Canadians struggle to afford kids, property

Kids may be becoming a financial luxury, as more than half of Canadians say they can’t afford both family life and home ownership, finds a RateSupermarket.ca survey.

In fact, 55.6% of respondents believe their ability to start or expand their family is directly impacted by real estate prices in their regions. The challenge is even greater for millennials, at 72.11%.

Read: TFSAs help single-income families

“While it’s no surprise that kids are hard on the wallet — at a quarter of a million dollars to raise a baby to college-age — it is disheartening Canadians increasingly feel they must choose between home ownership and their desire to be parents,” says Penelope Graham, editor at RateSupermarket.ca.

Read: Millennials ignoring retirement saving

Here are some additional findings from the survey.

• 6.4% of millennials say existing debt prevents them from growing their family; 60.24% would rely more on credit to afford the day-to-day expenses of family life;
• only 15.21% say childcare is affordable in their region; 48% state childcare costs impacts their affordability for other things.
• the price of food topped the list of unexpected costs for parents at 26.5%; and
• 49.4% of respondents have changed their minds about their desired family size due to associated costs.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.