I hear you; I hope you do meet someone and have the means to have a family if that is the path you choose. I’m married for nearly twenty years with kids, about fifteen years older than you; many friends and family are in your position but slightly older than you. It is tough raising a family and money is tight; I sometimes wonder if I should have waited longer but I was afraid at the time that it would never be “the right time”. I don’t think marriage and children are for everybody; it is a huge (and permanent) change. I personally couldn’t imagine life differently at this point; I never had much coming from a large family so doing without isn’t as difficult for me as it might be for someone from a more comfortable youth. When I first married we lived for a couple of years in a tiny basement apartment saving money to start a family and buy a home; that apartment seemed luxurious in comparison to living in a single family house with parents and a number of siblings.
Having the mortgage and children reduces my income tax (being replaced with a property tax instead); I couldn’t imagine how high my income taxes would be without either of those deductions. Many young people get their first slap of reality with their first pay stub; they won’t be happy to see that reduced further. One of the problems I see in this economy is that people have to either work harder to have discretionary income for them to enjoy on non-essentials or they can sit back, breed irresponsibly, and still get a comfortable living out of it.
I’m also seeing people in their late twenties move back in with their parents in a desperate attempt to save money. This does save money in the end but the psychological impact of this lifestyle can cause issues in the workplace. Employers and employees can sense when something is not quite right about a person. It is also likely to drive off future mates when the person breaks the news. So many people choose to scrape by and barely save 100 bucks a month while working two jobs.