Financial Analyst Offers Tips On Coping With Rising Childcare Cost

With more parents working full-time these days, childcare can be a very expensive necessity. And the rising cost of caring for children is pricing some families out.

The rising cost of daycare has become a major issue facing millions of families. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of nursery school and childcare has risen 168 percent since 1990.

One study finds child care has become so expensive, it can cost more than housing.

In 33 states, including Oklahoma, child care even more expensive than the annual in-state tuition at a four-year public college. Experts say the reason for the hike can be linked to more millennials working and raising children.

A financial analyst with CBS says opening a pre-tax flexible spending account at your job can help cut down on the cost. Also, the IRS provides tax credits for daycare spending.

"You're probably going to be saving several hundred dollars a year by using one of these pre-tax plans, so if you combine that with the idea that you are going to be using the tax code to help you out, we could get into the thousands of dollars a year,"  said Jill Schlesinger, CBS News Business Analyst.

The survey also found the cost of childcare can account for at least 30 percent of a family's budget