Can you help me find out how expensive having children are over a lifetime?
user
Sure, that is an interesting question! But before I answer, can I just make sure I understand your goal: do you want to get a general sense of how much you’re saving/losing by having children, or are you looking for an accurate estimate?
assistant
I think an estimate is what I'm looking for.
user
Great! I’d love to help.  That makes this a much easier question to answer!  But first, I need to understand how many children you have, so I can answer accurately.
assistant
Do the estimate with two children.
user
Sounds good.  So let’s say that you have two children, and your wife makes a salary of $45,000 and you make $75,000.  If you think of your yearly family expenses as being $35,000, and you spend $20,000 on each child’s college expenses, it looks like you’re spending about $1,500 on each child per year.  And the first four years are free, which is a $20,000 savings per child.
assistant
Can you help me find out how expensive having children are over a lifetime?
user
Sure, that is an interesting question! But before I answer, can I just make sure I understand your goal: do you want to get a general sense of how much you’re saving/losing by having children, or are you looking for an accurate estimate?
assistant
I think an estimate is what I'm looking for.
user
Great! I’d love to help.  That makes this a much easier question to answer!  But first, I need to understand how many children you have, so I can answer accurately.
assistant
Do the estimate with two children.
user
Hmm, but you don’t have any children yet?
assistant
Can you help me find out how expensive having children are over a lifetime?