Childcare costs

yorks_lass

Anyone else at their wit's end with Nursery costs?

I am in a relationship where I am the higher earner (senior management in education) and my husband earns just above min wage. I had to return to work after 6 months as we couldn't meet our bills on my SMP money.

However, I now find we are paying £700 per month in Nursery costs (4 days per week). The nursery isn't cheap (about £41 per day) but it is very good and I was more concerned about having a good nursery than a cheap one.

I am using Childcare vouchers, but my husband's company won't even consider it, so we are losing out several hundred pounds a year through no fault of our own. There is also no question of flexible working as schools work in the daytime. We did talk about my husband staying at home, but he really isn't the right sort of person to be doing full-time childcare - the baby is much better off in nursery.

So, how does anyone else cope? It strikes me that once you pay your bills and the nursery, there is nothing left. And, what on earth do you do if you have 2 children?

Help! I've cut back on EVERYTHING that we can - we're even eating beans on toast twice a week but it's still hard. I never thought I would have to pay for private education for a pre-schooler!

Yorks_lass

r.mac_2

hi there yorks_lass

I've been looking at nursery costs too and was amazed at how much they were! You say that your husband earns just above min wage - would it be moneysaving for him to stay at home and look after baby rather than spend so much on nursery care?

is there any other way to restructure your hours and his so they 'overlapp' and less time at paid nursery is required?

I'm not very up on child credits etc - but have you checked you are getitng everything you are entitled to?

Good luck xx

Yorkshire-Lady_3

Hello - I was wondering if you considered a childminder. They are usually cheaper and more flexible. They mix with other children, but have a same carer on a daily basis.

Y-L

Spendless

I didn't work. The current tax credit or childcare voucher scheme didn't exist when I had eldest, so childcare fees would have taken all my wages. It doesn't sound like you are receiving much of the 2nd earners wage if you need to deduct childcare plus any work expenses such as travel. Is your husband working w/ends or evenings and having baby during day an option, or him cutting down to 2 full days and you 3, so you have baby between you?



Your husband wouldn't be able to have childcare vouchers if by doing so it would put his wages under the min wage, which sounds likely if he's only just above min wage.

I'd also look into childminder costs to compare.

galvanizersbaby

Hello

I was in similar situ to you - I had 2 children in nursery full -time and the bill was 1,370 per month so I only had a small amount of my wages left over.
It was hardly worth working but I needed to keep my job open and as it turns out I ended up separating from my husband so glad I did return to work.:eek:

I think that most people who struggle with the nursery fees use childminders as they tend to be less expensive so not sure if you've looked in to that option?

yorks_lass

Thanks for the replies so far.

I should stress:
- we are very happy with the nursery - it is small, she has the same carer each day and I like the structure that is provided for her. I really don't want to switch to a childminder.
- my husband can't stay at home with the LO full-time. We have discussed it at length but it just isn't a possibility because he would probably go mad (!)
- yes, as far as I am aware we are getting everything we should be with Tax credits. I've done all the forms, but we get just £50 a month.

Sounds like we have made a rod for our own backs really. I guess we have to live with it. I don't want to cut my hours any further, as I love my job and need to continue working to keep my career on track. A break just isn't an option.

Thanks anyway, :rolleyes:
Yorks_lass

purplepatch

Another one here in a similar position, I'm going back to work in September, term time only job at my daughter's school 4 days a week. I would have liked to have used a nursery, as there's a really excellent one locally, but the fees are astronomical and much as it would be my ideal scenario it just isn't an affordable or realistic one for someone like me who wants termtime care only. Instead I've found a lovely childminder and my childcare will work out probably only a third of what a nursery would have been when you factor in the fact that a nursery would have charged me a retainer for holidays and my childminder doesn't.

My LO is 2 in October, and will be eligible for the free preschool sessions from Jan 2010, so the way I see it is that even though a childminder is possibly less stimulating for her than nursery initially, eventually we will be able to combine it with 5 free sessions a week at preschool, again there is a very good one locally, so we will get the best of both worlds then. Plus the childminder's fees will go down further when the free sessions kick in.

How old is your LO? Once they are 3, your child is likely to be able to take their allowance of free sessions at your nursery which will help to reduce your costs, but obviously that may well be some way off yet.

purplepatch

yorks_lass wrote: »

I am using Childcare vouchers, but my husband's company won't even consider it, so we are losing out several hundred pounds a year through no fault of our own.

Have they given you a reason why they won't consider it, seems extremely short sighted in this era of flexible working for parents. Does he do a job where he could move to another more family friendly employer doing the same thing??

I agree that if you have discounted alternative childcare and the stay at home dad option, and aren't eligible for working tax credit, there isn't really any other option to reduce the costs, other than trying to tackle your DH's childcare voucher issue.

penguin83

We are the same as you Yorks - only 2 years between our children so we ended up with a nursery bill well over 1000.00 a month (still makes me wince!) but the eldest is now in school so costs have dropped although it will go back up again during the summer hols for the weeks I cant get time off.

x x

BernadetteN

I'm going to make myself unpopular here but I would not dream of having children with someone if they weren't willing to accept at least playing some part in the care of them! It's something I would have discussed BEFORE having children - and yes I know not all children are planned, our first one was conceived after only a few weeks but I still knew my partner's views on child care before I got pregnant.

It seems really incredible to be paying £700 a month in child care instead of a parent looking after their own child. I go mad staying at home all day sometimes too, as I'm sure do all mums occasionally or perhaps more oftern, and I've given up full time work at a considerable financial loss because I want our kids to be with their parents for the few short formative years of their lives.

Really I would expect my partner to stay at home, if he is the lower earner, rather than being no better off and your child spending such long hours away from home.

onlyroz

Can your partner go part-time, and spend a day or two a week with the child? Or perhaps he could try and get a better paid job? Or get some more qualifications so that he can earn more?

I have sympathy, because we're paying £760 a month at the mo for my first-born, and when the second arrives and starts nursery we'll be paying more on nursery fees than we are on the mortgage.