How much would you be willing to lose per month to go back to work?

[Lachoux]

I'm due back at work soon and have 2 DC of pre school age. After childcare costs (including savings from childcare vouchers and 15 free hours for the older one) our household income will be minus £100 if I go back to work versus if I were to look after the children myself. Either way money will be tight.
I don't enjoy my current role but I hate the idea of not working and not being financially independent. At the moment I don't have the skills or experience to earn the 40k plus I need to make the numbers add up.
What would you do?

[BonerSibary]

No way would I work for no profit. It's a mug's game. Besides you can save so much money by not working.

The problem with this is that it depends how you define 'profit', given that many people will see long term financial benefit from remaining in employment even if it costs in the short term. And whether you save money by not working is entirely dependant not only on the costs of childcare, commuting etc but on how much cloth there feasibly is for a SAHP to cut. Personally I lose money by not working FT, although I'm still not prepared to do it anyway.

I think I'd probably do as a pp advised and try to find something you like more. In the current climate, for those of an age to have small children now it probably is wiser for the majority to try and keep their hand in with something, even if it's only ad hoc. But I don't think I could stomach going to something I disliked four days a week and also incur a short term loss.

Also OP have you looked into the tax free childcare scheme? Starts in Jan 2017 and is more advantageous for those with higher childcare costs.

[VoleSnuffle]

I think you need to look long term which would include working out your childcare costs for when both children are in school.

Would you increase your hours when they are in school? Whether this job or another one?

School holidays are 13 weeks of the year so you need to factor in any wrap around care for before and after school and also the school holidays.

I have been a SAHM for 11 years. I did work after Ds1 was born but due to a relocation I haven't worked since.

Children see working Mums all the time, teachers, dinner ladies, office staff at school, their friend's parents, these are all working Mums.

[BikeRunSki]

Totally agree with CPTart. I've been 3 days a week for 7 years, since DS was born. My youngest starts school in September and I am arranging to work 4 days over 5. I have kept my career going and have a great relationship with my boss, can't wait to step it up again.

[CPtart]

I would do it. In fact, when I went back to work part time with two DC in nursery we just about broke even for two years. So so glad I went back though. It maintained my pension, my skills and my sanity. Also, good for DC to see mums working and learn that life doesn't revolve round them and that they are part of a bigger picture.
I remember a SAHM friend on the first day all our DC were in school saying she felt "lost". I didn't.

[NewLife4Me]

I can only speak for myself but I don't really use supermarkets very often.
We did when dc were little though.

I usually look what's on offer from email I get and then I'd go to which ever one had the bargain on something and then use another one with more bargains.

We live nearer to town centre than supermarkets though so I get a lot from town. We have lots of cheap shops and even the clothes shops it's easy to bag a bargain.
I usually have some sort of errand to run or banking for dh business/ post office etc so will call in a few shops a few times a week.

It's much more fun when you don't have little ones though and can understand how it would be a royal pita to do it then

[LongChalk]

I agree with your last paragraph. However, the shopping everywhere for bargain bit isn't really in me. We have a standard order delivered weekly but I also nip into the little sainsburys for nice wine/cheese/nibbles etc if I'm in town. When I was last at home I had a preschooler with asd and a baby plus 2 older boys. The washing mashing was on constantly as were the lights and the heating a lot of the time. Ds3 also had a habit of turning as many taps on as possible as often as possible. When posters talk about spending time searching out bargains I'm always agog at how they do that. Do you physically spend half a day trawling from one supermarket to the next?

[NewLife4Me]

LongChalk

Even with spending the odd extra here and there it can be cheaper because you have time to shop for bargains.
I never buy anything full price and shop depending on whats on offer and where each week.

I do think it's worth bearing the brunt for a few years if you want a career and you need to progress eventually.
However, if it's a dead end job, or you hate it, with few prospects or you'd rather be a sahm then you'd be better off financially and emotionally to leave work, surely.

[KickAssAngel]

Do you get a pension or any other extras? I know that they're not money in the bank right now, but it can be incredibly valuable later in life, when you would have to pay in double or triple the contributions for the same benefit on retirement.

[Xmasbaby11]

I'd go back but start looking for another job.

Unless you would genuinely be happier at home and you could accept having difficulties returning to work.

We're hardly anything better off with me working but even if it was a loss, I'd never be a stay at home mum as I'm not cut out for it. I need to work for my sanity! But then I do enjoy my job and would never be able get back in if I left, so it does depend on your situation.

[NotCitrus]

What would be the maths in a year's time when dc1 is at school and dc2 gets the free hours? Or 18 months or whenever?

