(Image credit: Getty Images) By Ella Vincent published 17 November 2024 in Features For many parents of young children, child care represents one of the largest items on their household budget. The average cost of child care was more than $11,500 in 2023, according to an analysis by Child Care Aware, a nationwide network of child care referral agencies. In some high-cost cities, parents are spending more on child care than they are on their rent or mortgage payments. A dependent care flexible...

Nontraditional families are becoming more traditional. For more than 20% of opposite-sex couples who lived together in 2021, at least one partner had children with another partner, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. And there were more than 2.4 million stepchildren in the U.S. in 2021, according to the Census Bureau. If you’re planning to become part of a blended family, consider these financial issues as you and your spouse start a new life. Prepare with...