Is the job worth childcare costs? - Page 2

Totally agree.

When I only had one kiddo and was working it was not so bad.  But having three and and being out of the workforce for 8 years.  There is no way.  We do great on just my hubby's salery and to be honest he does not want me to go back to work.  He likes me being home and when things are going on I take care of them so he can go to work.  It works for us.

financially no way, I was only going to be making maybe 50$ a paycheck after daycare costs and that did not include gas or lunches. That was 12 years ago when we were looking at possible daycares for odd and also one of the cheaper daycares that I was not comfortable with either so emotional it would not have been good either.

But think about it many of the moms that are on this site are only because they have a little bit of free time to look at ways to save and live well for less. As a single income family that becomes key. 

 

I don't have any experience putting my kids in day care. There are some really great ones. But it is like everything else you don't hear about the great ones only the horror stories of bad ones. I know if I was going to be looking I would look for another stay at home mom who is willing to take on an extra child for a little bit of extra income. 

 

I think the biggest cost in myself staying home was not loosing the income (daycare and gas would have taken that) But it was in loosing the benefits. We had better and health insurance for less, good retirement plans, good vacation and sick leave. I had 6 months to decide and in the end opted for struggling. The down side is that being a single income family you don't have that little bit extra to put towards things. 

 

At the same time I love being home with my kids. I toy with the idea of part time work but time as a family always wins out. They are only little once.

In my situation, no. It isn't worth the cost to the family, though that has nothing to do with money.

 

I quit working 4 years ago. We were coming up on summer and I couldn't find anyone to "babysit" my 12 year old. DS is a high functioning autistic. Not many people willing to take him and all his quirks on. So we took a long hard look at the budget and decided that I would quit my 60+ hour a week job. Don't get me wrong, I loved my job. I am good at what I do. Mostly because I honestly loved doing it. The plan was that I would get a part time job. The reality was that the economy crashed right around then. Then, miracle of all miracles, I got pregnant with the baby that DH wasn't supposed to be able to have and that I wasn't supposed to be able to carry. So, off to bed rest for me. Daycare for an infant is just insane. I could go back to work but daycare would eat up over half my paycheck. Plus, DH is an instructor for the Navy. He goes in very early but gets off work at 3 in the afternoon. He likes coming home and having me here. He likes cooking dinners with me and watching TV after DD goes to bed. Or a game of Scrabble. I know it can be hard to be the sole breadwinner. I was a single mom for a long time before I met DH. Plus, my father lives with us. So he supports a lot of people. Periodically I offer to go back to work. He always says no. I get the feeling that after being a stay at home mom I will simply become a housewife. I don't think he will ever like having me go back to work. I figure as long as we can afford to live this way, I will let him decide when/if I go back. I enjoyed working just as much as I enjoy being home to greet him when he gets home.
 

Definitely not worth it financially for me right now. My money would all go for daycare, gas and take-out. I wouldn't be able to do the money-saving tricks I do now because of lack of time.

More-so than finances, it wouldn't be worth it emotionally for me. We may be completely broke, but we are happy. The bills are paid and we have a little extra to do a small outing each week. That is all we need.

I will go back to work when school starts in September, and I will work while they are in school. Full time daycare for two kids, on what little bit I would be bringing home, just isn't worth it.