Day Care

My husband and I are ready to start a family. The one thing we can not agree on is if I would be SAHM or work.

My argument is that AFTER taxes, at least 65% of my check would go towards daycare. I don't make a huge salary but like most families on LI, 2 incomes are essential and/or easier. This is also estimating on the low side and I don't even want to think what it would be with 2 kids. He makes a good salary and we can definitely live on it and still save.

My question is, approximately how much of your check goes towards child care. Please specify if more than one child.

Thanks

Re: Day Care

2 children in ... (this is take home pay) we spend approx. 25% on daycare (vommmmmit) our combined salaries.

Message edited 12/13/2013 2:07:10 PM.

Day Care

Mine is $245 a week. Honestly you feel it at first but then it just becomes a second bill. I say I would have love to be a sahm but financially and mentally I think having my dd in daycare is the best thing for us. She's also so well rounded, even at 7 months and is not affected by strangers or other kids since its all she has ever known.

Day Care

I have DS in 3 days a week. - its 8% of my check (paid every 2 weeks

If I sent him FT it would be 12%.

I also get Dependent care reimbursement taken out of my check so I get $5K back.

I make way more than my DS so if either of us were to stay home it would be him.

I have no interest in being a SAHM and I have seen how wonderful daycare has been for my DS. He is learning so much and it surprises me everyday.

Re: Day Care

Just counting my salary alone it's about 19% to daycare approx.
She only goes 3 days a week now though.
DH is home with her the other days.
Even if it was more than that, it is still something.
Even if i had to pay more than half to daycare I'd still work- that is still money I wouldn't have if I stayed home.
Every little bit helps!

Add to that that there is no way in the planet I'd make it as a stay at home, and it is clear why she's in daycare!
Even if I was just breaking even- I'd work!

Message edited 12/13/2013 2:14:59 PM.

Re: Day Care

the money is important obviously... but there are other things to think about when you're deciding to work or be a SAHM.
i'm a SAHM. We have one DS, and we're comfortable on DHs salary. BUT something I always think about is what if something happened to DH where he couldn't work anymore or he lost his job or whatever. How easy would it be for me to jump back into my field? So that's definitely something to think about when you're deciding. What would it mean for you to you take some time off from working, and then get back in when your DC are older or if you needed to or whatever. ( In my case, i'm a speech therapist, so there are a lot of jobs out there, so it will be easy to go back to work if I need to)
Sometimes, its worth working just so you can stay active in your field and everything. remember, the daycare bill will only be for a few years, then your kids will be in school all day so you wont be paying that big daycare bill anymore.

Day Care

with one in daycare, 51% of my paycheck went to daycare
but we are on my companies health insurance plan and i take out for flex spending...numbers would be different if that was deducted from DH
my health and other benefits (401k, pension) are the main reason i went back to work

Day Care

Thanks for your replies.

We use my husbands health insurance which is free and I don't have flex spending.
I would be able to find another job with what I am currently doing, so this is not my concern.
I have nothing against daycare but it personally makes more sense to me to be a sahm (financially and mentally).
My husbands hours can change, so I can not rely on him for daycare.

Day Care

I couldn't be a SAHM even if I wanted to be (which I don't think I do, but that's besides the point), daycare for our 1 DD is 50% of DH's paycheck. It's "only" 30% of mine.

We're also on my company's health insurance, which my company pays for 100%. So yeah, no SAHM chance for me any time soon!

Message edited 12/13/2013 2:56:58 PM.

Re: Day Care

We had DS in day care but I hated it and we don't have other viable options where we live, so we had to get a nanny. It makes almost no sense for us, financially, to be paying a nanny. But the way I look at it, it's temporary. We plan to move in a year or 2 and DS will go to dc then. And if one of us stopped working, the hit to our salary by being out of work for several years, just makes no sense.

Plus, I just enjoy working and neither of us feel comfortable living on just 1 salary.

Re: Day Care

Posted by NervousNell

Just counting my salary alone it's about 19% to daycare approx.
She only goes 3 days a week now though.
DH is home with her the other days.
Even if it was more than that, it is still something.
Even if i had to pay more than half to daycare I'd still work- that is still money I wouldn't have if I stayed home.
Every little bit helps!

Add to that that there is no way in the planet I'd make it as a stay at home, and it is clear why she's in daycare!
Even if I was just breaking even- I'd work!

Message edited 12/13/2013 3:39:52 PM.

Day Care

Full time... 1, 400 a week for one .. we have two Nd its over 2,200. Now....my salary is underpaid, I work for healthcare and because it would be tough to get back into the field down th road.

Re: Day Care

All of my husband's income goes to daycare. I am the breadwinner. He cannot take off career-wise which is why he is not a sahd.

But even if I could stay home, I could not! I work in a school, and by the end of august I was itching to get back. Even my 12 week fmla maternity leave was tough! My advice is that if you could swing it either way, wait til during your maternity leave to decide.

Day Care

Right now, we have 2 kids in daycare 4 days a week for 6 hours a day. Daycare cost is about 75% of my take home pay. We are expecting our third baby in May and when he or she starts daycare, we will be paying about 115% of my take home pay on daycare. That will only be for one year though, until our oldest starts kindergarten. I don't make a whole lot, my husband is the breadwinner, but he is self employed, so we use my company's health insurance. My boys attend daycare at the preschool where I work. I love my job, my boys love school, I love having them with me, and we need the health insurance. So even though it might sound crazy to some, it works for us!

Re: Day Care

Re: Day Care

Out of my paycheck alone it's 25%. Ugh that makes me sick. But on the flip side I love working and I get free healthcare and a pension. It makes no sense for me to quit. My dd loves daycare too. And I love that she interacts with other children all day and she's learned a lot there.

Message edited 12/14/2013 9:31:51 AM.

Day Care

We have 2 kids in, part time. One of which goes to UPK in the mornings. My DHs schedule rotates and flip flops so there time spent there varies alot. At most I would say 9% goes towards DC.

I really felt after I had my 2nd I would want to be a Sahm. I'm much happier working. I have my own business which gives me the flexibility you need as a Mom ( and a DH with such an odd schedule!).

I would see how your maternity leave goes and try and find some places with good part time care to keep your options open. A lot of the bigger facilities have a set fee per day no matter how many hours you have you LO there for. I love mine, she charges 13/hr for the 2, 5 for my 4yo and 8 for my 20 month old.

GL!!

Message edited 12/14/2013 3:07:03 PM.

Re: Day Care

Good luck with your decision.

We have 2 DC and FT daycare is approx. 17% of our combined salaries after tax and 401(k).

Re: Day Care

Daycare is about 9% of our combined income. If I were to stop working, it would be about 14% of DH income alone.

Message edited 12/14/2013 10:32:21 PM.

Re: Day Care

never did the math til now. daycare is 27 percent of my salary annually. I would not want to be a stay at home mom, but don't think we could afford it if I did

My salary pays daycare in full, and insurance, life insurance, flexspending, dental, vision all come out of my employment.

Ds is the breadwinner, but I bring all the necessary other stuff like insurance

Day Care

Daycare was almost as much as my mortgage. Enough said.
Doesn't include other child factors like diapers, formula, thousands of things they just need. Medical care (outside free visits) co pays and general stuff.

I kept my job (always intended to) but while home on maternity leave I knew then I could NEVER be a SAHM. I need outside adult work related interaction. If I felt differently then on my reduced wages I could have had a better idea then where would have been. And in our case, it would have been impossible for me to give up my job anyway since I am the breadwinner in the house.

Day Care

Daycare is insanely expensive, and is almost as expensive as our PITI. Two dc in fulltime daycare is about 20% of our take home.