San Francisco, CA and New York, NY—August 3, 2011—Citi, the leading global financial services company, and BabyCenter®, the #1 pregnancy and parenting destination worldwide, have teamed up to release the 2011 BabyCenter U.S. Cost of Raising a Child Report. BabyCenter tapped into its national member network to identify the financial challenges moms face, particularly in today’s economy. More than 1,000 moms completed the survey, answering questions about how money impacts their decisions – from having more children to prioritizing saving for retirement versus their child’s college education and more. Citi sponsored the report as part of its ongoing efforts to provide insights that help women manage their finances, as well as strategies and tools to help simplify their financial lives.
“We know that mom is the Chief Everything Officer (CEO) and the health and well-being of her family’s financial situation plays a central role not just in direct financial decisions, but in how she spends her time on social activities and ‘me’ time,” said Tina Sharkey, chairman and global president of BabyCenter. “We’re pleased that Citi has joined us in sponsoring this report and we look forward to a continued relationship with them as they deepen their conversations with moms in all of the moments that matter.”
“Citi recognizes that moms wear many hats and wants to help simplify their busy lives,” said Vanessa Colella, Head of Marketing, North America Consumer Bank, Citi. “BabyCenter’s report helps identify the financial challenges and opportunities moms need to prepare for, while Citi provides the tools and expertise moms can use to stay on top of it all.”
Citi has long been committed to serving women and moms, as evidenced by its 11 years of offering Women & Co., a leading provider of financial insights and resources for women. In addition, Citi provides a variety of solutions that add value for moms and fit seamlessly into their lifestyles, including through its relationship with Manilla.com, a service that helps organize accounts online, and the new Citi Simplicity Credit Card, which offers a single rate across all purchases, balance transfers and cash advances, no late fees and no penalty rate. https://citisimplicity.com/
BabyCenter will soon also launch an updated version of its interactive online module called BabyCenter.com’s Cost Calculator that helps moms evaluate their families’ specific financial variables. In addition, BabyCenter will engage women via social media channels on Facebook and Twitter [www.facebook.com/BabyCenter and www.twitter.com/babycenter] and encourage them to share their own saving tips, as well as launch an original blog advice series called ‘Inside Your Budget.’
For more information on BabyCenter’s U.S. Cost of Raising a Child special report, please visit http://www.babycenter.com/child-cost.
BabyCenter® is the voice of the 21st Century Mom® and modern motherhood. It’s the #1 pregnancy and parenting destination worldwide, reaching more than 10 million moms monthly in the U.S. and more than 25 million moms monthly in 22 markets from Australia to India to China. In the United States, 7 in 10 babies born last year were BabyCenter babies. BabyCenter is the world’s partner in parenting, providing moms everywhere with trusted advice from hundreds of experts around the globe, friendship with other moms like them, and support that’s remarkably right at every stage of their child’s development. BabyCenter also works with some of the world’s most prominent brands and institutions to provide life-stage marketing solutions and a direct line to highly engaged moms. BabyCenter is a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.
Women & Co., a service of Citibank, is a vehicle for insightful women to build their financial knowledge, bolster their confidence and create financial strategies that will help them achieve their goals. Through access to education, resources, and a community of financially minded women, Women & Co. is Where Wisdom, Wealth and Women Meet. sm Sign up for free today at www.womenandco.com.
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com.
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Press contacts:
Amy Janzen
BabyCenter
917-209-6819
amy.janzen@babycenter.com
Natalie Marin
Citi Public Affairs
212-793-1401
natalie.elizabeth.marin@citi.com