urgh rant...mums who work are worse off

[daisydee43]

hi have one dd 2 yo. i work 3 days a week and only can do this because mil pays CM which makes me feel rubbish.

now qualified i want a career but the promotion at work is FT and means i will pay the CM more than i will earn! yes i know people do this but wtf.

top it off want another baby and with chilcare for 2 i will be paying money out and working for nothing!!

and then you see benefit ppl with 5 kids having more!

so pissed off worked really hard for qualications for nothing, might aswell sign on which btw wouldnt do

You will be paying tax, NI contributions and personal/occupational pension contributions though. You need to think longer term. Working now will improve your income as a pensioner.

Why do you pay all the childcare costs anyway? Shouldn't they be split with the father?

hi yes i know long term its better but hard to see right now. i have a joint account with dh so he does pay technically

You just have to look at it as taking a bit of a financial hit now but once the kids go to school then your childcare costs will eventually reduce. You need to get past the short term expense and take the long view that after bothering to study and get qualifications building a career is infinitely better than claiming benefits. Your earnings potential in say 5 years will be massively improved than if you didn't work for those 5 years. It's fine if you want to actively stay home and raise the kids but if you want a career then it's the reality for a lot of working mums

Once the child is 3 and the 15 free hours kick in, it's a lot more bearable. I have 2, eldest in school now, and at least it's saving lots of money - but organising childcare around school holidays/strike days/polling days/breakfast clubs that are full or only start at 8.30/afterschool club that ends before 6, is a right pain - if your childminder can handle most of that once your dd is in Reception, it will be a lot easier.

Think of where you'll be in 4-5 years.

I feel your pain! Both myself and my sister are single moms to 3 year olds. I work full time - good job with prospects. Pay around 900 pm childcare costs (I get 400 pm in tax credits) no other help with rent etc. My sister claims benefits, her rent is paid for her and she gets 15 hours free childcare which I have to wait the additional year to claim as I work full time !... Where is the logic?! Plus she has much more disposable income than me!. But hopefully in the long run I will be in a better position!