What are moms' biggest financial worries?
Expectant parents should start saving for college pronto. That's the financial advice that mothers of teenagers say they wish they had been given while pregnant.
For pregnant women, the cost of health care and making a financial check list topped their baby-related money concerns, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday by NerdWallet, a personal finance website.
NerdWallet polled more than 600 pregnant women and 600 mothers with teenagers to gauge the biggest financial fears of those expecting against the experience of their more seasoned counterparts, with nearly 44 percent of moms with teens saying they wish they'd been told to immediately start storing cash for college.
That worry makes sense. During the last decade, the average published tuition and fees at public, four-year schools rose 42 percent, adjusted for inflation, according to the College Board.
That said, the high cost of daycare could be keeping some parents at home, preventing them from earning additional income that could help send their offspring to college. With infant daycare now pricier than in-state college tuition and fees in 31 states, according to Child Care Aware America, nearly 30 percent of American mothers now set aside careers and extra income to stay at home, versus 23 percent in 1999, according to findings published last year by the Pew Research Center.
The NerdWallet poll found expectant mothers and moms of teens in accord on one financial issue: the choice to go back to work was the top source of marital tension surrounding births. About 31 percent of those expecting and 30 percent of experienced moms said the decision to stay at home or return to work was the biggest reason they fought with spouses, ahead of concerns about childcare or college costs.
For experienced mothers, arguments with their spouse arose over the costs of entertaining their children with toys and extracurricular activities; nearly 24 percent reported arguments over these expenses, the second-highest source of tension after the decision to go back to work.