None of the child-related expenses have been that big of a deal, but now my wife is going back to work and my 6-month old daughter is going to daycare.
Ouch!
The daycare is the same as my mortgage.
Hamlet said:None of the child-related expenses have been that big of a deal, but now my wife is going back to work and my 6-month old daughter is going to daycare.
Ouch!
The daycare is the same as my mortgage.
None of the child-related expenses have been that big of a deal, but now my wife is going back to work and my 6-month old daughter is going to daycare.
Ouch!
The daycare is the same as my mortgage.
slazenger said:Hamlet, if you're "middle class", you're looking at ~ 220K to raise your daughter from 0 to age 18, not counting college. I'm just the messenger though, but I've seen at least 3 studies on this (all of which come very close to the same figure). Most of these studies itemize the costs so you can mull them over and see if they apply to you.
Hamlet, if you're "middle class", you're looking at ~ 220K to raise your daughter from 0 to age 18, not counting college. I'm just the messenger though, but I've seen at least 3 studies on this (all of which come very close to the same figure). Most of these studies itemize the costs so you can mull them over and see if they apply to you.
, I think some in the middle class can raise kids for less than $12k a year. Particularly if you have more than 1, since they are cheaper per unit if you raise a large quantity.
Hamlet, if you're "middle class", you're looking at ~ 220K to raise your daughter from 0 to age 18, not counting college. I'm just the messenger though, but I've seen at least 3 studies on this (all of which come very close to the same figure). Most of these studies itemize the costs so you can mull them over and see if they apply to you.
When people used to ask me if my wife worked, I used to answer "she's not in business".
A stay-at-home Mom is a valuable asset.
Two of our three went to daycare and my granddaughter is going. There is no easy way. Part time work at home mom is hard to get but a great option. Just trying to help.Yes, I encouraged my wife to stay home, but she didn't want to leave the workforce. It can be very hard to get back into it once you leave, so I couldn't really argue against going back to work.
She makes enough that we are better off financially with her working, even with the daycare expense.
I was more worried about the personal downsides to daycare than the money. Thankfully, it is working out better than I expected. The center we use has people that I am comfortable with now. They appear to be taking good care of her.
GusLevy said:As a full-time Mr. Mom of my precious 10-mo old princess I literally feel your pain. Raising an infant full-time is, IMO, the hardest job in existence for a man due to obvious biological, ummm, differences but also because it has been proven that a crying baby is the most stressful sound that a man can experience. An NFL half-back is the second most difficult job in the world for a man but that job works only half a game with various tv and coaching time-outs: There are NO time-outs for Mr. Mom and half-backs only have to deal with crying wide receivers.
As for the nanny option, the market cost for a nanny with decent references in my area is at least $15 per hour. The math thus worked out to Tue and Thur between 11am and 7pm for $240 per week: Basically a thousand bucks per month after-tax money for a nice woman to come at lunchtime and to go home at dinnertime for two weekdays per week
Business Week ran an article a decade ago "proving" that working parents are losing money once you add in all the expenses and taxes.Yes, I encouraged my wife to stay home, but she didn't want to leave the workforce. It can be very hard to get back into it once you leave, so I couldn't really argue against going back to work.
Kids probably shouldn't be cared for by the lowest bidder. Maybe you're paying for quality.I was more worried about the personal downsides to daycare than the money. Thankfully, it is working out better than I expected. The center we use has people that I am comfortable with now. They appear to be taking good care of her.
Of course, they do often have somewhat different goals, and in case you haven't noticed the results can be spotty.So I wanted to dispel the myths that kids are hard to raise and expensive to raise. If that were true, the poor would stop having children.