I just found out the exact cost of having a 3 year old and an infant in FT daycare. At what point would you working moms consider working no longer worth the daycare costs? Our center continues to be one of the more "economical" in the area and DS is VERY happy there, so I'd hate to move him over a few dollars.Just wondering if any of you have any insight to share. TIA!
Re: XP from Jan 13: Working Moms of 2+
There are other things to consider other than finances (to quitting a job): insurance/benefits, growth in career, and sanity.
I'm assuming your DC is offering a sibling discount? Ask about employer discounts, if you help with referrals/recruitment, etc... It's tough the 1st yr as the infant cost is so high. Remember each time LO's move to the next class the cost decreases slightly. Every bit counts.
You can always look into other options like in home DC which tends to be cheaper. However, if you're truly happy with your current place I would stick it out and cut back on finances in other areas.
I've never considered not working worth it, nor has my husband. For us, our careers would suffer if we decided to take several years off.
How long will you have two in daycare? We use an in-home and also our kids started full-time kindergarten at age 4 so if you were planning on doing that in a public school you'd really only be looking at short time of paying full-time daycare for both.
Kelly, Mom to Christopher Shannon 9.27.06, Catherine Quinn 2.24.09, Trey Barton lost on 12.28.09, Therese Barton lost on 6.10.10, Joseph Sullivan 7.23.11, and our latest, Victoria Maren 11.15.12
Secondary infertility success with IVF, then two losses, one at 14 weeks and one at 10 weeks, then success with IUI and then just pure, crazy luck. Expecting our fifth in May as the result of a FET.
This Cluttered Life
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/magazine/the-opt-out-generation-wants-back-in.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&smid=fb-share
Our childcare costs were 25-30% of our total take home, well over half of mine alone with two last year. It was worth it not to have a gap in my cv.
I will begin to pay for 2 in daycare in a week and I understand the pinch. I agree with LoCarb and I would only consider quitting my job if it meant negative cash flow each month. Even a few hundred dollars extra a month is enough to fully fund an IRA, make a car payment, save for vacation, etc.
I also keep reminding myself that I only have 2 years of double daycare payments. While it sucks right now, 2 years of payments is just a spec of what I will make over the course of my career.