We know that kids days are expensive these days. Recent government figures show it costs an average $227,000 to raise a child from birth to age 17.
Now a new survey finds that the expense moms are most likely to be worried about is education.
About two-thirds of current or expecting moms surveyed by parenting website BabyCenter said they are concerned about paying for their kids’ school or college education. That was far more than the No. 2 concern, the cost of housing, which was cited by nearly half of those surveyed.
Other basic living expenses including the cost of child care, health care and food, also were listed by more than four in 10 moms in the survey of 1,300 BabyCenter users.
Parents also are worried about financing family fun: More than 4 in 10 moms said vacations were a big financial worry.
The survey, which was conducted in June, also found that about 4 in 10 moms waited to start or expand their families until they felt financially stable. That’s in keeping with other data showing that some parents have been delaying children because of the weak economy.
TODAY financial editor Jean Chatzky, also a BabyCenter.com contributor, discussed the findings on the show Tuesday.