Childcare prices

[beanschips25]

How do working people do it?!

Going back to work soon and looked around the last nursery and it's £67 a day, I'm only part time but just how? It's a huge chunk of my part time wage

We aren't entitled to benefits but is there any other help?

Tax free childcare- government pays 20%

Tax free childcare. Are you not entitled to child benefit?

Yep tax free childcare will cut the bill by 20% and then the 30h free childcare from 3yrs are will save another chunk. Many families have the second child once the first reaches 3 for this reason.

Yes receive child benefit I just meant other benefits

Thanks all didn't know about the 20% thank you
That's helps

With the added cost of childcare it’s worth seeing if you could get UC as they pay up to 85% towards childcare,
do a benefits calculator to see. Childcare element gets added on so it’s worth a check.

Otherwise it’s tax free childcare if your income is less than £100k

We don't get child benefit due to husbands earnings but we also couldn't afford childcare (my work hours were 10-2) so I gave up work.

I think my husband earns too much but it's worth checking as I don't actually know

It's shocking isn't it! Tax free childcare care if one parent earns less than 100k helps... a bit. I'm not even in London and nurseries around here are close to £100 a day!!

11 month old is with a childminder which is a bit cheaper but not by much.

Thank god its not forever...

We had twins 🙈💔

If you are part time, do you need a full day? Some nurseries do half day. Having said that, I spent most of my salary on nursery when I went back to work. It'll be better in the long run because you'll stay in employment, but you don't actually make much money at it when they're little.

All the above but you also just have to accept that it's only a temporary huge cost and in a couple of years you'll get some funded childcare hrs and the bill will reduce. It will be easier to get a better paid job if you maintain your part time work now and keep your work experience up to date so it could very well be that at the point your childcare costs reduce your salary also increases. Look at the long term picture.

Just for informatio - the tax free childcare is 20% UP TO £2,000 a year (divided into 4 quarters of £500). This means the govt will give you a max £2k a year help.

So much though its better than nothing, it doesn't really touch the sides when childcare is £1,000+ a month.

I'd do a quick benefits check - worst that'll happen is you find you arent entitled to anything.

😩😩😩

I think it makes sense to do full days as half days don't really work as I'm a supervisor

Yeah that's pretty obv ! I'm already in a well paid job so just have to wait it out but well aware of the free funding but that's years away

Ah I see yeah thanks yeah I'll do one just incase
Thank you

So with the max of £2k my childcare bill comes to £414 a month instead of £580 with the help and I'm on £15.61 an hour which is just over £1500 before deductions so definitely working x

When I was going back to work it was £90/day for DT1 and £85.50 / day for DT2 with a 5% sibling discount. I went back three days a week at first as just couldn't afford it.

Going part time had a knock on impact on my career progression and pension. It has taken ten years to get back to the level where I should be.

I've been part time for the last 11 years so I used to it and my career has rocketed since taking a new line of work. I've been promoted and now a supervisor - just prior to going to mat leave.

My eldest has just gone to secondary so I could have gone full time but then had a very much wanted pregnancy so it's just worked out that way

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