What's the deal with affording daycare? Options

[Defbil]

We've looked around and most places cost close to or more than my take home pay. Is there some secret to affording daycare that I'm not aware of?

[T-Bone]

I've wondered this myself. It seems like most of the people I know either have a relative helping out or have a non-traditional work schedule so that they can watch the kids while the s/o is working.

[Colt45]

you need a job in Auto Parts so you can stop all this pessimistic whining over financial matters

its 2010! turn that frown upside down


fucking Tookie!




(sorry Defbil that wasn't any help-- my daycare days are over but yes, it costs A- lot... good luck in the search)

This post has been edited by Colt45: Jan 4 2010, 11:05 AM

[Defbil]

I'm lucky enough to work for a company that doesn't believe in things like starting a family or allowing me to work from home/work an adjustable schedule, etc. This should be great!

I mean, if it comes down to it I can use my 401k, but I really don't wanna cash out $10k+ per year

I knew daycare is wicked expensive but I didn't think it'd be $1700-$2000+/month expensive.

This post has been edited by Defbil: Jan 4 2010, 11:07 AM

[sixpinelbow]

this is why once you have a kid your social life plummets exponentially

[anotherformerguest]

Not sure where you live, but we found that small/home daycares tend to cost a bit less than centers.

Daycare costs are insane though.

[T-Bone]

You could move to central PA where my sister lives. She pays $90 a week for daycare.

[Woody Goodbeat]

I knew daycare is wicked expensive but I didn't think it'd be $1700-$2000+/month expensive.

Cheaper in the burbs, but not by much.

[Arz]

We've looked around and most places cost close to or more than my take home pay. Is there some secret to affording daycare that I'm not aware of?

this is why once you have a kid your social life plummets exponentially

This.

We tried to make the budget work with just one salary, but we were stretched too thin for too many months (and still hadn't proved that we could stick to a budget), so as it stands, about 75% of the wife's take home goes to daycare and we generally stay home and do nothing (plus, having a kid saps your energy).

Dunno what's gonna happen if/when we have kid #2, but we'll burn that Norwegian church to the ground in a black metal ceremony when we get to it.

[Defbil]

we have a fenced in yard......

[lisalisa]

I stayed at home for years because it was cheaper for me to be at home. My coworker is having baby #3 in a couple of months and his mother-in-law watches the kids full time. They have some arrangement where they pay her health care. My cousin has her mother and her mother in law watch her kid. She is a teacher so it works well for her schedule.

I would have gone back to work sooner if I had a family member who would have helped out like that.

[DanPM]

Wow. I use my sister for daycare and don't pay anywhere near that amount. It's worth it for her because she can stay home with her kid too.

Any way you can work opposite schedules from your old lady for a while?

I picked up a second job to help make up the difference.

[54Nailhead]

Childcare is just a huge expence , Brah. It starts with daycare and then becomes about afterschool and school vacation programs. Finding good quality, affordable solutions is a real challenge to us and most of the other parents we know.

This post has been edited by 54Nailhead: Jan 4 2010, 11:16 AM

[DanPM]

How responsible are your rabbits?

[lisalisa]

How responsible are your rabbits?

But they don't have thumbs.

[mgorman]

It's crazy expensive. It's also tax deductible. Best bet is to find a home day care close by your home or close by your work. You don't want to be adding a lot of commuting time between work and home unless you have to. $5-6 hr is about the going rate at least out here in Dedham. Where do you live?

[DanPM]

Just remember ... it will be worth it

[Hamburglar]

There's a mass state website that lists all the licensed daycare providers. You can type your address in and it will give you a google map with all the local providers, including home providers. The centers are great, but they're crazy expensive. One place said they'd charge us $5 per minute we were late picking up our kid.

The private home providers tend to be much cheaper, but you need to do a ton of research to find one that you feel comfortable with. Of the handful we researched, many had lost clients in recent years due to the economy. They seemed to want full time over part time, as they are restricted in the number of kids they can have. Also, some seemed more than willing to negotiate price.

good luck.

[Johnny Angel]

Don't know what the dominant immigrant group is in Defbil's neck of the woods, but around here, the extended Mexican/Central American family is the daycare of choice. Getting licensed by the city and state is a bitch, they aren't fly by night--but they are relatively cheap (35-40 a day).

The drawback is that the now 4 year old came home a few years ago screaming "reconquista, this land belongs to us--viva la raza"!

[coughlin]

I'm lucky enough to work for a company that doesn't believe in things like starting a family or allowing me to work from home/work an adjustable schedule, etc. This should be great!

I mean, if it comes down to it I can use my 401k, but I really don't wanna cash out $10k+ per year

I knew daycare is wicked expensive but I didn't think it'd be $1700-$2000+/month expensive.

no offense whatsoever, but isn't this something to consider before deciding to have kids?

[Defbil]

It's crazy expensive. It's also tax deductible. Best bet is to find a home day care close by your home or close by your work. You don't want to be adding a lot of commuting time between work and home unless you have to. $5-6 hr is about the going rate at least out here in Dedham. Where do you live?

I'm in Quincy. If we were to use a home day care that's close to our home we would not be able to claim suprise if the little dude were sold for drug money. We could be angry, but we couldn't be surprised.



We'll figure something out. I was hoping more for the $1,000-$1,200/month range. So far the lowest we've found is $1,700 and they seemed horrid.

[Arz]

no offense whatsoever, but isn't this something to consider before deciding to have kids?

People who consider the consequences of fucking don't enjoy it as much.

[Arz]

I'm in Quincy. If we were to use a home day care that's close to our home we would not be able to claim suprise if the little dude were sold for drug money. We could be angry, but we couldn't be surprised.



We'll figure something out. I was hoping more for the $1,000-$1,200/month range. So far the lowest we've found is $1,700 and they seemed horrid.

Well, for our day care provider, they charge significantly more for the first year (go figure - the kids require more care). Once Davis hit 1 year and moved to the next room, the cost went down about $500.

Then they raised rates this year. Sigh.

[Colt45]

this was the place we used to use after trying creative job scheduling for a couple years (i worked nights/weekends- she days)

the Transportation childrens Center is located just outside thetheater district in fact the play deck the pic is taken from is up two stories overlooking the alley off of Boylston and out into the Common

still comign in at $343/week

staff was great there a decade ago

http://www.transchildrencenter.org/

[54Nailhead]

Don't know what the dominant immigrant group is in Defbil's neck of the woods, but around here, the extended Mexican/Central American family is the daycare of choice. Getting licensed by the city and state is a bitch, they aren't fly by night--but they are relatively cheap (35-40 a day).

The drawback is that the now 4 year old came home a few years ago screaming "reconquista, this land belongs to us--viva la raza"!

Maybe cool in LA. Not so much in Michigan or Jersey.