How on earth can I afford to work??

[Arrowfanatic]

Stopped working to become a sahm in the early part of 2011.

I now have 3 kids all in primary school and have been considering returning to full time employment.

However I've been totalling the costs of child care and I just can't see how it's worth it. Daily costs for before/after school care is almost £60 a day and that's after the sibling discount.

Holiday costs are close to £100 a day after discount.

I have no family or friends who could help, and the nature of my husband's work means he wouldn't be able to be reliable to do any school runs (works for the emergency services, shifts, minimum notice call ins, very rarely makes it out on time and is at least 1.5 hour commute away).

Any job I could get would not be a big earner, less than £25k. Even with childcare vouchers I can't see it being worth it. I feel like I should try to work, especially now the kids are all in school but it looks impossible. My husband's salary although good only just covers our costs as it is.

Is there anything else out there to help? We don't qualify for any benefits, except child benefit so no tax credit help.

It's pointless me working isn't it.

I was really well off as a single full time working parent, even with both kids in nursery.

well good for you BadFeminist, that's very helpful to know.

Local authority often has family friendly policy
It is often poss to do school hours - as well as term time only . Worth a shot .

Are you always so negative?

Getting an education doesn't have to be expensive. Nighschool, A-levels, distance learning, vocational qualifications. You could train to be a plumber. Or a hairdresser. Or any other number of occupations which would let you work for yourself when it suited. Or you could freelance as a virtual assistant, market researcher etc etc.

There are LOADS of opportunities out there for people who are preparaed to push themselves out of their comfort zone and try something new. But if you're sitting waiting for a £50k a year school hours, term time only job, you'll have a very long wait.

Could you do some kind of bank / agency work around your husband's work so that you have no childcare costs. this is what we have done for the past 15 years !!

What about cleaning? My friend runs a local business for cleaning and exclusively employs mums between school hours, with the odd end of tenancy clean at weekends up for grabs. This is in the SE and the cleaners make 11 pounds per hour. A few hours of that per week is totally worth it for some extra money.

Building up your work status/earning power now is an investment for the future, even if you have little financial incentive at the moment. A 25K job now would cover your childcare and set you on the road to being in a place to apply for a 35K job in few years, when your childcare will be less anyway. However, it isn't just abut the working hours ve childcare costs. Bear in mind that at the moment you are carrying the load at home so your DH can be so flexible. If you are working full time will that still be possible?

If all the children are at school, what are the childcare costs for?

If you don't need the money and childcare costs would pretty much take up all of it, I would look into volunteer work.

You would be kept busy but it would be easier to fit around school hours - perhaps Oxfam or other charity shop, or The Prince's Trust has some good opportunities in fundraising and office work.

Could be worth a look? When the children get a bit older and can be left alone for a few hours after school you could look into more full time options.

But even if it wipes out your entire salary, it is still worth financially it in the long run. In 10 years time you will be far better off.

To cover holidays you would just need to take your annual leave separately o perhaps 10/12 weeks between you, just have one week off together for a family holiday. then the rest of the school holidays look for cheaper council run play schemes/ share childcare with other parents that perhaps work part time / use childcare vouchers or you may be eligible for childcare help through tax credits.

Flowerpot before school and after school care.

If all the children are at school, what are the childcare costs for?

Would have thought that was obvious...

Breakfast club so children can be dropped of at 8, after school club to cover gap between 3pm and 5.30/6pm.

Such a dilemma, but it would get easier and more profititable over the years. How about part time temping don't know if his happens very much now but it used to be a flexible way to earn. Why not contact a few agency's and tell them you want to work term time and school time. They may have the odd short term contracts that would suit.

Or work in a school TA or admin maybe.

Or do you have a Hobbie that could become self employment?

Or become a child minder.

I agree it doesn't sound like you particularly want to work. Because if you did you'd find a way. Not that I think that's a bad thing, but if its the case, don't dress it up as 'it's not physically possible for me to work'.

If you actually do want to I think you need to do 2 things as a starting point.

Speak to DH about his working patterns and commitments. What can he do to facilitate you better? For example, are there women who do his job? I bet my right arm they don't have a stay at home parent to facilitate them. What are their strategies?

Secondly, relook at the childcare costs. £60 a day sounds very expensive, there must be cheaper options. Are there childminders who can take all 3? An au pair would be much cheaper than that.

Holidays, most people manage by staggering their own holiday allowance and using clubs for the rest. Yes it's expensive. Others cope.

