Families are rethinking future children and work as the latest Nationwide Spending Report highlights an 18 per cent spike in childcare costs over the last year.
The findings come as Nationwide’s Spending Report – an analysis of more than 247 million debit card, credit card and Direct Debit transactions – recorded the rise in childcare and education spending in October.
The research1 from Nationwide shows that households are spending an average of £610 per month on childcare.
These costs, amid rising prices across the board, mean that 60 per cent of people with children in childcare say that they are put off from having more children. And just over a quarter say that either they, or their partner, have given up work to help manage the costs of childcare, with a further 34 per cent considering it in future.
Of those who have given up work, 18 per cent were women and eight per cent were men – demonstrating the gender imbalance when it comes to childcare.
Despite the ongoing pressures to meet essential costs, over half (53%) of families are still finding some money each month to put aside for their children’s future. Of those who can afford to, families are putting aside an average of £98 per month to save, with university (51%), a house deposit (31%) and a lump sum for their 18th birthday (29%) being the main reasons for putting money aside.
Nationwide’s Spending Report2 shows just over £8.0 billion was spent overall in October. Spending overall was up 4 per cent compared to the previous year, while transactions were up 6 per cent.
Essential spending overview (full data by category in table below): the amount spent in October reached £4.5 billion – a two per cent year-on-year increase. Transaction volumes (c.126m) rose six per cent versus last year. Childcare & Education spend was up 18 per cent compared to October 2023 and 22 per cent versus September 2024. Housing costs continue to account for the biggest rises, with renters seeing a 19 per cent year-on-year increase, while mortgage repayments increased 13 per cent. Supermarket spend (c.£1.2bn) was the biggest single category for spend in October.
Non-essential spending overview (full data by category in table below): at c.£3.5 billion, overall non-essential spending was up seven per cent compared to October 2023 with transaction volumes up six per cent. Spend on Health and Beauty (15%), Holidays and Airline Travel (10%) and Leisure and Recreation (7%) spend also saw notable annual increases.
Mark Nalder, Nationwide’s Payments Strategy Director, said: “This increase in childcare costs is something we naturally see at the end of the school holidays as schools restart. However, it is not showing any signs of slowing, with a significant uplift recorded in October. This is forcing many families to juggle childcare costs with other higher essential bills and as our research shows, many people are reconsidering having more children or giving up work altogether. However, despite these challenges, what is encouraging is that over half of respondents are still able to put some money aside for their children to use later in life.”
Britain’s biggest building society has a dedicated cost-of-living helpline3 (0800 030 40 66), with trained experts able to provide support in-branch or over the telephone (see Notes to Editor). Support can range from conducting financial health checks to forbearance options for those facing financial difficulties.
Holding one of Nationwide’s three main current accounts would also give people access to the Society’s Flex Regular Saver product, offering 6.5% AER on monthly deposits of up to £200 per month. Nationwide currently offers customers switching to one of the building society’s main current accounts £175, with joint account holders potentially receiving £350 to move from their existing provider if they switch a sole and joint account.
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