How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

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berg
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How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by berg »

I currently have a 1 and 3 year old. My 3 year old will be out of daycare in fall 2020 and my 1 year old in fall 2021. In the meantime, I'll be spending between $24-$30k per year on childcare.

Curious for those who have already been through it. I know kids are still expensive long after daycare, but did you find yourself suddenly with significant savings? How did it impact your finances?

Just daydreaming ahead I suppose as I look at my bill :D
123
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by 123 »

If you have to buy it after-school care isn't cheap either.
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margered
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by margered »

When my child left childcare I allocated the savings payment to a savings account. Simplified, fast forward, it paid for college.
Afty
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Afty »

It's less helpful than you'd think. You still need after school care and also camps for summer and break weeks (Christmas​, spring).
jbuzolich
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by jbuzolich »

The other posts already have it. We only have one child and never paid the amounts you mentioned but basically it feels like it never stops. Mentally I've just accepted that anyway. I thought we would save money coming out of toddler care and starting preschool. Didn't happen. Monthly fees went down but supplies and activity costs went up. Next one was this year transitioning from preschool to public kindergarten. School is technically free but before and after school care costs nearly as much as private preschool did. Within a few dollars anyway. The free public school also has a constant stream of asking for supplies, snacks to share, book orders, donations to causes and so on. It's more expensive now to be honest. Plus now it's baseball season so there's another few hundred on enrollment, required fund raisers, and work or pay a fee snack bar hours. We'll always do everything we can, but no I don't see any cost savings ahead. I think these expenses will continue to grow then it will be right into college or trade school.
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celia
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by celia »

It didn't. When one kid "graduated", another entered!
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Alto Astral
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Alto Astral »

I have a newborn and a theee year old. I am looking at at least 2 years with double tuition. Then it will just be the younger one. Our local oublic school has extended hours but i do not know the fees yet. I've heard summer cam is expensive. So not expecting to save much
Doohop65
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Doohop65 »

I am in a similar boat and am praying when daycare goes away it frees up some cash.

That. Wing said, it is what it is. Like I tell DE, we aren't going to sell them so we might as well pay for them.

All joking aside, most people I k ow with kids tell me costs go down for a few years but eventually migrate back up. As was mentioned, it is amazing how early the schools hit you up for money.

Kids activities aren't cheap and while we don't do everything available it is nice to have them involved. It is one of the few areas I don't pinch the pennies quite as hard.
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alec
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by alec »

In my experience before/after care at the public elementary school was cheaper than daycare, like only around $300-400 per month per kid, or $600 for both.
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np81
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by np81 »

If you're paying anywhere near the same for before/after-school care as you are traditional daycare, then you're being ripped off. My daughter will be leaving daycare next year, and there are multiple solutions for us for before/after school care - including our local YMCA - that cost a fraction ($500-$650/month) of full-day daycare ($1100/month). We will be investing whatever we save in our taxable account.
HopeToGolf
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by HopeToGolf »

Some, if not all, the tuition was replaced by costs for camps, travel sports (fees and fuel, lunches/dinners out, etc.), after-care and other activities.

As usual, raising a child can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be.

My advice is to save the money after graduation and do not plan on a lifestyle change. If it means better vacations for a year or two or other fun stuff, great. However, do not plan on buying a bigger/better house or a fancier car because you think you will end up with $20K-$30K "extra" cash each year.
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

I'm paying for one in college now. Looking back at daycare, I laugh and say "chump change".
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4th and Inches
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by 4th and Inches »

Boo. These perspectives are not what I wanted to hear. I have a 19 month old and plans for another.
keystone
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by keystone »

I'm in a similar boat. I pay about $1750 per month for preschool for my one child and have another two and half years to go. I looked at the cost of before and after school care and it appears to be about a third of this, so I'm hoping to see some savings once kindergarten starts. However, as another poster pointed out some of this will be offset by things like summer camp and activities.

