Can people ever afford childcare!?!

[Peanutbutternutter419]

So im due back to wrok in a couple of weeks and have luckily managed to agree to 2 mornings in office and the rest work from home as and when needed (could be anything between one am/pm to a couple of days).
DS is registered at nursery for 2 mornings/10 hrs per week and its costing £60 per week.
I have worked out all my finances and this literally uses up all my 'spare' cash every month after bills, food, car, pets.
So how do people adjust to this new monthly commitment? I have tried looking at outgoings but cant see where i can save money apart from smaller car which we are lookin into atm!

How did you manage?

[Peanutbutternutter419]

Work not wrok! oh dear!

[jnl0612]

I have an aupair, not ideal but with 2 kids its the only childcare we can afford

[noisytoys]

Just get on with it knowing it will cripple us for a few years but it will get better, and the benefits of staying in work long term far outweigh the cost.

[num3onway]

Are you entitled to tax credits?

[RandomMess]

IF you are on your own then you need to work enough hours to get help with the childcare element of CTC. If you have a partner then childcare is a shared cost between you...

[Mum2Fergus]

It's just one of those bills we have to meet every month, along with mortgage, Council Tax, etc. Have you written up your full budget? Ours takes us right into 2015 by which time DS will start school...lets me see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We made bulk of our savings through moving to 2 small cars and in the food shopping (meal planning, cash budget £50pw), and changing utility providers at earliest opportunity.

[nextphase]

When DS is 3, you will get 15 hrs/week (term time) for free, so from that point, you will have no child care.

Counting the days til DS1 starts school (11 day), and the bill drops!
Then it will drop again when DS2 gets his 15 hrs the following Sept, then then the sept after that he starts school! Oh boy, I'm going to feel rich (except for all the holidays!)

[dashoflime]

would a childminder be more affordable?

yy to tax credits

[bigkidsdidit]

Are you on your own?

Our bill will be 1300 a month when I go back after mat leave

[Mum2Fergus]

Wow, looking at some of your costs I'm in no position to complain! DS bill for 4 full days ow is £550. Both DP and I get maximum in child care vouchers via our respective employers (£243 each I think?) then top up with £74 cash. With the vouchers coming off at source we don't really miss it...much lol.

[forevergreek]

I don't know. Full time nursery here is £107 a day. We have x2 toddlers so would be £1100 a week if full time.

We work a mixture of hours so share childcare, and work from home, so only use 2 days childcare. Still a fair bit though

[PearlyWhites]

£107 a day that's insane mine is £33.

[olivo]

We knew we would have child care to pay for @ 1200 pm for two years, 900 for a year and 600 for a year x 2. That's why we stopped at 2 children. It is gutting to see it disappear from your bank account the day after it has gone in, but You have to keep reminding yourself it isn't forever.....

[Inclusionist]

From next month when I go back FT I will be paying £1100 pm for DS (an only). This includes his 15hrs. He going to a Prep, which I know is our choice, but it means there is no light at the end of the tunnel re cost.

I have realised I need a better job!!

[duchesse]

£107/day -that is just abusive! Nursery here is £39/day. Even that is a squeeze for many people.

[beepoff]

It really punishes couples like us who earn similar amounts each, but are just out of the CTC bracket.

Nursery here is about £55-60 a day.

With two children that's almost my entire salary. DH's wage covers our mortgage, bills and most food but that's it. I can't see how we can afford more than one child without getting into serious debt. Yes, nursery costs will come down but they'll only be replaced with school uniform, activities, wrap around care etc etc.

[forevergreek]

We are central London. But £107 really is the rate here. The cheapest we found was £91 but that would have taken almost an hour to get to and from . ( current is 2 mins away, allowing us to use less hours and days as can maximise working from home)

[QuintessentialOldDear]

No, childcare is not affordable.

So much so that a lot of highly educated migrant workers are not coming to Britain, and some academic positions (post doctoral) within research are not being filled as people just wont settle in Britain due to the high cost of childcare.

[CockyFox]

I don't think it is ever affordable as whatever your salaries most people live to their means before having children and the cost of child care will always push them beyond it.
I personally don't work as when I weighed up the options staying at home and trying to get a degree part time was a better option longterm than staying in a minimum wage job with no promotion prospects or pension scheme. As well as being my preferred option.

[InternationalPower]

It's not affordable I you consider the cost v what you're earning at the time.

What you need to do is see it as an investment from the parents' joint earnings (not just mum's iyswim). By staying in work and continuing your career now, even it if means FTB you are effectively earning very little, you will be far better off in 10 years time than if you remove yourself from the workforce until DC are FT at school.

[noisytoys]

Ours is £60/day for nursery and £15 for after school club. More than my salary but we still choose to pay it.

[Peanutbutternutter419]

Wow its amazing to see the difference in cost depending on where you are! It is around £55 a day where i am which after tax and ni, isnt an awful lot less than earnings.
We dont qualify or WTC or CTC as far as im aware as DH is self employed and had a good year last year and I had 2 jobs last year which is what they take into consideration. Is that right?
Im still better off going back to work but it just made me wonder if everyone is in the same predicament.

Now I know why families are choosing to just have one child...its sad!

[dueanamechange]

I posted about this in the going back to work thread. My old job paid £30k, but that would not cover childcare (1 year old, and wrap around care for a 4 year old starting school and school holidays) with anything substantial (if anything at all) to make the stress worthwhile when I didn't like my job. Have just accepted a job offer to work at Waitrose on a a Thursday evening and a Saturday. We will lose 1 family day, but not be stressed and at least I will be taking some money home for my efforts. I will reassess when number 2 starts school in 3 years time. It would have been a really difficult decision to make if I had enjoyed my job or wsa at the beginning of a career path where projected future earnings were going to be great.

[WowOoo]

Peanutbutter, I'm in the same predicament and a good few of my friends too.
Some are further down the line and have older ones and some have lots of family to help for free. Lucky buggers.

I used to get excited on payday before kids. Now I know when it gets in the bank it's all accounted for and practically gone.

[sparkle12mar08]

At it's worst we were paying nearly £1,300 a month for four long days of 9.5 hours for both children...