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How to afford a baby?!

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  • TopQuark
    TopQuark Posts: 451 Forumite
    SG27 wrote: »
    Wow you must have a very well paid job to make that worthwhile!

    Salaries in Switzerland are high, especially so in technical professions, which myself and my husband are both in. Consequently, everything is more expensive here. However, it still makes me wince when I convert it to GBP! I work with many people from all over the continent and talking to them, childcare is very expensive wherever you live. If you have able and willing parents who can assist, then this can be a big help (unfortunately for us, my parents are in the UK and OH's are in France, so we're on our own...not that I'm complaining, we chose to live here!).
    Remember Occam's Razor - the simplest explanation is usually the right one. :)

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  • MallyGirl
    MallyGirl Posts: 7,201 Senior Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    SG27 wrote: »
    When I say the heating is on I mean it's on a thermostat and will kick in when it drops below 19c. We keep it fairly warm to keep any damp or condensation away.
    My thermostat is set to that for when we are home in the evening. During the day the heating is off and when comes on at 5pm it is still only set at 16. Once we settle for the evening in the front room I switch it up to 19/20 and have a fleecy blanket to snuggle in on the sofa. It goes back down to 16 when I go up to bed and the heating is off from 9:30pm to 6am.
    I leave the damp rooms (bathroom and ensuite) windows open a little (with window locks) through the day to reduce condensation - I wouldn't heat the whole house for that
    I’m a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning, Loans
    & Credit Cards boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
    All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • SG27
    SG27 Posts: 2,773 Forumite
    MallyGirl wrote: »
    My thermostat is set to that for when we are home in the evening. During the day the heating is off and when comes on at 5pm it is still only set at 16. Once we settle for the evening in the front room I switch it up to 19/20 and have a fleecy blanket to snuggle in on the sofa. It goes back down to 16 when I go up to bed and the heating is off from 9:30pm to 6am.
    I leave the damp rooms (bathroom and ensuite) windows open a little (with window locks) through the day to reduce condensation - I wouldn't heat the whole house for that

    That's exactly what I would if I was in a new(er) house. But all our rooms are at risk of damp downstairs so we keep well heated and ventilated. No radiators are on upstairs.
  • penguingirl
    penguingirl Posts: 1,397 Forumite
    We're not parents, but reached the stage where we are thinking about it. The other day we were discussing that for us one of the biggest challenges would be how to manage school holidays- we don't have family locally and both have good jobs and careers that we don't intend (or could afford) to give up. I could probably go to 3 days a week, but unfortunately my partner works in a very male-led industry in a senior role and would not be permitted to go part-time. We worked out that to manage 13 weeks school holiday (plus inset days, half days etc) we would have to use up just about all of our annual leave! Which makes you wonder how people manage to do things as a family as we would need to be on opposite patterns. What do other people do? Is it as ridiculously hard to manage as it looks from the outside? It just seems odd to me that we have a system that pretty much requires both parents to work, but if you are not a stay at home parent it is a logistical nightmare! Sorry to hijack the thread, but it just seemed like a related issue.
  • enthusiasticsaver
    enthusiasticsaver Posts: 16,053 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    We're not parents, but reached the stage where we are thinking about it. The other day we were discussing that for us one of the biggest challenges would be how to manage school holidays- we don't have family locally and both have good jobs and careers that we don't intend (or could afford) to give up. I could probably go to 3 days a week, but unfortunately my partner works in a very male-led industry in a senior role and would not be permitted to go part-time. We worked out that to manage 13 weeks school holiday (plus inset days, half days etc) we would have to use up just about all of our annual leave! Which makes you wonder how people manage to do things as a family as we would need to be on opposite patterns. What do other people do? Is it as ridiculously hard to manage as it looks from the outside? It just seems odd to me that we have a system that pretty much requires both parents to work, but if you are not a stay at home parent it is a logistical nightmare! Sorry to hijack the thread, but it just seemed like a related issue.