On the bright side, paying for college doesn't seem all that tough now.
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

jbuzolich wrote:The other posts already have it. Free public school? Hardly - my high property taxes pay for that "free public school". A bit cheaper than private school, yes, but not that far off from it. The free public school also has a constant stream of asking for supplies, snacks to share, book orders, donations to causes and so on. It's more expensive now to be honest. Plus now it's baseball season so there's another few hundred on enrollment, required fund raisers, and work or pay a fee snack bar hours. I think these expenses will continue to grow then it will be right into college or trade school.
+1 Between school taxes and all the fundraisers, outright requests for donations, support the Little League and other sports rec teams, etc. it feels like I'm paying for college now, and we still have quite a ways to go for that.
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HoboKent
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by HoboKent »

Our younger child starts full time daycare next month and from then until September when the older one starts preK we will be paying at a rate of $46,000 per year. And that's with a subsidy through work. Eventually that should come down to about $18,000 for aftercare in about three years. I'm sure the activities will cost more and whatnot but anything has to be cheaper than what we're looking at for this year.
aristotelian
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by aristotelian »

Our kid graduated to a more expensive private preschool :oops:
jbuzolich
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by jbuzolich »

Grt2bOutdoors wrote:
jbuzolich wrote:The other posts already have it. Free public school? Hardly - my high property taxes pay for that "free public school". A bit cheaper than private school, yes, but not that far off from it. The free public school also has a constant stream of asking for supplies, snacks to share, book orders, donations to causes and so on. It's more expensive now to be honest. Plus now it's baseball season so there's another few hundred on enrollment, required fund raisers, and work or pay a fee snack bar hours. I think these expenses will continue to grow then it will be right into college or trade school.
+1 Between school taxes and all the fundraisers, outright requests for donations, support the Little League and other sports rec teams, etc. it feels like I'm paying for college now, and we still have quite a ways to go for that.
Thanks and I hear ya. I get into fun arguments with a close friend of mine about schools because he insists it's all free and they just go and come home each day and his income taxes pay for everything. He doesn't fully believe it but I share reality with him and he gets mad but we end up laughing. He's always been a renter so I explain that most of it is paid by property owners and not him. We pay substantial property taxes as well for our son's free public school. Also pay Mello Roos additional taxes on a school within walking distance and other infrastructure that hasn't even been started on for construction 8+ years after buying.
Mountain Fiddle
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Mountain Fiddle »

I don't know where some of you live, but $20 to 40k a year sounds a bit insane to me. We moved to a relatively LCOL area a few years ago, and pay ~$5k / year for in-home childcare in our neighborhood (one toddler). Granted, we have arranged it so my SO can stay with him on Fridays, so that's only four days a week.
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greg24
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by greg24 »

Our expenses did go down quite a bit once day care was over. When they were in day care, the decision to withhold the maximum $5k per year for child care flex was a no-brainer, and it came nowhere close to covering our annual expenses. We now have to decide each year what to set aside, which covers after school and summer camps.

Yes, schools ask for money, there are fundraisers, etc. But the random $50 here and there doesn't come close to the monthly mortagage-like bill that came with day care.
shorty313
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by shorty313 »

I'd say our expenses went down by a third. We still needed after school care and summer care, and they got involved in activities. So it has gotten better but not completely gone away. We redirected that 1/3 for car replacement costs (we were already saving for college). I"m looking forward to when older kid is in middle school so at least one aftercare goes away and possibly gets redirected to more college savings. Just 18 more months!
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MikeWillRetire
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by MikeWillRetire »

When my kids graduated from daycare, I put them in private elementary school. That cost me about the same as daycare. When they graduated from middle school, I put them in public high school. That gave me 4 years to breathe. Now they are in a public university, and it costs me about the same as the daycare did.
So if you can afford daycare, you can eventually afford a public university.
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by smitcat »

"I don't know where some of you live, but $20 to 40k a year sounds a bit insane to me. We moved to a relatively LCOL area a few years ago, and pay ~$5k / year for in-home childcare in our neighborhood (one toddler). Granted, we have arranged it so my SO can stay with him on Fridays, so that's only four days a week"

How many hours a year does the $5K cover?
Do you have any problems with payroll and supplying a 1099? Did you feel the need to do a background check? What is your backup when they are ill or cannot come in? Do they have any training with kids, first aid or with emergencies?
stoptothink
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by stoptothink »

We are currently paying $1600/month for full-time care of a 5 and 2yr old. 5yr old starts kindergarten in August, it is half-day, but the after-school program is $225/month as opposed to $650 for child care, and this includes the bus which picks her up and drops her off right on the corner. I'll be there every day to pick her up at the bus stop; perks of having a very flexible job which is a 7min walk from my front door.

