Newt,
Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.
1) I want to HEARTILY encourage you to re-read what Chris/mtnbkr wrote you. He speaks wisdom.
2) Screw the politically correct soccer mommies who say you MUST have play-dates and a hectic schedule to groom a child into your show-pony. Let them be kids. Human BEings, not human DO-ings. When children are actually provided the rare opportunity to be bored, they will become creative and self-sufficient.
3) Unless your wife is in a profession providing fairly high income (doctor/lawyer/engineer), she'll be working to pay daycare after you factor a second late-model vehicle, work wardrobe, lunches out, etc. etc. etc...ESPECIALLY once you've had a second child.
4) The only thing I can add that hasn't already been covered is the power of MONEY invested over TIME. Before the kids come, begin the habit of paying yourself first by allocating money (even a small amount) into savings. IF you start now, you can retire wealthy with VERY little impact to your current financial comfort. If you are 20 years old and wish to retire at age 65 as a millionaire, one deposit of $13,719.21 at 10 per cent interest at age 20, allows you to be a millionaire at age 65.
Most of us would like to have a million dollars cash at some point in our life. Most of us also work 40+ hours a week at our job. What little amount we save can and will accumulate over the years, but the odds of reaching the 1 million mark is relatively small.
However, if we take the power of compound interest, then we can begin to realize our 1 million goal.
For instance, let's say you decide to invest 100.00 per month in an investment that yields 6% interest compounded monthly, for the next 30 years. In 30 years, you would have 100,451.50!
That's not too bad, considering you made 64,451.50 in interest. Now, let's say you kept that up another 10 years. You would then have 199,149.06 In 10 years, you almost double the value of your investment.
Wish I'd had someone point this out to me 25 years ago!
Fig