Childcare costs - how do people afford it?

[Nadene]

I am looking into childcare for when I go back to work. I only earn £21500/year and it looks like it costs almost the same for childcare, so I am just wondering how people manage to do this???

Thanks for that Jackstini!

Just seems there's no way of saving anything (I want to move back to Australia).

The tax credits and virtual voucher scheme (tax relief) really do make a difference, honest.

Just not that big a difference. That 9.50 family holiday offer in the Sun looks pretty good to me.

Nadene I am currently looking for a part time job and I am rejecting the vast majority because they do not pay enough to make it worthwhile. My salary when I worked full time was the same as yours.

I think I need to be earning a minimum of £10 / hour (£21,000 is around £11/hour)and many part time admin type jobs only pay £6-8.

If I worked 18.5 hours a week & ds was in nursery during this time I would take home around £300 a month.

Given that to work I would need to run a car but as a SAHM I don;t really need one (we could share dh's), that £300 could be written off in car costs anyway.

We would probably not be eligible for any tax credits if I worked, as our joint income would be over the threshold.

It is a dilemma because I would like to be working again, but ds is still under 2 and I think why rock the boat now for not much material gain, why not wait until he's a bit older and think about retraining / starting my own business etc.

I mostly enjoy not working, but sometimes I just feel a bit lacking in adult company, and my brain's going a bit mushy!

Let us know what you qualify for and if it helps!

7440 is very high Nadene! Where in the country are you?
CHildminders will definitely be cheaper.... and you don't have to pay full price for the space if you go away on holiday. I prefer the Nursery.
Thats true Nadene... how else do you pay for the bills?

Frayedknot - the threshold for not qualifying for any tax credits is around £60k. Would you joint income be over that?

Ah so in the time I took to type that loads more info!!! If you are the main earner then it's a whole different scenario I think.

Yes, Toothache, just (it is £58k IIRC).

But Nadene you would obviously qualify.

£45 a day for nursery is high - a childminder would definitely be less, could you do that until a place at the cheaper nursery comes free?

i just worked out that i could get £989 credit per year. i am in london so that £7440 is normal for here (£31/day). so it makes a difference but still not great. i might look into childminders but feel it would be better for her in a nursury.

You think £7,000 is high...we pay about £11,000 per year for a full-time place!

What kind of credit do you get?

thanks for all the advice. i am signing off but will check later.

Nadene - THats strange.... with a joint income of £29k and childcare costs of £7200 per annum we were entitled to £3000 per year. Can't get anything now though!

And I know you said that is the daily rate.... but most Nurseries charge less than 5xDaily Rate for a full week. Our Nursery is £31 per day or £140 for the week.

Nadene, if you earn £21.5k and your joint income is £33.5k - that implies dp earns £12k - would it be sensible for you to work & dp to look after your daughter instead?

You would think so, but I'm not even going to ask him cos I know what the answer will be.

You never know Nadene - I earn about twice my DH's wage so I asked him what he wanted to do. We have agreed he is going to drop down to part time when I have the baby and I will work full time from home

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Happymumof2 - Whilst I share your opinion that she shouldn't really have trouble affording childcare.... I don't agree that £21.5k is quite a high salary. Its below the national average.... then take into account its a London salary (so perhaps its the equivalent to around £18k elsewhere in the country). Just thought I'd add that.

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Thanks to whoever posted the link to IR tax credits as I have been wondering whether I will be eligible when I go self employed (as planned next year here's hoping) and the good news is we will be!

Sorry for hijack - good luck Nadene - as you are finding out there are no easy answers but hopefully you will find a solution.

Thanks for all the advice. A few of you have mentioned you will be self employed / working from home. Just interested in exactly what you are doing and how???

hi,

Some employers off childcare vouchers see www.childcarevouchers.co.uk/ ask your HR dept.
You get £217 tax free per month.

Nadene I earnt a similar amount to you and found because of crippling childcare costs I have 2 it was best just to work a couple of days a week until childcare costs dropped just to keep my job and income. (as it turned out i applied for voluntary redundancy) However after ds1 i worked part time for two years until costs dropped and then returned full time.

Hi Nadene, i am in london as well and I agree that $31 per day is really cheap. The reality is that most working mums only get a few hundred left after tax and childcare, but there are other reasons for working and "keeping your hand in". It is one of those things you learn when you have the little darlings. I have a colleague who is close to making a loss but with twins and another sibling very close in age, it is the only way she stays sane.

I agree it is really annoying though..........

Why shouldn't childcare be fully tax deductible, never mind the paltry tax credits? It seems very unfair that you are working to pay someone else's salary and both of you are paying tax.

By the way, a chauffeur is a tax deductible expense.