$425/month extra isn't life-changing, but it is more than we spend on food, utilities, and gas...combined. Planning on just throwing it at the mortgage. In 3 more years my wife will be out of school and my kids won't be in daycare, so we should have an extra ~$2500/month. Considering our total household expenditures are ~$4500/month right now (including daycare, 15yr mortgage, and wife's tuition), that will have a dramatic impact on our finances.
MDfive21
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by MDfive21 »

jbuzolich wrote:He's always been a renter so I explain that most of it is paid by property owners and not him. We pay substantial property taxes as well for our son's free public school.
renters pay school tax just as owners do, albeit indirectly. we pay rent to the owner who i'm sure bakes the property taxes into the rent.
MDfive21
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by MDfive21 »

we paid 800-850/mo for montessori.. that's 9600-10,200/yr.

after school and summer camps are running around 3500/yr but we don't need after care every day. that was for 3 days of after care. plus we could shave off some cost by doing ymca only in the summer for 200/wk but we send her to other camps for enrichment and they cost 250-350/wk depending on what it is.
Leemiller
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Leemiller »

We had a nanny which was very expensive, then daycare at about $1,500 a month. In kindergarten we pay about $550 a month for aftercare but summer camps are around $500 a week. We also pay about $500-700 a semester for some after school activities. So we aren't saving a full $1,000 a month. Food and clothing costs have gone up in the meantime, so not a huge savings unless you don't need aftercare.

Oh and now we have #2 so it will get pricey again. We are also considering an au pair in a few years after the little one is a bit older.
B0bL0blawsLawBl0g
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by B0bL0blawsLawBl0g »

Haven't made the transition yet, but we're currently paying $20,800 for daycare at a center. When he's 3, he'll go to pre-K through the local public elementary school (free) and we'll put him in aftercare at the school. The aftercare is only $800 per year. So, despite what some of the other posters have suggested about after-care costs eating up the same amount as daycare costs, at least in our case that is not remotely true. We should see $20k per year in spending relief. Can't wait. YMMV.
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by soccerrules »

We had one parent stay home while the kids were little. We did send them all to PreK (2-3 days a week, 1/2 days) that 18 years ago was $300 a month. When the oldest went to public kinder I moved the $300/mo to a 529 and have been doing that ever since. I did not do that with the other 2 though. 3rd child is 3 years from graduating HS and I will stop the $300/mo contributions to 529 then and use it to help cash flow some monthly college expenses.
1 child went to private school from MS through HS and I transition that yearly outlay to college expenses which helped soften the blow a little since I was already shelling out $13-14K a year.

Is there anyone out there like me that is counting down the Child Expense Events :shock:
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by flyingbison »

B0bL0blawsLawBl0g wrote: The aftercare is only $800 per year.
Whoa ... that's ridiculously cheap. I'm assuming that's some type of subsidized program, or maybe in-home care from a neighbor or friend?
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by yellowgirl »

flyingbison wrote:
B0bL0blawsLawBl0g wrote: The aftercare is only $800 per year.
Whoa ... that's ridiculously cheap. I'm assuming that's some type of subsidized program, or maybe in-home care from a neighbor or friend?

We have the same aftercare program in Texas for $90 a month. They provide snacks and supplies too. Its a city program and I don't know if it's subsidized program or not.

Edit: Actually anyone can enroll but if you are low income, you will pay a lot less than $90.
B0bL0blawsLawBl0g
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by B0bL0blawsLawBl0g »

flyingbison wrote:
B0bL0blawsLawBl0g wrote: The aftercare is only $800 per year.
Whoa ... that's ridiculously cheap. I'm assuming that's some type of subsidized program, or maybe in-home care from a neighbor or friend?
It's just the standard public school after-care here.
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Mountain Fiddle »

smitcat wrote:"I don't know where some of you live, but $20 to 40k a year sounds a bit insane to me. We moved to a relatively LCOL area a few years ago, and pay ~$5k / year for in-home childcare in our neighborhood (one toddler). Granted, we have arranged it so my SO can stay with him on Fridays, so that's only four days a week"

How many hours a year does the $5K cover?
Do you have any problems with payroll and supplying a 1099? Did you feel the need to do a background check? What is your backup when they are ill or cannot come in? Do they have any training with kids, first aid or with emergencies?
This covers around 35 hours / week (~1,800 / year). We do a background check, get references, etc. Our childcare provider has two kids of her own, and watches ours in addition for some extra income. No problems on reporting income as long as they provide you their SS#. I would say the biggest challenge is making sure we have a backup in place for the occasional sick day. Otherwise I feel that our son gets more attention than if he were at a more formal daycare center, and probably gets sick less often, as well.
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by wilked »

