To ask how much do you work for after childcare costs are deducted?

[MasterOfCaffeine]

Or what would be the absolute minimum? I'm a sahm with 4 kids and I've been thinking about returning to work. I've seen an ideal job advertised but when I pooled together the prospective salary with dhs and deducted the cost of childcare, we would only be €4k better off a year, which in effect means I would be working for €75 p/w. Along with this, we would also lose a preschool subsidy that we currently get for dd3 which would cost us €40 p/w.

I know in a few years, childcare costs will be less, and also getting a job now will increase my earning power in future. But I'm trying to decide if it's worth it for such a small amount.

You have to get over the idea that only the mother's salary goes towards childcare. Paid childcare enables you with to work.

Also don't just look at what it enables you to earn now. An extended break now will vastly reduce your earning power later, so childcare is also an investment in what you will/can expect to earn in the future.

You have to get over the idea that only the mother's salary goes towards childcare. Paid childcare enables you with to work.

The OP talked about what would be left after her DH’s and her prospective salary was pooled. So there is no idea to get over for the OP.

I earn around £400 a month but I work part time. 11 hrs a week between two jobs but one of them I can always pick up extra hours. It's not a lot but it keeps me working, gaining experience and putting a little onto a pension as well as getting my foot in the door of schools/young people. Plus I have been doing qualifications. I feel it gives me a good balance between being around for my daughter but also being able to provide and keeps me sane

Just think of the extra pension you will build up for yourself from working.

Have you factored in:

• employer pension contributions
• extra years of compound interest on pension contributions
• higher salary down the line enabled by getting back into the workplace now
• tax free childcare?

I make about £1300 a month once childcare is paid for but I would have kept working whatever the circumstances unless we were making an unsustainable loss. Since I had my first child my salary has gone up about 40% and when I no longer have childcare to pay that facilitates a huge leap in our savings and investments. Plus those years of pension contributions, employer match, and compound interest.

I’m the main earner, our combined net income is roughly £4.5k and childcare will be roughly £750pcm after tax free childcare. DH’s contribution is toughly £1.6k net. If he earned much less it wouldn’t be worth him working tbh

About £300 a month, although dp is the main earner and brings in the majority and it all goes in one account.

It's completely worth it for me. I went back when DD was 16 months as I just wasn't cut out for SAHP, I was bored and lonely. Plus now I'm adding to my pension and am keeping my CV active with the hope of moving onto something better in the future. DD loves nursery too and is thriving.

After my second child I PAID £150 month to go to work, seeing it more as child care out of joint pot.

After third child I was about £500 per month in profit.

I'm now a SAHM because the stress wasn't worth it.

Take into account the medium and long term. Pension, especially.

And your attitudes about financial and other kinds of risks. Eg I place high value on having some earning power and avoiding financial dependence.

I work part time 4 days a week and earn £115 after childcare and that's only because I'm lucky a friend has her one day a week and my husband is normally able to have her another day so just two days of childcare a week.
It's difficult paying so much out on childcare but as long as I'm not worse off its fine

when I had DC1 in nursery, I made a 'profit' of £100 after taking petrol and tax credits into consideration. When I had both in nursery, I paid to work (about £50 a month) and when DC1 and in school and DC2 again about £100. the 100 made a different to us though beween paying all the bills and not so I had to keep working and with hindsight and seeing how my Sahm friend struggle to get back into work, I am glad I did.

that's all monthly, not weekly.

At one point it was £9pwk but it meant I could get a mortgage rather than private renting so it was worth it for that.

Childcare is a joint cost deducted from total income.

Quite a lot now my one child is at school. Obviously less when he was in full time nursery, but worth it in the long run.

As a family we are £1400/month better off with both of us working than with only one of us working.
I only have the one child though and she’s school age.

I share/d costs with dh so it hasn't been too bad, but we chose to wait until dd1 was at school before having dd2. Nursery for two would have been unaffordable. I earn a good salary, but childcare costs take £6000 per year from my salary (dh technically pays the other half, although it all comes from the family pot, it costs us £12000 in total.) Dd2 gets her funded hours from the end of the month - we are counting the days!

I think after tax we’re roughly £800 a month better off with me working (part time) but paying for some childcare.

We don’t think of it like that though, all the money goes in one pot and childcare is just an expense that comes out of the joint cash like any other expense.

I work because I like my job, my colleagues are fun, I’d go mad as a SAHM if maternity leave is anything to go by, I’m keeping up pension payments, and when the kids are at school I’ll be in a much better position to go back to full time and hopefully start climbing the ladder again. It’s a long game.

I work 29 hours per week over 4 days and take home around 480 a week after tax and pension. Childcare is 145 (childminder for 2yo and 2 after school club sessions taking into account the discount for tax free childcare). However I have help from PIL 1 day per week so we’re very lucky.

If I had to pay for all childcare to cover all my working hours it would be around £200 after tax free childcare.

Next year 2yo will get 30 free hours which will make a huge difference to us.

Working keeps me sane and I’d work even for a very small amount.

The job I had was allowing me £500 a month (so about £6000 a year) when the dcs were at primary. That was with me paying for all the childcare so we could see how much disposable income we had TOGETHER with me working.

I did it because I hated being a SAHM and wanted my won income.
Plus £6000 a year might be a lot but it still helped a but and made things easier in a lot of levels.

Now that my dcs are teenagers, I am VERY happy I carried in working tbh.

I know people talk about childcare being split (as it should be) but the reality is if working is a net loss it’s hard to make the argument it’s worthwhile in the moment.

My money is REQUIRED - we’d not meet our commitments without my job. If it wasn’t essential, and I didn’t earn an especially significant amount I might not bother.

I think it’s really important for women to be able to support themselves without needing a mans income. You never know what is around the corner and I don’t think it’s wise to rely on anyone else

This!! A billion per cent!

I agree that childcare is a joint cost but taking it all off my salary, I still bring home about £600/month averaged out over the year. I only work term time and the kids are in school so both of those combined significantly reduce our overall childcare costs.

DH and I decided that we couldn't afford for us to pay for me to go to work as the budget was too tight for that, but we could do it as long as we broke even or gained.

Joint income is 100k+ our childcare costs will be £12k pa as we will pay for full time just in case but in reality as both DH and I work flexibly
with family friendly employers we will only be using the care part time.

This is the beauty of staying in professional full-time work as long as possible after children - eventually you reach a level of seniority where you can work flexibly, spend time with your kids, but still not miss out on salary / pension increments and skills.

I gave up work after having my 2nd child, I went back part time in a different role when my youngest started school and was able to still drop them off and pick them up from school.

I then looked for a full time position in my old sector when my youngest was 14 but got turned down for a couple due to lack of recent experience. I took a lower paid position to get back into the work, and then after 6 months applied for a managerial roll, got it and within a year was earning the same wage as my colleague who has never taken a career break for kids.

I wanted to spend the time with my kids as they were growing up, and not rely on childcare after school or during the school holidays, I was financially worse off for doing it, but they're grown up now and would n't change those years for anything.

Some people are happier at home with the kids and some are happier working.