Then, once you have answers to that, cut your cloth accordingly. It might be that you can't do 9-5 in the industry you have experience in. In that case, lots of good options suggested on this thread.

You need to look for part time work. Contact some recruitment agencies that place people in your old career and ask if they get anything in your area or look for other roles. With 3 at primary, you may well end up with more money each month working part time than full time.

Remember for holidays, your DH will have to cover some of them, so you won't have to pay for all the time they are off or use your own leave. Many friends around here factor in 2 weeks with both parents off over the year, one week for family holiday and another week for odd days through the year, then all other holiday days are used for childcare, if you have another 2 weeks and your DH has another 2 weeks, that cuts 4 weeks of no childcare costs at all to balance out the high prices on the school holiday days you do need care. You and DH will need to be both on side to not take random days off, just school holidays.

Working is worthwhile even if it wipes out your salary temporarily because in 5-10 years when you don’t need childcare you will still have pay increases / pension contributions etc.

@Arrowfanatic - this is NOT about childcare costs. It's about protecting your financial independence and future, in case of divorce, death or DH being unable to work. Even if you break even you must look into returning to work urgently and increasing your earning power. Your childcare costs WILL drop and your earnings will rise. Please don't make the classic mistake of thinking the decision is just about profit on top of childcare costs.

Send your cv directly to the companies who can use your skills and explain in your covering letter that you’re available term time only for school hours.

Just because they’re not recruiting at the moment, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a job for you now or in the future

Sounds quite high, your before/after-school childcare? Almost £20 per child? Round here, breakfast club is £2.50 from 7.45am, and after-school is £7 till 5.30pm. So for 3 DC, max £28.50, before sibling discounts.

Think about how long you'll need to pay for 3 in childcare too? If you've only a couple of years until you're down to only 2 needing before/afterschool, then it's probably worth some short-term pain.

I think you need to look for jobs first, and then worry about childcare, quite honestly. By looking at it the other way around you are talking yourself out of it.

There are LOADS of ways to earn money that can be fitted around school-age DC with a little ingenuity. It will only get harder the longer you leave it, and only 1 wage-earner in a family is a risky position to be in long-term.

Can you not find part time during school hours and use leave for school holidays between yourself and your partner to cover child care.

Sorry if this is a stupid suggestion but it seems obvious to me.

You have credit management even if you started as admin or part time in a call center for a bank etc

My wraparound care is £21/day

I'm skilled and experienced, I used to have a very good job but all this time out of work I couldn't go back to a role like it.

My sympathies, OP, this is a frustrating position to be in. However, as some recent pps have said, for the moment, you need to resign yourself to working not being worth it - for a couple of years you might even have less money after shelling out for childcare than if you weren't working.

However, you need to think long-term. If you used to have a good job then you're clearly capable of getting a better salary once you've had a couple of years back in the workplace. Think of the next few years as training rather than money-making. Hopefully you'll be able to progress to the level you were at before (and even exceed it, in time) - and as your kids get older, you'll be paying out less in childcare. But the longer you leave it, the harder it is to get back into the workplace, and the longer the climb back, so it's almost certainly worth your while to go back now rather than wait for all your DC to be in secondary school.

It doesn't sound like you want to work.

Childcare costs go down but the longer out of the workplace the harder it will be to gain work and the lower the salary. You have a partner to share the childcare costs.

What happens if the relationship breaks down, you have no own income and no recent work experience. It's a very precarious spot to be in.

If all the children are at school, what are the childcare costs for?

you already have replies above, plus what about when the school is closed? and emergencies? It's all very good to say it's easy to work, but someone needs to be available for doctor's appointments, dentists appointments, holidays, and some parents enjoy going to see the school concert etc.

not every child is happy with holiday clubs either.

Sending someone to work, when there's no financial benefit whatsoever (you should see how much I spend on transport and car park a month!) and the whole family is miserable. What's the point?

Yes, it's not about the fact that you are seemingly working for very little now .. but about the long game. Childcare costs will go down and your salary will (hopefully!) go up.
There are lots of things you may be able do to make it more worthwhile e.g.

• starting late (so you don't need breakfast club)
• starting early (so you don't need after school club)
• working from home sometimes during school hours, and finishing up in the evening after DC in bed
• working flexible hours so you work more hours on days when DH is off, and reduce hours on other days

In holidays you and DH should split the days between you to minimize childcare costs. You may also find another parent in the same boat, with whom you can do a "child swap" - even one day of this is a saving.

Once you have your foot in the door of a job and proved yourself, you may find they are more amenable to part time or more flexible working arrangements.