To put DC3 in nursery 1 extra day to clean/save money ?

[specialk9]

DC3 (almost 3) is about to receive his 30 hours funding after Easter. This will save us £845 a month. He goes 3 days a week whilst we work. This money will go in to savings.

We pay a cleaner £60 a week / 3 hours. It takes 4 hours to clean our house.

On the 2 days I look after DC3 we go to a club, see family/friends and I do whatever cleaner doesn't finish, change the 4x beds and any other 'family' admin etc

Due to the funding we have the opportunity to put him in another day. We could cancel the cleaner and save approx £260 a month. I would then spend day 4 doing all the cleaning/changing beds etc. This money would go in to family pot for days out/treats etc.

We don't have the time / nor do we want to clean at the weekends. Saturdays are spent doing something together or with friends/family. Sundays DC1 (15) and DC2 (7) have sporting commitments.

Positives
All cleaning/beds done in one day
Save an extra £260 per month
I think I actually clean better 😆

Negatives
Lose 1 day a week with DC3 before he starts school (Sept 2025)

WWYD? Just feels a bit bad to put him in nursery another day to essentially clean !

@RMNofTikTok hoovering and mopping 5 times a week is a lot! Do you have pets?

I am perfectly happy with once a week, though I do sweep the ground floor (wooden floors) daily

No, I do have a neurodivergent 11 year old though, and I used to hoover and mop daily before I couldn't do it myself, and even before I had children. I have a quite severe dust allergy.

I think a lot of people are being quite harsh on the OP. Working, raising children, cleaning and all other jobs take up so much time and energy. I don't work and we send our almost 4 year old DD to nursery 2 days a week 8-6 so I can catch up on cleaning, appointments, gym etc. I think whatever works for your family is the right thing to do.

“And also, we never knew we were entitled to tax free childcare for our 2 youngest DC so god knows how much money we could have saved !!! The hours are there for us to take in full, if we so wished.”

what? Everywhere tells you can pay with tax free childcare and you never looked it up?
also strange logic here: you lost out with two kids therefore nr 3 should go to nursery more so you can the max out of funded hours.

I wouldn't put him in nursery extra. You will never, ever get that time back with him. I truly cherished the last year or so when I realised that my youngest was soon to start school.
My house was always a mess, so did consider doing the same as you are with the extra funding... But didn't, and have never regretted it.

You have a cleaner for 7hrs a week for a 2 bed place

Yet needed another 3 so 10hrs

Was cleaner very slow ?

Ah this makes more sense

I know 🤦🏻‍♀️ for some reason we thought it was means tested the same as child benefit. Honestly, we are well aware of our stupidity.

And no, I don't mean in putting him in just to claim back some money we lost. I just mean I wouldn't feel bad about using the hours, and not working.

This is more like a care assistant/home help than a cleaner though. Is she really labelled just as a ‘cleaner’ on the disability application form?

Tax free childcare is means tested too.

If you or your partner have an expected ‘adjusted net income’ over £100,000 in the current tax year, you will not be eligible.

Yes, we thought it was the same as child benefit (£50k)

Keep the cleaner and put DC in for the hours. You’ve got a busy family life, a job, a husband, so why shouldn’t you have some time to be you? So much pressure on us moms already. Take some off girl x

.

I’m pretty sure this is not how William Beveridge intended things to play out.

Keep the cleaner
You both work
Why should you become the cleaner? Why not your dh?

The government is clearly giving families too much money.

@Charlie2121 I really can't get worked up about potentially taking approx £1200 from the government for an extra 6 hours a week.

Pretty sure that wasn't the point of this thread either.

Out of interest, do you think I shouldn't accept any funding ?

Without sounding really Old Fashioned my DH works 3x the hours of me and earns 7x the amount of me, so I feel it's only fair that I pick up the household 'work'

It’s taken from other tax payers. The government is simply a conduit between the person who undertakes work and doesn’t get paid for it and the recipient who receives the money having undertaken no work in return for it.

The demands on additional rate tax payers is getting out of hand and not helped by people taking money for non essential reasons.

The whole system is starting to resemble a Ponzi scheme. It won’t end well.

No.
I think the government should stop giving it to you.

Quite right OP, crack on and take what you’re rightly entitled to. It’s child care funding fgs not a fraudulent benefit
claim.

I’m a higher rate tax payer just like the OP’s husband and I think you should use it, god knows the system doesn’t offer much for those who work hard.

Also beneficial to children.

If he earns well, and you can afford it, keep the cleaner and spend your time as you wish .

It sounds like your household income can cover the cleaner. What does he say? Does he want to save family money? Has he suggested you clean to avoid spending money on the cleaner? For what? You can afford it right?