KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 19 -- Two-thirds of Malaysian parents say they are spending more on their children each month than they expected, with food and daily necessities now almost level with education fees and tuition as their biggest expenses, according to a survey by Malaysian fintech company Versa.

The Versa Parenting Survey found that 66 per cent of parents said the actual monthly cost of raising their child was higher than they had anticipated, including 27 per cent who said it was "much higher."

Only 31 per cent said their spending was close to what they had budgeted, while 3 per cent said they were spending less than expected.

Food and daily necessities were cited by 70 per cent of parents as one of their biggest monthly expenses, n...