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AIBU?

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Avoiding the childcare trap

404 replies

Difficultquestionplz · 22/03/2025 05:06

hi! I know there are a lot of high earners in this group so maybe other mums can help me. I am caught up in the 100k childcare trap.
back in the days when my salary was around the 100k mark, I was able to top up the pension, but that was before my child was born. Now my child has turned 3 and was hoping to finally get a little relief but it looks like it’s not the case…
currently my salary is higher, almost exclusively due to sales commissions and I am going to finish the fiscal at 260k. My husband is livid that he loses on benefits because of my salary and I am actually wondering if there is anything I could do in terms of investments that can be deducted that could bring me below the threshold.
I am not using any financial advisor because honestly when I looked into it they wanted to take 3% management fee just to manage the easy bits (pension, isas) and it obviously compounds.

thank you for helping
(please be kind, I don’t come from money, my job is paying well now but also highly at risk due to performance management or constant layoffs mixed with the joy of nepotism, unconscious bias/ blatant sexism of a male dominated environment)

OP posts:
Mt563 · 22/03/2025 05:31

What's your financial setup with your husband? Sounds like it might be time to look at that if your husband is cross at losing benefits because neither of you should need benefits with that kind of household income. And no, I don't think there's any way to salary sacrifice down from that level.

ilovesooty · 22/03/2025 05:26

You're not caught in the 100K trap.
You earn way over that.
I see no reason why you should be able to manipulate your finances to claim any free hours of childcare.

ScrewedByFunding · 22/03/2025 05:16

You want to 'invest' more that 160k so you can claim 15 hours a week of childcare?

TheCurious0range · 22/03/2025 05:14

Your husband is livid he can't claim benefits when you earn 260k?

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