Mountain Fiddle wrote:
smitcat wrote:"I don't know where some of you live, but $20 to 40k a year sounds a bit insane to me. We moved to a relatively LCOL area a few years ago, and pay ~$5k / year for in-home childcare in our neighborhood (one toddler). Granted, we have arranged it so my SO can stay with him on Fridays, so that's only four days a week"

How many hours a year does the $5K cover?
Do you have any problems with payroll and supplying a 1099? Did you feel the need to do a background check? What is your backup when they are ill or cannot come in? Do they have any training with kids, first aid or with emergencies?


This covers around 35 hours / week (~1,800 / year). We do a background check, get references, etc. Our childcare provider has two kids of her own, and watches ours in addition for some extra income. No problems on reporting income as long as they provide you their SS#. I would say the biggest challenge is making sure we have a backup in place for the occasional sick day. Otherwise I feel that our son gets more attention than if he were at a more formal daycare center, and probably gets sick less often, as well.
$5000/1800 = < $3/hr, yes?
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Watty
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Watty »

My wife did not have a real high paying job and wanted to be a stay at home parent anyway so when my son was small she did day care for one or two kids in our home in addition to taking care of our son. The kids were always about the same age as my son so that also gave him someone to play with. One of the problems with our neighborhood was that most of the kids were in daycare so there were few neighborhood kids around during the day or after school for him to play with.

In our state that was legal and did not require a special daycare license if you were below a number of limitations about the number and ages of the kids. We also did all the right paperwork, insurance, and taxes so there was nothing under the table about it.

I don't recall just how the numbers worked out but when my son "graduated from daycare" and my wife went back to work part time there was not a dramatic financial change.

For all the costs and issues with daycare for young kids one thing to start considering early on is what the after school and summer care will be for the kids when they are in middle and high school. There are a lot fewer options for supervised activities then. Having been a teenager once I was well aware of what sort of mischief an unsupervised teenager can get into. :D

Having my wife work part time during his teen years allowed us to limit the amount of unsupervised time he had without becoming helicopter parents.
mcxavierdaniel
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by mcxavierdaniel »

I see the expenses only increasing in our situation. We have a 21 month old. As the kiddo gets older, the costs will seem to grow -> $30 for a box of diapers and formula will transition to costs for sports, dance, or whatever she wants to do or we put her in.

We pay about $6,000/yr in child care. MIL cares for our daughter for about 9 hrs a day while my wife and I are at work. She never really asked for money, so we came up with a rate of $30/day to give her based on what my SIL paid her mother to watch her kids. MIL buys her stuff, outfits, feeds her and gives her all the love and attention anyone could ever ask for. We feel lucky and grateful to be in this situation. We get a little break financially for 3 months the summer, a week at Christmas, and a week during spring break, and random holidays because my wife is a teacher and is off. Interestingly, my wife's brother just had a baby so now my MIL is now watching an infant and my toddler. That's gotta be fun! MIL couldn't be happier though.

Not sure what we'll pay MIL when our daughter transitions to pre school or kindergarden and she has to manage the drop off/pick up duties + aftercare. We have not chosen a preschool or kindergarden yet, so not sure the tuition costs there yet either. The public kindergarden in the area is pretty good so good chance our kid will go there.

Grade School (1-8th grade) will cost us about $45,000. High School (9-12th grade) will cost us another $75,000. These are catholic school rates in our area and we have already decided our kid is going to catholic/private school similar to how my wife and I grew up. We have 90% of this saved up at the moment (obviously this can change if we had another kid or other stuff happens and we need the money). We contribute small to a 529 plan at the moment.
Barefoot
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Barefoot »

margered wrote:When my child left childcare I allocated the savings payment to a savings account. Simplified, fast forward, it paid for college.
Same here. Now they're 23 and 25 and self sufficient out in the real world, and I've even got some money left in the "college savings acct"
stoptothink
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by stoptothink »

mcxavierdaniel wrote:I see the expenses only increasing in our situation. We have a 21 month old. As the kiddo gets older, the costs will seem to grow -> $30 for a box of diapers and formula will transition to costs for sports, dance, or whatever she wants to do or we put her in.