I went from having a net income of about £200 to suddenly about £900 when it went from 2 in nursery to only 1 and that one getting half paid. I did 3 days, partly to reduce the expense and also everyone told me to work either 3 or 5 days, never 4.

[Maursh]

If you step away from you career it is incredibly hard to get back in again. I had a high flying career which I stepped away from and I regret it so much. If you value what you have worked towards so far then stick to it even if it costs you a bit in the short term. It will pay off in a very few years when your children are both at school.

In terms of your short term conundrum - and it is very short term if you eldest is soon to be a school - consider working full time rather than 4 days.

• Everyone I know who has worked part time always says they do all the work of full time, over fewer days for less money.
  
• If you can go back fulltime, full time childcare is normally cheaper per day like this.

[LongChalk]

Sorry, I didn't answer your question. If it's a investment in your future and 5yrs from now you'll all be so much better off then it's worth it. If it's a job you hate with very little prospects and it means stress for all if you then probably not.

[LongChalk]

I've been working at a £200 loss for 2yrs and I'm about to give up because covering the school holidays for the older ones is a logistical impossibility. But I disagree with NewLife, as I think our utility and food bills are far lower with us all out the house. Plus I randomly spend £20 here and there in the week which I don't do at work.

[LC01]

I don't know how many days you use to work, but If you're going back to the same employer, but reducing your days by one, your salary will be prorated, which is likely to mean, you'll be on more money there, than if you got a new part time job somewhere new.

This isn't always the case, so you'll need to check the going rate for a similar role and company, but a lot of the time, you're better off staying put.

[hazelnutlatte]

I agree with everyone's points about it being an investment in your future career but personally I don't think I could go back to work in a job that I didn't even like and left me worse off! If I was you I would start looking for another job. If it's not possible to get a better paid job then at least one that you will enjoy more, and maybe for only 2 days a week then your losses would be less.

[NewLife4Me]

No way would I work for no profit. It's a mug's game.
Besides you can save so much money by not working.
If you put away this amount every month in a separate account then you aren't financially dependant.
So, you put away the childcare money, travel expenses, work clothes, etc and bingo, you have a wage for being a sahp

[CrazyDuchess]

I went back to work at about a £100 deficit per month because of childcare- it was worth it in the long run

[MurphysChild]

• couple of hundred quid per month after child care for 2.

[MurphysChild]

When mine were tiny and I went back to work, for years I literally worked full time for a couple of hundred quid and had a 30 mile round commute plus travel costs on top. However, I knew I was well paid for what I did, I knew I got good holidays and I also knew it would be unlikely I could get back into the company I worked for on those same terms and conditions. Not forgetting loss of pension contributions whilst not working etc. So I sucked it up, I don't regret it.

However, I enjoyed my job and I hated being a SAHM so was lad to go back for my sanity.

[Hiddenaspie1973]

Stay in work. It is sooooo difficult to get back in when you've been out. For me, I feel like shit as all my mates/family and partner go to work full time and I do 9.5 poxy hours in a poxy cleaning job whilst trying very hard to get back into work which uses my skill set. My confidence has been badly affected and I earn fuck all without a prospect of improving it until I can search for f.t jobs.
Now, you're thinking about a loss of £100. That's nothing compared to what you lose if you are stuck in p.t nmw jobs because you dared to jump off the treadmill.
It will feel better when the kids are older. Think of it as protecting YOUR future earning power plus pension.

[LouieLou2013]

Definitely play the long game. I was working for £-5 pound a day. After a year I got a £3k pay rise and a further year down the line I'm counting the months until the 15 free hours! There is a good chance I will be promoted at the end of June with a £7k rise. There is no way I'd have been able to go straight back in at this level after three/four years out. I do three days which I will increase to four in Sept.

Remember it will be 30 hours free for the youngest next year so definitely with sucking it up for a year.

[FemaleDilbert]

Personally I would look for another job to go back to. I wouldn't go back to a job I didn't like for a financial loss.

[BikeRunSki]

I worked for 9 months where my income was about £100 less than childcare+commuting costs. As others have said, I considered this to be an investment in my future career, pension etc. 3 years later my youngest is about to start school and things are easing off finanically. The big difference between you and me though, is that I love my job, I have a good employer with a very easy going line manager and flexible working, all in a niche market. I knew that if I gave up my job, I'd never get back in. Not through lack of skills and experience, but because I have such a highly sought after role in my field.

[poocatcherchampion]

I am disagreeing.

Start looking for a different part time job. Go back but don't stay there.

[chocolatebourbon]

Definitely go back to work. I have had four years out and am horrified at the difficulty of getting back in. Being financially down overall is OK because long-term you are looking after your CV and your job prospects. My DH had a redundancy scare recently and it really opened my eyes to the fact that two income streams into the house are just a lot better than one...