If 2 parents work, how do you do it

[Angels_Unaware]

Yes, so if I’m paying $10 out of $35 (before taxes) for a sitter, I’m not gaining much by working (except experience in my field).

If you make $35 a hour, and you paid $10 an hour for 50 hours a week of childcare (factoring in driving time to and from work and assuming a 40 hour work week), then you would be spending $2000 a month on childcare, and it would be close to half of your take home pay. In that case, it is just a personal decision on your part, but also be aware that you would be paying for a gold standard that families making less than $100,000 a year usually don’t choose. But maybe you earn that much with your husband’s income. I assume the $10 an hour would be to pay for an in-home sitter you screened yourself? Nanny services from a professional company are usually $11-$12 an hour around here.

You could also choose a daycare or in-home provider. Depending on the age of your child, daycare would cost $3.50 to $4.00 an hour for a 40 hour work week with no hour limits. You could also choose a in-home provider, which are even less. Most charge somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.00 to $2.50 an hour.

With child care, there are no gurantees the expensive nanny will be any better than the daycare, or the daycare will be any better than the in-home provider. It all comes down to the environment and the person, and it can take time and trial and error to figure out the best situation.

It really is a personal decision when it comes to cost/benefits of working and using daycare. You and your husband just have to make that decision.

 

[LongingForLight]

I assume the $10 an hour would be to pay for an in-home sitter you screened yourself? Nanny services from a professional company are usually $11-$12 an hour around here.

Wow. That’s amazing to me. Nanny services from a professional company run $20 per hour around here - minimum. $10 an hour would get you an unscreened college student who does nanny work during the day, one child in day care (where do you find $3.50 an hour???), part of a nanny share (if you only have one child - $15 if you have 2 kids, and you aren’t getting a nanny share w/ 3+) or a loving relative who gives you quality care for half the pay she deserves (my MIL! I love that woman - infant twins run about $20 / hour at a day care here, but she did it for $10 / hour and was AWESOME).

Seriously, what part of the country are you in? I’m near Seattle, so the high median incomes undoubtedly influence childcare costs . . . but still, this sounds unbelievable to me. Is this in Kansas or something?

 

[Angels_Unaware]

Wow. That’s amazing to me. Nanny services from a professional company run $20 per hour around here - minimum. $10 an hour would get you an unscreened college student who does nanny work during the day, one child in day care (where do you find $3.50 an hour???), part of a nanny share (if you only have one child - $15 if you have 2 kids, and you aren’t getting a nanny share w/ 3+) or a loving relative who gives you quality care for half the pay she deserves (my MIL! I love that woman - infant twins run about $20 / hour at a day care here, but she did it for $10 / hour and was AWESOME).

Seriously, what part of the country are you in? I’m near Seattle, so the high median incomes undoubtedly influence childcare costs . . . but still, this sounds unbelievable to me. Is this in Kansas or something?

Kansas City. When I called a local service to find out how much a nanny would cost for my last child in 2004 they gave me a quote of $11.00 an hour.

$3.50 an hour is $140 a week. I paid between $170 (for an infant) and $130 (for a 4-year old) going down every year for daycare. My current daycare is very high quality.

Our housing costs are much lower than the coasts, and I know for a fact that our daycare costs are less than DC, because I called to get some quotes when on travel, but I didn’t know they varied so much with the rest of the country.

 

[puzzleannie]

obviously it is a simple arithmetic problem when it comes to money, income - expenses. It is not so simple when it comes to time, emotion, spiritual, emotional and psychological toll and so forth. What works for you this year might not be the best arrangement in 5 years, and what works for your neighbor might not be right for your family. But it is something to decide rationally, with as many of the facts and figures you can compile, with your spouse. And do be realistic in your assessment of the cost of working it is usually more than your realize.

DD#2 just graduated and went back to work, and has kids in day care, which is working out very well for everyone. she was pleasantly surprised to find that when GDS started Catholic school her monthly expense is actually less than when both were in day care, and found a day care close to home, so transportation difficulties have also been much simplified, so there is lower gas expense too. And the daycare is better in many ways. They also now have more relaxed family time in the evening, so everyone is happier.

 

[dulcissima]

It really depends on the age of your children and the available alternatives for child care that you have. If your kids are in school or if you were going to be sending them to preschool anyway, having both parents work is much more doable.

In a lot of ways though, it just doesn’t make sense financially unless you are working different shifts or can work at home.

 

[nikkib303]

I think the main problem is trying to find a nanny. For most working families, a nanny is not feasible financially, and that is probably the care most people would choose if they could afford it.

I am a single mom, so I have a hard time figuring out how two-income families can’t afford childcare, unless they both work minimum wage jobs (In which case I completely get it!). The thing that saved me was finding an in-home daycare. I pay $135 a week for his care and he loves his “teacher”. That leaves money for car payment and insurance, rent, food, utilities, savings etc. It does not leave money for household help, eating out, dry-cleaning or anything else that might make being a working mom easier. But hey, I still feel lucky because we are doing better than a lot of two-parent households !

I also think you have to factor in the cost of not working. I got pregnant right out of college, so no work experience. The little guy was born a preemie. After factoring in the value of all the services that we were eligible for (WIC, SSI, food stamps, etc.) I actually would have been doing better on welfare, which was disheartening. However, in 3 years, I have had promotions and raises, and also switched companies. Now, we are living well above the poverty level and hopefully my income will continue to rise. Had I taken a break and were just trying to get an entry-level job right now, we would be in deep trouble.

Again, it might be different if you are talking about minimum wage jobs. At that point, it might really not be worth it to work and you would have to do an in-depth cost-benefit analysis. Especially if being a sahm is important to you, it really might be best to just stay home. Hard to say:shrug:

I hope the doesn’t sound boastful, just saying that it can definitely be done if you want or need to work!