Hang on in there until school age doesn't work?

[TwoTimesShoeShop]

Keep seeing similar comments about working with high nursery costs, to keep going and then it gets easier when they're school age.

DC starts school in September. At the moment I pay £297 a month with the 30 free hours for 3 days a week. For 50 weeks a year care, so I don't have to worry about covering any holidays etc. So £3,564 total a year.

I was counting down the days until we'd be better off. But, breakfast and after school club are £18 a day. So £18x3x38 is £2,052 a year. Great, just over half the cost. Except, oh wait, instead of covering two weeks of holiday I need to cover 14. I get six weeks, so does DH. Even if we never have any time off together except bank holidays and weekends (a bit miserable), we have two extra weeks we'd need holiday clubs for, at £65 a day, so £65x3x2 is £390. If we allow ourselves a two week holiday together, that's another £390. So now the annual total is £2,832.

So we're a whole £61 a month better off and only have two weeks annual leave together. If we wanted to take all our annual leave together (as we can now), then the total is £3,612, so more than nursery!

I can't spread my hours over more, shorter days, as I have younger DC. Childminders are more than breakfast and after school club. We don't have anyone else who can do pickups/drop off etc and no family or friends to watch them for a bit.

I'm just not sure why people say that if you can get through the nursery years then you'll be ok once school starts -actually we'd be either worse off financially, or worse off in time together.

I feel like I was on a countdown to September and now the goalposts have moved. Maybe secondary is the real cheaper point?!

AIBU that 'hang on in there until school' as financially it'll be much easier then isn't actually true? Or am I missing something?

That and the "you should have planned for this, so no sympathy because you obviously can't afford children" attitude pisses me right off on here.

The last big one is "How about suddenly moving from the SE to a remote Scottish Island to save money?"

I'm in a fortunate position that these concerns don't affect me, so I say this impartially.

1. It's not okay to suggest people shouldn't enjoy several years of their childrens lives because of finances.

1. A society where a huge chunk of people are struggling to afford children isn't a 'budgeting issue', it's a society issue.

1. Stop suggesting people bloody move to the Yorkshire Dales.

Everyone I know (including myself) makes it work from school age with drop off take-turns at local friends houses in the morning, WFH is a huge part, family helping and organising play dates and taking it in turns to use holiday. It’s hard and it’s a juggle. We’re super lucky as we’re both able to WFH a lot and have family local - I wish I could say something more helpful!

I'm sorry that sounds really tough. Those costs are ridiculously high though. I pay £9 a day for breakfast and AS club and only £25 a day for Hoilday club. I didn't realise there would be such a discrepancy up and down the country!

Your nursery costs are very cheap, I think when people are saying that they are thinking for the people paying a lot more a month for nursery. We pay £600 a month for 3 days a week, after the funded hours and tax free childcare is taken off. Our dd also start school in September, wrap around plus school holidays for us will be around £250 a month so a saving of £350 a month for us.

It's rubbish for you but it will vary in other people's circumstances. We save c.800 a month with DS at school although that doesn't include holiday club but it still is a big saving over the year. We don't use breakfast club though as we divide drop offs between us.

I agree, and the mental load of school vs nursery is just off the scale what with all the juggling drop offs and pick ups and breakfast clubs and late stay clubs and other clubs and holiday arrangements and holiday clubs etc etc etc - I’d pay more to return to a simple 8-6 all year round arrangement frankly.

Less applicable to you as nursery is incredibly cheap for you. London nurseries can be £1.5 - 2k per month with no funding

well, your nursery costs are tiny, so for people with higher nursery costs, starting school makes a big difference.

But reaching age 11 and no longer needing childcare at all is even better financially

Any flexibility on when you and your husband start work? Or any possibility to work from home?

I work full time 9-5 but manage to get away without breakfast club as I live close enough to drop off and then get back home for 9.

For holidays my eldest can now entertain himself enough that I don’t need to take the day off always when wfh.

That is a lot for holiday club. Whilst the holiday club at the kids former nursery is £60 a day or so, the private school offer one for £32 (my kids don't go there) and the local sports club offering is £12-£15 a day.

That's Cheshire.

I also take unpaid parental leave. And the kids have weeks where they stay with grandparents.

Mine is £1.5k for full time with no funding.

£880 for three days before the funded hours.

Your nursery costs are very low, that's why.

We're paying £1k a month for preschooler in nursery five days a week and £370 for after school for 6yo three days a week. Even if we wanted to send her five days we could move her to the school after school club which is £18 a day.

You've already seen your childcare bill fall, presumably because of the funded hours which we don't have here.

Your nursery costs are very cheap, I think when people are saying that they are thinking for the people paying a lot more a month for nursery

This. Sorry. Presumably you were paying a lot more before the 30 free hours kicked in? That was the real pinch point.

It’s referencing people paying 1-2k pcm nursery costs, so going from that to 3k a year is a huge drop.

Are you sure you have your costs right? You have v high ASC/summer camp costs and v low nursery fees.

3d nursery with free hours round here is about £600 pcm but after school club is £10-14 and day holiday camps are £40-45. Also once your children are older it’s a lot easier to share care with other parents. I usually have a couple of extras on my days off in the holidays in exchange for some reciprocal childcare.

So you’re saving money now compared to what you were paying before the funded hours and you’ll save more when they go to school. So still an overall saving, just your costs are currently pretty low anyway.

Not really, sometimes we do but we can't guarantee it so we'd need the three days in case we both couldn't be flexible on the same day. Neither of us could start work on time after doing drop off unless we were WFH and neither can have fixed WFH days.

I guess this is less directly about me (I'm a bit gutted that our costs won't go down for the foreseeable future but we can manage ok), but that generally it's maybe not true and not good advice? I see posts about people taking loans to cover nursery fees and that they're banking on school being so much cheaper but it really doesn't seem to be the case?

Perhaps the free/subsidised hours need to extend to school care? I know the tax free bit does.

Yes, working 3 full days when dc are in school for 5 short days does create a mismatch that you don't have at the moment. And your nursery is cheap (are you using all 30 hours in 3 days? That is unusually generous) while your wraparound and holiday club are definitely at the expensive end.

Can't believe I'm paying more than you for after school club Vs nursery. That's painful.

Most people taking loans will be the ones paying lots for nursery, I doubt there will be many taking loans for just £270 a month nursery costs. You don’t pay much for nursery at all, that’s why you aren’t noticing a big drop with school starting as there’s not much to drop.

This is interesting about nursery costs. I live in the expensive south east. I'm now thinking I should delete the thread as if my nursery see it they might decide they can charge more for the funded hours consumables! 😂

Your nursery costs sound very low! “It’ll get cheaper once they’re at school” is usually true as people generally pay a lot more than you are currently doing for nursery.

When my ds starts nursery later this year and dd start school we’ll be paying £1100 a month for nursery plus wrap around/holiday cover, that’s including the new 15 funded hours for ds and tax free childcare for both. It’ll be a huge saving when both are at school.

Your nursery costs are low and you're getting 30 free hours. It's been many years since mine were in nursery, but at the time we were spending £950/month (with 15 free hours if I remember correctly) and wrap around care when they started school was £50/week. Huge difference.

You're seemingly in an area with relatively low nursery costs compared to wrap-around care costs.

For us, our childminder was £50 a day. Breakfast and after school club together cost £8 a day. Our cheapest holiday club is £15 a day (though only for school hours)..

Are you taking the tax free childcare into account when working your numbers? That might bring down your costs as well.