    School holidays were always a big issue when our children were small and it was planned with military precision. OH and I often had to take different weeks off with usually just one week clashing so we could actually go somewhere as a family. We lived away from family but luckily both my mum and dad were willing for our girls to go and stay with them in London for a week in the summer holidays and my mother in law used to come and stay with us in Cornwall and look after them. School summer holiday clubs, friends or childminder filled in the gaps.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.

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  • penguingirl
    penguingirl Posts: 1,397 Forumite
    School holidays were always a big issue when our children were small and it was planned with military precision. OH and I often had to take different weeks off with usually just one week clashing so we could actually go somewhere as a family. We lived away from family but luckily both my mum and dad were willing for our girls to go and stay with them in London for a week in the summer holidays and my mother in law used to come and stay with us in Cornwall and look after them. School summer holiday clubs, friends or childminder filled in the gaps.

    Thanks, yes I guess that's what we'll have to do when the time comes. It just seems so short-sighted that we live in a system that seems to assume that one parent will be 'on tap' to sort out childcare. Obviously I know that having children is a choice and I'd want to spend time with them not live in a nanny state where someone raises my children for me, but there are so many jobs that are not child-friendly.
  • Kynthia
    Kynthia Posts: 5,692 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    We're not parents, but reached the stage where we are thinking about it. The other day we were discussing that for us one of the biggest challenges would be how to manage school holidays- we don't have family locally and both have good jobs and careers that we don't intend (or could afford) to give up. I could probably go to 3 days a week, but unfortunately my partner works in a very male-led industry in a senior role and would not be permitted to go part-time. We worked out that to manage 13 weeks school holiday (plus inset days, half days etc) we would have to use up just about all of our annual leave! Which makes you wonder how people manage to do things as a family as we would need to be on opposite patterns. What do other people do? Is it as ridiculously hard to manage as it looks from the outside? It just seems odd to me that we have a system that pretty much requires both parents to work, but if you are not a stay at home parent it is a logistical nightmare! Sorry to hijack the thread, but it just seemed like a related issue.

    Single parents have to cover all the holidays by themselves so it's not easy. As said above you send them to stay with family for a week or two, book them into children's clubs that open up in the holidays, buddy up with another parent so that you each look after all your children together for a few days/weeks each, spread out over the year, see if your employer will allow you to take some unpaid leave or work annualised hours, or one of you get a term time job such as in a school.
    Don't listen to me, I'm no expert!
  • I think your can find a part time job and after your baby is born, your wife can also find a part time job at home. Things will be better than you thought.
  • TBagpuss
    TBagpuss Posts: 11,236 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    We're not parents, but reached the stage where we are thinking about it. The other day we were discussing that for us one of the biggest challenges would be how to manage school holidays- we don't have family locally and both have good jobs and careers that we don't intend (or could afford) to give up. I could probably go to 3 days a week, but unfortunately my partner works in a very male-led industry in a senior role and would not be permitted to go part-time. We worked out that to manage 13 weeks school holiday (plus inset days, half days etc) we would have to use up just about all of our annual leave! Which makes you wonder how people manage to do things as a family as we would need to be on opposite patterns. What do other people do? Is it as ridiculously hard to manage as it looks from the outside? It just seems odd to me that we have a system that pretty much requires both parents to work, but if you are not a stay at home parent it is a logistical nightmare! Sorry to hijack the thread, but it just seemed like a related issue.

    Most people I know do a combination of the parents taking differnet weeks off plus some paid for care such as holiday clubs etc so tha some time can be spent together. Obviously depending on circumstnaces there may also be family who can help out - for instnace, I know that one of my co-workers used to have an arrangements with her sister that one week of the school holidays sister would take time off work and look after her own kids plus my co-wokers kids, and one week my co-worker would book of and look after all the kids.

    Another colleague's children go and spend a week with their grandparents.

    and of course a lot of families do bite the bullet and have one paretn work part time around school hours and manage the lower income.
    All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)
  • SG27
    SG27 Posts: 2,773 Forumite
    muttller wrote: »
    I think your can find a part time job and after your baby is born, your wife can also find a part time job at home. Things will be better than you thought.

    I already work 50 hours a week in a very physical job, I don't think I could take on another job!

    A job at home would be great, finding one however, might not be easy!
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