Want to get back to work full time but how much are childcare costs!

[Scruffyhound]

Is it just me or does childcare seem to be very very expencive? I have been married and paid for my DS £650PM about 4 yrs ago. I found that this was just about ok as my husband at the time was on 35K and I took a pay cut to be closer to my DS to 14K. This was ok. (lived in west midlands)

Fast forward 5 years (still in west midlands) I have my DS before and after school care and a baby who would be in full time care this comes to £1,200PM. Im with someone else now and hes on 29K which is good but I dont have a job yet. I just feel if I got a job would it be worth it with childcare costs being that much? That would prob be my wages!! I have had a few well paid jobs at 23K but finding a job for that much when you have kids (and they seem to be a bit funny about if you have to have time off with them if they are not well)
Is annoying and in the current climate things are very tight for everyone how do you cope? I dont want to stay at home for too long I want to get back to work!!

As far as I know, it fairly common that one's whole salary goes out for childcare, if you have 2 or more kids - at least that's what most of my friends have told me, and looking at nursery prices in my area, it seems about right...

It is silly how much it costs. My mum is divorced and lives 1hr 30 mins away. She has to work full time to pay for her house. I moved away to be with DP and his mother although does not work and does not need to as they are well off wont help they will deffo not help with costs either. And they have a horrible dog that has bit my son so no kids are going around there either. It sucks. I tried to tell DP that moving down to him would end up in crap as we will not get any help. I dont want to be at home forever I have been out of work since May and could/can not get a job as I am pregnant so when baby comes a bit of time off is nice but want to get back to work

It does seem slightly expensive - DS1 is in before and after school care 3 days a week and DS2 is in nursery for 4 full days a week and I pay about £600pcm - if they were both full-time, it would probably be about £700pcm I guess.

I am in the north-west.

Depending on how much any new job you earn brings in, you might find you get a large proportion of the childcare costs paid by tax credits.

My and DH both work full time, joint income around 36k, childcare around 10k, get 8k from tax credits and child benefit - so only costs us about 2k to work (plus travel etc of course). If we got nothing, then it would pretty much take all DH's salary for one FT nursery and one out after school club so he would be at home.

Try putting some figures into entitledto.co.uk and see what comes up - you might be surprised, I know we were.

Ah I did wonder about tax credits but thought we might earn too much?! Thanks for the info. I want to spend some time with the little bundle of joy but also need to think for later on. Im only 33 weeks but need to start planning ahead! Thanks again!

Childcare vouchers will save a third of the cost, and you can each claim up to £243 on your wages.

I don't know if either you or partner work in education, but our nursery allows us to have a 'term time only' deal meaning she is home during the school holidays, and that saved us a lot of money as well.

Im trying to get a job as a laboratory tech either at a uni or a school as Im a microbiologist and if I could be off for the school holidays it would be great! I think you get different offers for different places. I have only skimmed over the childcare costs so far but we are limited here as there seems to be a shortage of school places and babysitters there is only one local nursery as well! So a bit limited really. Thanks for the advice!
Thanks KirstyJC have checked out the benefits it might just do it thanks!!

To send my two four days a week here in a "cheaper" part of SE London is £1,000 each a month. We'd get the childcare vouchers which would save a little, but ultimately even with my IT career job and being a higher rate taxpayer, on top of commuting costs/lunches etc it just wasn't worth the small extra amount of cash each month.

I think it's doable for people who have family to help out though.

Yep people who have family to help out they suck he he!! Sorry but it seems pants if there is no one but you and you DP. And even at times for me just me on my own for a few years. I feel the same too!

Other thing is did you invision? spelt wrong?! being a stay at home mum? I did not ever think I would be its just not me. I love my DS and when I worked full time felt bad for my DS not being there. But I dont want to be a stay at home mum for too long it will drive me mad!! Im used to freedom of earning my own money and doing it my self and providing a home for my DS and a future for him and this little one on the way. Also like most people we need the extra cash!

Wow that's extortionate, how frightening!

Like you, I also don't have the choice of having grandparent's babysit (both sets live a 4-hour drive away). If I do go back to work full-time - which at the moment I hope I will - then I will also have to pay childcare costs.

I guess you have to think practically:-

1. As others have advised, look at what benefits are available to you and make sure you take them ALL!
2. Some companies offer childcare packages as part of the deal (e.g. my pal works for First Direct who have a subsidised cresch facility on site, perfect!) This is more and more common, so if you decide to jobhunt you could do some research as to which places offer this
3. Some companies (including mine) offer childcare vouchers as part of a 'total reward' package, again some research required. My company is also extremely flexible wrt flexi-time, working at home etc., work life balance etc, and this is also becoming more common.
4. If you can't find anything to suit, could you work at home doing something? Without knowing your CV, off the top of my head - an Ebay shop / sewing alterations / clerical work / catalogue delivery / census / something creative / tutor

Most importantly don't panic, and good luck!

Could you look at reducing hours/job share, over a month it saves a lot of money and it does seem pointless if you are working just to pay for childcare!

Also childminders are often a bit cheaper and imo better for young children to have someone they can form an attachment to.

