m doing okay. I have a job, some savings, and a roof over my head. I’m grateful for that because I know many people are struggling far more than I am.

But despite that, I constantly feel anxious about the future.

A married friend recently told me that raising a child can easily cost around ₹20,000 a month on average when you factor in food, school, activities, healthcare, and everything else. Whether that number is accurate or not, it sent me into a spiral thinking about the long-term responsibility of marriage and kids.

What scares me isn’t just today’s expenses. It’s the thought of managing decades of costs—education, healthcare, inflation, emergencies, aging parents, and trying to give a child a decent life.

Sometimes I look at our parents’ generation and wonder how they did it. Many of them had far fewer savings and resources than we do today, yet they seemed less stressed about the future. Maybe expectations were different. Maybe life was simpler.

Our generation feels different. We’re constantly exposed to social media, travel content, luxury lifestyles, expensive weddings, gadgets, restaurants, and endless reminders of what we’re supposedly “missing out on.” Spending money on things we don’t really need has become normal.

I genuinely want to get married someday. I like the idea of building a life with someone. But at the same time, I keep asking myself whether I’ll ever feel financially secure enough to take responsibility for a spouse and eventually children.

The weird part is that no matter how much I save, the finish line keeps moving.

Does anyone else feel this way, or am I overthinking adulthood?