Rough guide to cost of childcare?

[WrigglyFairyOnTopOfTheTree]

Hello - I've been a SAHM since pfb arrived, but I've just been approached about going back to work full time, but before I even begin to get into a serious conversation about it can anyone give me a rough guide to childcare costs?

I live in the SE, have one toddler 2.8 and one baby 8 mo.

Reckon I would need childcare from 8am - 6pm minimum.

Can you give a better location as costs can vary quite a bit between say South Kent and SE London. First part of postcode may be helpful: example SE3

What types of care would you consider... Childminder, Nursery, Nanny.

When you say minimum, could it be earlier, or later? Nurseries often don't operate beyond 6pm, though some do open late.

Am in the SE and a nursery would cost £2,000 per month for 2 of them

we are getting a nanny for 2010 and she is working out cheaper

Surrey / London area (ie not likely to be cheap).

I haven't got into a discussion of the hours yet, but I am guessing it will be 9-5 or 9-5:30 and it is based across the other side of London. Would need at least an hour to get there and back.

Ruby - that £2K figure confirms what I thought. Am unlikely to earn enough to make nursery fees worthwhile. Interesting that nannies are cheaper. The baby goes to bed at 6:30 which would be much more achievable if they were looked after in their own home.

Nursery may still be slighter cheaper for 2 dcs because once the older one hits 3, there is the surestart grant. My ds just turned 3 and I am now saving £237 a month! Also, once your dc is 2, there is usually a dip in nursery fees (in our case about £200-300), because ofsted ratios get higher. So the babyroom fees are not indicative of fees going forward.

Don't forget to ask your new employer whether they have childcare vouchers, which if you are a higher rate taxpayer will save you about £100 a month. I think some (but not all) nannies do the paperwork necessary for you to benefit from childcare vouchers but almost all nurseries will allow you to use your childcare vouchers.

But there is a lot to be said for the flexibility of a nanny. If your job is demanding and makes it tricky for you/dh to do the nursery drop off and pick up reliably, nanny is much better for peace of mind.

Unless you get a fairly cheap (ie inexperienced) nanny or a nannyshare I think it's unusual for nannies to work out cheaper in London. I am in zone 3, pay someone £25K gross per year for 40 hours/week (pay is average level around here for an experienced person). For 50 hours it would be nearer £30K, plus employer's NI of a few K, plus cost of food/outings/heating/payroll etc, probably around £35-40K. That's a lot more than £24K all in of nursery.

Cm's around here (Surrey) £5-£6 phr

sorry - i should have said that our nanny is young and it is her first nanny job hence a lower figure

we are in zone 6 as well

I'm a childminder in Surrey and my rates are £5 per hr with a 10% discount for siblings.

Hope that helps.

Nanny usually works out to be a bit more than nursery.

10 gross per hour for a nanny isn't unrealistic for south east - outside of M25 you can get someone experienced for that (it's roughly what I get working in West Surrey). London can push that up to £12, £14 an hour depending on experience.
If nanny worked 8-6 @10 per hour, then you are looking at £26k per year in salary, then it's around £28600 cost to you. Add on say £1200 for nanny activities kitty, same again maybe for transport (if nanny uses their own car - will depend obviously on how much mileage is done), usage of payroll company, recruitment costs etc I feel you should budget for £31k. To get that as your take home pay, I reckon you would need a salary of £42k though you will need more than that as you will then need to cover your travel costs as well.

That sounds about right, nannynick. I always had the $40K+ gross salary in my head as break-even salary to hire a liveout nanny.

Thanks everyone. Has been very helpful.