Quick recap on parental leave with a house to deal with: We made it through with child number 2... it’s actually quite manageable. BEFORE you start building a house, for example, set aside €10,000. With that, you can comfortably bridge 10 months (I also stayed home that long and am the main earner). What’s much, much more important is that BEFORE building the house, you check how tight the daycare place allocation is. Because parental leave can be planned very well, but if you then have to wait 2 years for a daycare spot, you’re out of luck. This varies from city to city. When my son was due to start daycare, I enrolled him. They were constantly afraid I would just plop the child on their table. For my daughter, I had to start as early as the 20th week of pregnancy. Other cities almost require a place reservation before conception. Also check how expensive childcare will be for you. It can range from free to €900 per month. That can quickly force you to live on instant noodles at the end of the month.