Blimey that's dear. Check out what tax credits etc you might be entitled to as they might go towards your childcare costs. That's an awful lot of cash though!

FT care at nursery for my baby due in march - £850 month, will do childcare vouchers which give us a small tax rebate towards it, but as both work FT = no assistance. Its more than out mortgage. No GP nearby, and still working even if they did

It is just too expencive really. I think the gov need to look at this to be honest! Everything is being put up in price and the cost of living going up wages not going up and then this too! I think its wrong and the nurserys charge what they want I think they should have a cap where there is a max they can charge. I know at a nursery in newcastle under lyme was £650PM full time for my son 4 yrs ago I moved to Leamington Spa and it was £800PM no difference in the nursery and I know Leamington is more expencive but however many kids at £800 per child then they pay the nursey staff min wage and they did not even get sick pay! So where was all the money going? The owner had a nice big 4x4 car. So someone is making a massive profit somewhere! And quite a few times we saw tesco value things being used such a youghurts people complained.....

I pay £200 PW for FT childminder in London. She's not put her rates up in nearly 3 years though so if I was signing up now I might pay a bit more.

And although I get a pretty great deal in the scheme of things CM costs take up one THIRD of my take home pay. ONE THIRD!!! It's amazing isn't it? Now #2 is on the way and even though DD is in FT nursery now afterschool care plus fees etc still costs about £120pw, plus FT CM fees for holidays. Don't see how I can afford that for 2 kids. And I'm over the threshold for tax credits etc. I am main breadwinner, DP earns minimum wage.

I can understand nurserys need to charge a certain amount for the up keep of the place they are reting owning then bills and maint then staff. I think the gov should evaluate what a nursery should charge for the area. So I would take an educated guess that London is going to be way more expencive than west midlands. It would be good to have a guide price for each area. Then you could go to your chosen nursery and ask how come its this much? When someone else down the road is charging this much? What am I paying the extra for? What extra things do you offer for that amount of money? Its up to you then where to send your child. But I do feel some places charge too much and its no good if women cant go back to work because they have to spend a third of thier wages on this. There needs to be a balance somewhere. This then leads onto other problems such as women getting back to work if you have missed out for the last 2-5 yrs as a stay at home mum and need to get back into the work ladder. Things change even in a year for what I do so it does worry me that I would have loads of competition for a job. But then there does not seem to be the jobs according to the news at the moment anyway!?

I really don't know whether to return to work or not: I would need to start back a few months before DC1 starts school, so I would be paying for full childcare for both for those few months. I too have no family members to call on: mum and dad live an hour away, in-laws four hours, but even if they lived closer FIL has MS and MIL is too busy caring for him!

I would love nothing better than to just be able to be a stay at home mum - and with the cost of paying someone else to look after them eating into everything I earn (and petrol eating into the rest of it) I wonder if it's actually worth me working at all. (TBH if petrol goes up another penny it probably won't be - and God knows how much it'll be in another year!)

Where I am up north, full time nursery costs as much as many good private day schools - about 250 a week. Absolutely hideous. You can cut costs a bit if you or your DH work from home once a week, which really means one of you working on Saturday instead of Friday or whatever. I have to say, if I were to set up a business, childcare seems to be pretty damn lucrative.

That's per child...

This issue seems to be all over. I have not really heard one person say yes work is going to pay more than staying at home! Its crazy! And yes the rise in petrol prices are just stupid and then they said interest rates to go up WTF!? How are people supposed to live?! I would get rid of my car but where I live there is a shortage of spaces in schools I have one 5 mins walk down the road I cant get my son in there. We have a 10 min drive instead and would take 45 mins to walk with a 5yr old and is not easy to get to. So I need a car just for that which is stupid as well! There are no buses that do the route at the right time either!I just find it all frustrating I hope the gov wake up soon and sort it out as its getting silly?! People all over are fed up I think childcare costs are just another tick in many boxes that we all have to over pay for! And if people who say well dont have kids well whos going to keep the country running when we are older?!

Wow it really is expensive!

For us it's not just about the cost. We both feel very strongly about the sexually stereotyped roles that we contend with, in particular the whole idea that its pretty much a given in this country that the woman will stay home with a child, put her career on the back burner, whilst the man continues to advance in his career throughout. We are both accountants and both take our careers' seriously and have worked incredibly hard to get where we are; we both wish to continue to do so for ourselves and for the examples we set for our family.

In terms of raising our children we feel massively strongly that a child, even a very young one, is not brought up with the gender roles associated with this type of lifestyle, that both parties are seen to take equal part in household chores, parenting, and work outside the home and not to associate either of us with particular activities, with the exception of ones we enjoy 'mummy goes swimming' , 'daddy reads books about history'.

Obviously people have different ideals but personally in a world that is still governed by ideals and roles that have been developed by the males in society I think its really important for children to see a different picture to that which many of us were raised with; ie not 'mummy at home doing housework daddy making money doing important job' it totally goes against the grain of everything i have worked for and believe in to assume these roles, regardless of the cost of childcare.