We pay about $6,000/yr in child care. MIL cares for our daughter for about 9 hrs a day while my wife and I are at work. She never really asked for money, so we came up with a rate of $30/day to give her based on what my SIL paid her mother to watch her kids. MIL buys her stuff, outfits, feeds her and gives her all the love and attention anyone could ever ask for. We feel lucky and grateful to be in this situation. We get a little break financially for 3 months the summer, a week at Christmas, and a week during spring break, and random holidays because my wife is a teacher and is off. Interestingly, my wife's brother just had a baby so now my MIL is now watching an infant and my toddler. That's gotta be fun! MIL couldn't be happier though.

Not sure what we'll pay MIL when our daughter transitions to pre school or kindergarden and she has to manage the drop off/pick up duties + aftercare. We have not chosen a preschool or kindergarden yet, so not sure the tuition costs there yet either. The public kindergarden in the area is pretty good so good chance our kid will go there.

Grade School (1-8th grade) will cost us about $45,000. High School (9-12th grade) will cost us another $75,000. These are catholic school rates in our area and we have already decided our kid is going to catholic/private school similar to how my wife and I grew up. We have 90% of this saved up at the moment (obviously this can change if we had another kid or other stuff happens and we need the money). We contribute small to a 529 plan at the moment.
You are extremely fortunate. My in-laws lived with us, completely rent free (we also paid for food, etc.), for most of '16 and my MIL still completely refused to watch our 5 and 2yr old. She said she was going to look for a job...she hasn't filled out a single application (ever, I believe - she's never had a job). They moved out in November and now live <1/2 mile away. Even though they are struggling financially and we offered her $1k/month, she still said no. We'll have to alter our work schedules to take and pick them up from school (well, the bus stops) when the time comes (I am pretty sure even that would be too much to ask of MIL), but we are fortunate to have careers where that is possible.

Current monthly daycare expenses are are equal to all our housing expenses (PITI on 15yr mortgage, HOA, utilities) plus food. It will drastically change our financial situation when it is done.
retireearly
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by retireearly »

I kind of chuckled reading the original post because when we were budgeted 5-7 years ago, we said "in 5-7 years", we will reduce our child care from about 20-25k per year to about 5K! We were excited with the thought of where it would go. However, we had no idea what we had in store even before HS started for two.

-Money into 529
Two sets of braces
-Seemingly unending copays, ER visits, etc
-Summer camps - expensive!
-Clothing, food, etc - even being frugal can add up!
-After school structured (karate, etc)
-Sports - It wasn't like this when I was young but now a lot of sports go year round, travel teams, tournies, hotels,etc (yes, this can be avoided and is certainly a luxury but kids love it, their friends enjoy, etc)...and they work hard a non-academic goals. The equipment that then comes with the sports!

Now, we could probably cut that in half by changing our lifestyles. However, our thought is that if we have the ability to do this, and it is an overall positive to their development, we will. However, we won't do stuff just because we can, however.
Age:45, about to be single for first time since 1995. Kids 8/13. Current AA 70/30, Desired stock AA 50/50, overweight EM, Int SC and US SCV.
czr
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by czr »

I think for younger family bogleheads which are mostly upper middle class, it is an easy math problem to factor in the $800-1200 per kid childcare cost for 5 years. Just adjust and spend less discretionary income. Now consider lower class or single mother families and things become very difficult. I know a middle class couple that racked up the exact amount of cc debt as childcare expenses and can pinpoint it to not budgeting. I think it's pretty normal and try to impart that knowledge to young parents. I, myself, hope to put more towards the mortgage, taxable, and fund the 529 with any extra funds after my two little ones are out of daycare. I still can't fathom how most of America with less than $58k median income does it.
ThinkingRunner
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by ThinkingRunner »

We have not yet graduated out of daycare but will do so next year. We have twins, so double whammy. We opted for a nanny whom we pay about $44K per year. After payroll taxes, UI, worker's comp, etc. this adds up to an astonishing $52K per year. Worth every penny, though.

When kids enter kindergarten, after school care is about $500 per month per child. Since school is in session about 10 months a year, this is about $10K. Summer camp costs about $1000 per month per child, so that's another $4K for 2 months. Even if we spend another $8K per year on activities, occasional babysitters, etc., it adds up to about $22K per year (we are already doing some activities now, so I don't expect that number to jump up a lot).

