Biggest Obstacle - Affording Daycare for 2

[spunky84]

DH and I have decided to wait until March/April 2015.

Our main things we need to do are get our house/basement in order (which will easily be done before then) and get another car (we have 2 - 1 is rusting out and becoming unsafe to drive - planning on private seller so we don't have the monthly car payment). We found a mini van already in our price range (though we need to look at it and see if it'd be worth it).

The biggest thing we need to figure out is how to afford daycare for 2.

Right now we pay $600/month for LO. It's really not bad as it averages to $30/day.

DH and I are pretty much at our max earning potential which really isn't a lot. If we find new jobs, we'll unlikely earn more let alone the same (most likely less). DH brings home about $900 every 2 weeks which covers groceries, utilities, daycare, his own personal bills and expenses. I bring home about $600 every 2 weeks. I pay our mortgage and my own personal bills and expenses (I only make $1 less than him, but bring home less as I pay for our medical/dental coverage and other benefits that are deducted).

I cannot fathom how people can afford more than 1 in daycare! I really like the daycare she goes to and can't imagine pulling her out. I have a few ideas in which I feel like we could cut costs and save some extra money, but DH doesn't think they'll make much of an impact. Around 18 months, LO's cost will go down, but not a significant amount (I can't remember - somewhere between $5-$20). The only other way that we know of is if one of us can find a night shift - which would allow us to not have to send them to daycare at all or only a for a few hours of the day during the transition in our schedules (which isn't the most ideal).

I just hate that this is the biggest thing standing in our way. If it weren't for this, ttc really wouldn't be an issue.

 

[GreyGirl]

We've been in the same position. We've had to work hard at saving, but we're lucky in that if baby comes before March next year then we'll only need to have enough for 3 months of double childcare before our oldest child qualifies for free childcare for the 2 days I work.

 

[Noodlebear]

I don't get how people afford it either! I don't want to try for another until LO will be at school or going into school as my maternity leave ends because we'd end up owing so much money. Paying childcare for 2 just isn't an option.

 

[aidensxmomma]

I know that a lot of daycares offer discounts if you have more than one child in care. I think the actual discount varies by the daycare, but its worth looking into. My kids will be in school full-time this fall so daycare wont be too bad then, but this summer they will be in daycare full-time. Fortunately I work at the daycare they will be going to, so it won't cost me a fortune but I'm not sure I would be able to have them in group daycare if I didn't. Hope you can figure it out.

 

[Bakebino]

Hubby and I are planning on ttc #2 soon and the only thing standing in our way is double daycare expenses. I know we will make it worm but I have no idea how?!

 

[spunky84]

We can do it, but we just really have to work on budgeting and rearranging to do.

I sat and thought about it after posting this. I figured out how much we'd have left over after all bills + daycare, etc. Not a ton, but not broke. It'd require me opting into having daycare deducted from my pay check (leaving me with barely anything) - but that'd be pre-tax. DH and I currently keep our own finances - our money is each others but it's also our own (basically separate accts, pay our own portion of bills, and whatever is left over is our own to do whatever with - within reason).

We'd have to combine finances. Before I met DH - lived by myself and made considerably less - I used to grocery shop on $20 for 2 weeks. We can really decrease our grocery bill if we were more conscious of what we buy for groceries. I'll go through the store with a budget and a calculator if need be. Obviously with 2 LO's there'd be absolute necessities factored in, but the rest, I could make sure we cut back on.

There's definitely more of the little things that we can change that will make a big difference. If we got started on that now, we'd be ahead of the game!

 

[shterr612]

I feel like I could have almost written the post myself, we are in a very similar situation. One thing that we decided to do was act as if we are already paying for two children going to daycare. Our DD is $155 per week and that is how much the 2nd will be as well. No discounts for multiples, unfortunately, as it is an in home care. We have $155 set to transfer to a savings account every week the same time we pay our daycare. It was a bit of a shock at first... but you start to get used to it and see how you can budget everything else around it. Even if you start with half the amount and slowly work up... We are either using the money to save for our new car (fingers crossed), or we will use the money we've saved up to help pay for part of the labor/delivery cost when we finally do have #2. But yeah... I really really recommend it. It may make you feel really tight and pinched, but it will show you what life is really going to be like if you know you are going to have a 2nd and know that you are going to have to figure out daycare expenses. The bonus is that you will have a nice bit of savings put aside too!

I also do a dependent care F.S.A through my work with is a good tax incentive. You may look into that as well. The money pulls from my account pre-tax and I just fill out a form and get reimbursed. Paycheck may be smaller, but you get the money right back and may get more back in tax returns as a result. Look into it and see if it is an option for you.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Bakebino]

I feel like I could have almost written the post myself, we are in a very similar situation. One thing that we decided to do was act as if we are already paying for two children going to daycare. Our DD is $155 per week and that is how much the 2nd will be as well. No discounts for multiples, unfortunately, as it is an in home care. We have $155 set to transfer to a savings account every week the same time we pay our daycare. It was a bit of a shock at first... but you start to get used to it and see how you can budget everything else around it. Even if you start with half the amount and slowly work up... We are either using the money to save for our new car (fingers crossed), or we will use the money we've saved up to help pay for part of the labor/delivery cost when we finally do have #2. But yeah... I really really recommend it. It may make you feel really tight and pinched, but it will show you what life is really going to be like if you know you are going to have a 2nd and know that you are going to have to figure out daycare expenses. The bonus is that you will have a nice bit of savings put aside too!

I also do a dependent care F.S.A through my work with is a good tax incentive. You may look into that as well. The money pulls from my account pre-tax and I just fill out a form and get reimbursed. Paycheck may be smaller, but you get the money right back and may get more back in tax returns as a result. Look into it and see if it is an option for you.

GOOD LUCK!

That is an excellent idea. We are planning on starting TTC #2 this cylce so we might just start doing this right away. I am sure it will be a shock

 

[bellaxgee]

this is the exact reason we are waiting. alexa will not qualify for pre-k for another 2 yrs because her bday doesn't reach the cutoff. so we will have 2 in daycare for at least a year! right now we pay $260 a week just for one...I really don't know if it is even worth it to work and pay around $500 for 2! our rent is also going up to $1617 a month plus the $2000 in childcare a month - it is ridiculous!

 

[clara123]

There is no way I could afford childcare for 2. I have 2 already and left a 5 year gap between them so that my first was at school when I had my second. I will be trying around sep/oct of this year for another so my middle one will be at school by the time I have my next. Childcare here is around £1000 a month! X

 

[spunky84]

I hope you ladies are able to work it out! This obstacle, quite frankly, just sucks.

I honestly can't complain about the cost. While it seems outrageous, when you break it down per day and per hour, it really isn't bad. Granted it doesn't make it any easier to afford!

Unfortunately this is no longer an obstacle for us as DH has changed his mind on wtt/ttc, so I guess this is one weight lifted off my shoulders (though I'd rather it be a weight on my shoulders with there being the prospect of another LO).

I hope you ladies are able to find something that makes it work for you!

And shterr612, that is a great idea! If we ever revisit the idea of wtt/ttc, that's definitely something to try. If we moved forward with wtt/ttc, I was going to sign up for the dependent care, but it would have required us to combine finances as my pay check would have probably been about $50 every two weeks will all of my deductions, but DH was reluctant to do so (with a lame excuse of having to learn a new bank website/system, etc). Though I think I still might just sign up for dependent care anyway as our tax person looked into for me and did say that it would be a greater tax benefit for us.