FYI: Daycare costs too much.

[JEDI]

Yes, it is a TOTAL shakedown. My wife and I are trying to have our first, and she is trying to convince me that she should quit her job and just start her own daycare. She is using the very compelling argument of how much I can expect to pay for the average 3-day a week daycare operation, and I must say, she is winning... There is hardly anything to it, and most of the kids are so young, they might as well be sedated.

Of course any new parent knows the pitfalls of parenthood, and that it is full of bottomless pits for you to dump truckloads of your hard earned money into... with little hope of getting anything for it. I would lump babies into the old saying involving boats, cars, and women... ;-)

sounds like your wife's a keeper!

stay at home mom + income for daycare
check your laws on how many kids she can watch besides her own as a in home daycare center

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

How about not having kids if you can't look after them?

 

[ponyo]

If you're paying $1200-1500 a month for daycare, then you can find live in nanny. If you have a room to spare and don't mind someone living in the house with you, it can be good alternative. Granted, it comes with it's own set of risks and high probability your child will learn Spanish before English.

 

[RKS]

My parents live 15 minutes north. My in-laws live 15 minutes south. We saved a lot of money which is now being blown sending the kids to private school.

 

[nutxo]

Yea, I know. When I think about paying $187/week and the law here is max 5 kids to 1 adult and the good daycares are 4:1, that means $18.70 per hour per employee. They probably get around $10/hr and the rest is overhead and profit.

The $125/week daycare works out to $12.50 / hour for 4 kids which is a lot tighter.

The solution would be to store the children in unheated warehouses for the day. Maybe they could keep them in dog kennels. That would save you some money .

 

[Capt Caveman]

Cost of living back in the day is no where near what it is today. You could work a factory job and support a family. You can't do that today.

Yet, there are people that do it today.

 

[keird]

Stay-at-home mother ftw!

Or Dad. Or Either.

My wife and I don't make much but have a schedule were one of us will provide child care while the other is at work. It's really satisfying and inexpensive, too.

Things may change after next year, though. I hope it's for the best.

 

[Kelvrick]

If you're paying $1200-1500 a month for daycare, then you can find live in nanny. If you have a room to spare and don't mind someone living in the house with you, it can be good alternative. Granted, it comes with it's own set of risks and high probability your child will learn Spanish before English.

My parents did that for my little sisters when I was maybe 8-9? She basically just had to keep me fed and is now a family friend. I figure its hard to find someone like that though.

I hope I can afford a hot french live-in maid/nanny that is fresh outa college with a pediatrics degree when I have a kid.

 

[keird]

My parents did that for my little sisters when I was maybe 8-9? She basically just had to keep me fed and is now a family friend. I figure its hard to find someone like that though.

I hope I can afford a hot french live-in maid/nanny that is fresh outa college with a pediatrics degree when I have a kid.

Two words.

Eastern. European.

 

[zerocool84]

Yet, there are people that do it today.

In Detroit??? Sure cus then you can buy a house for ~$50k.

 

[shadow9d9]

That is all.



Or maybe I'm just a cheap bastard. We managed to find a local daycare center that we liked before our daughter was born that was just starting up, comes out to around $500 a month, but now that we have stopped in a few times they don't have it fully staffed and seem shorthanded in the morning and the bad vibes are there. Now it is down to the $1000/mo super awesome daycare that is 1.5 blocks down from my work that I could stop in at during the day, or another facility that is almost as nice for just $750/mo.

Just finished paying the truck off thankfully.

It seems silly, but those prices are relatively inexpensive. For 5 days here it is a few dollars over 1000.

 

[Kelvrick]

Two words.

Eastern. European.

Put them in a sexy french maid (or anything, or nothing) outfit, and who can tell the difference, right?

 

[keird]

Put them in a sexy french maid (or anything, or nothing) outfit, and who can tell the difference, right?

Your bank account might.

 

[Joemonkey]

Not really. My monthly bills are about $4k excluding daycare.

Mortgage: $1277
Car: $535
Student Loans: $532
Credit Card: $102
Electric: $85
Garbage: $28
Propane: $100
Gas: $293
Cabe/Internet: $143
Netflix: $23
Home Phone: $34
Cell phones: $102
Auto Insurance: $81
Life/Disability Insurance: $128
Groceries: $500
Daycare: $800

sell your fucking car

 

[Kelvrick]

Not really. My monthly bills are about $4k excluding daycare.

Mortgage: $1277
Car: $535
Student Loans: $532
Credit Card: $102
Electric: $85
Garbage: $28
Propane: $100
Gas: $293
Cabe/Internet: $143
Netflix: $23
Home Phone: $34
Cell phones: $102
Auto Insurance: $81
Life/Disability Insurance: $128
Groceries: $500
Daycare: $800

WTF? 2 50k paychecks is 100k. Lets say 33% tax rate, you bring home 66,000, or $5,500 a month.

Your expenses right now are $4,763 a month, leaving you $737.

I'm looking for other things that I don't see like medical/dental costs, home owners insurance (maybe included in your mortgage includes that), 401k funding, clothing, or savings?

 

[manimal]

We have young triplets and we ended up getting a 8am to 6pm nanny to help us out. She gets about 350 a week which we do legally and pay SS and such..

Best investment we ever made in our kids since they dont get the germs and the lack of attention since its 3 to 1 and the wife and I are around alot..

BTW we call her a home manager and she cleans and keeps the house running..

 

[TallBill]

We have young triplets and we ended up getting a 8am to 6pm nanny to help us out. She gets about 350 a week which we do legally and pay SS and such..

Best investment we ever made in our kids since they dont get the germs and the lack of attention since its 3 to 1 and the wife and I are around alot..

BTW we call her a home manager and she cleans and keeps the house running..

Sounds awesome if she's reliable.

 

[Turin39789]

We have young triplets and we ended up getting a 8am to 6pm nanny to help us out. She gets about 350 a week which we do legally and pay SS and such..

Best investment we ever made in our kids since they dont get the germs and the lack of attention since its 3 to 1 and the wife and I are around alot..

BTW we call her a home manager and she cleans and keeps the house running..

Economies of scale! That's just 118/week per child or $472 per month and you get better service and cleaning!

 

[JS80]

If daycare is too expensive for you that means your wife isn't making enough money.

PS they need to increase the Dependent care Flex limit to $20k from the paltry $5k.

 

[jEnus]

Just put my son in a Learning Center for $500/month, will drop to $400 when he hits 1.

 

[Hacp]

Pay the local college kid 100 dollars a week to look after your kid. He'll have beer money and you'll have cheap daycare. Win-Win.

 

[Capt Caveman]

In Detroit??? Sure cus then you can buy a house for ~$50k.

Move out of parents basement and maybe you'll see how other people live.

 

[Phokus]

Pay the local college kid 100 dollars a week to look after your kid. He'll have beer money and you'll have cheap daycare. Win-Win.

Just don't leave your Kid with HACP, as a known thief, he'll probably drink the baby formula and use the diapers for god knows what.

 

[manimal]

Economies of scale! That's just 118/week per child or $472 per month and you get better service and cleaning!

Makes me feel better that they are home as welll..

the wife heard a story about a woman who left her kid in the back seat of the car and forgot to drop off the child at the daycare and the child died. We were so exhausted at first and taking care of three newborns at the same time during Colic left us both with PTSD...so we hired someone...

 

[chuckywang]

Then don't have a kid, or stop bitching about the costs?

That's a bit unfair don't you think? We didn't develop a first world society just to be forced to choose between a family and a career.