According to a new survey from Mass Mutual, about 23% of adults ranging from 18 to 43 years old say they don't want children because they value their financial freedom and they have concerns about the cost of raising kids in today's economy.

Joining me with more on this is CBS MoneyWatch Associate Managing Editor Amy Pichey.

Amy, thank you so much for being with us.

I mean, look, I've got a two and a half year old.

I'm still like deep in the diapers and all of that.

It is expensive.

The average family spends $700 a month alone just in childcare.

Can you break down what other figures you found and how they've changed in recent years?

Yeah, I mean, there's an estimate out there about how much it costs to raise a child from birth to age 18, and it's about $240,000.

That's about $13,000 a year on average.

And that's up 20% from 2016.

So that's things like inflation, but of course, that precedes our inflationary hike after the pandemic.

But it's just really expensive to raise a kid.

And I think a lot of younger people, what we're seeing in these surveys, they're worried about it.

They're worried about their ability to handle the cost of raising a kid, and they're worried about their ability to do the things that they want with their lives, their careers, their hobbies, their interests, and taking on a financial burden like having a kid.

But it's always been expensive to have kids, of course.

I mean, that has always been the case.

Yeah, I mean, the graphic that we just showed, more than $200,000, that is without college.

That is up until the age of 18, which is just bonkers.

How has sentiment changed across generations when it comes to people not having children?

Yeah, I think that's one of the really interesting things here.

Pew did a study asking people without kids why they didn't have kids.

And this was a study from July.

And what's interesting is those people over 50 said it just never happened for them.

They just didn't meet the right person.

It just didn't turn out that they had kids.

Those under 50 were more likely to cite financial reasons, concerns about the environment, concerns about their ability to achieve what they wanted to in their careers.

So there's sort of a shift there between generations, Gen X and boomers versus millennials and Gen Z.

So, you know, I have a 529.

I'm trying to put, you know, the few cents I can every month when I can.

And of course, I'll be the first one to tell you, being a parent is such a blessing, you know, everybody gets to choose what they would like to do for their own lives, not saying it's for everybody.

But what tips do you have for people who are interested in having a family, growing a family, but they're not sure how they can do it?

Yeah, I think one interesting thing a mass mutual study found is that most parents did prepare for having a kid financially. 529 plan, which you mentioned is a great idea.

It can actually also cover high school, I think middle school and high school costs now not only college.

And you know, if you don't use the money for higher education, you can also use it for later for other costs.

So you know, it's not only for college.

But you know, the other thing to remember is that it just, you know, it's going to cost money to have a kid and just to prepare to save, look at your finances, budget.

And that's what mass mutual told us.

All right, Amy, such great advice.

Thank you.