So it looks like we'll be saving $30K+ per year once the children are in kindergarten. Can't wait!
emoore
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by emoore »

Costs seemed to dip for a few years and then head back up with all the activities and more food and clothing. I think most parents overestimate the savings from daycare costs going away. You don't get back nearly as much as you think.
smitcat
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by smitcat »

"$5000/1800 = < $3/hr, yes?"

That might be - or maybe $9/ hour for 32 hours a week which covers about a third of the year leaving 2/3rds still to go.

"This covers around 35 hours / week (~1,800 / year). We do a background check, get references, etc. Our childcare provider has two kids of her own, and watches ours in addition for some extra income. No problems on reporting income as long as they provide you their SS#. I would say the biggest challenge is making sure we have a backup in place for the occasional sick day. Otherwise I feel that our son gets more attention than if he were at a more formal daycare center, and probably gets sick less often, as well."

If you report income than how do you handle the benefits and meeting minimum wage? Even at $9/hour that 35 hours is 300 weekly or reaching your $5,000 in less than 17 weeks. Which finger printed background check do you use and where is the location that you send them to? Does this neighbor have a curriculum of age appropriate inputs for the kids? What happens when this single person needs to go to the bathroom or has a task to do where they cannot keep an eye on all 3 kids? Who provides the food? Any potential issues will allergies? Has the home care environment been checked for fall hazards, poisons , sharps, access and egress, fire safety and choking hazards?

"This covers around 35 hours / week (~1,800 / year)."
Does this mean 1800 hours a year? That would relate to about $2.77/ hour with no benefits. Sounds both illegal and unethical from what I see.

Kids are the most precious gifts we have - much more valuable then possession's or cash. IMHO - not an area to try and be 'economical' to the point where problems are likely.
mnnice
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Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by mnnice »

stoptothink wrote:
$425/month extra isn't life-changing, but it is more than we spend on food, utilities, and gas...combined.
We have kids ten years older and I can't fathom spending so little on food. I spend more than that feeding my 15 yo and he gets a couple free meals every week at his part time job and buys his own food occasional when out with his friends.
stoptothink
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Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:53 am

Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by stoptothink »

mnnice wrote:
stoptothink wrote:
$425/month extra isn't life-changing, but it is more than we spend on food, utilities, and gas...combined.
We have kids ten years older and I can't fathom spending so little on food. I spend more than that feeding my 15 yo and he gets a couple free meals every week at his part time job and buys his own food occasional when out with his friends.
For a family of four, we spend $225-$300/month on food. There have even been months where we spent <$200. Check the food threads, how we do it has been detailed many many many times.
s0me0nesmind1
Posts: 159
Joined: Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:15 pm

Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by s0me0nesmind1 »

123 wrote:If you have to buy it after-school care isn't cheap either.
My thoughts as well. A lot of kids get out ~3:00 - 5:00... that will never line up with my working life.

Though it may work for my DW some weeks but not all weeks. Either way I think I'm screwed and will have to do after school care. I long for the days when my kids can get on a bus by themselves and come home on a bus by themselves.
Mountain Fiddle
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Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2017 4:00 pm

Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by Mountain Fiddle »

smitcat wrote:"$5000/1800 = < $3/hr, yes?"

That might be - or maybe $9/ hour for 32 hours a week which covers about a third of the year leaving 2/3rds still to go.

"This covers around 35 hours / week (~1,800 / year). We do a background check, get references, etc. Our childcare provider has two kids of her own, and watches ours in addition for some extra income. No problems on reporting income as long as they provide you their SS#. I would say the biggest challenge is making sure we have a backup in place for the occasional sick day. Otherwise I feel that our son gets more attention than if he were at a more formal daycare center, and probably gets sick less often, as well."

If you report income than how do you handle the benefits and meeting minimum wage? Even at $9/hour that 35 hours is 300 weekly or reaching your $5,000 in less than 17 weeks. Which finger printed background check do you use and where is the location that you send them to? Does this neighbor have a curriculum of age appropriate inputs for the kids? What happens when this single person needs to go to the bathroom or has a task to do where they cannot keep an eye on all 3 kids? Who provides the food? Any potential issues will allergies? Has the home care environment been checked for fall hazards, poisons , sharps, access and egress, fire safety and choking hazards?

"This covers around 35 hours / week (~1,800 / year)."
Does this mean 1800 hours a year? That would relate to about $2.77/ hour with no benefits. Sounds both illegal and unethical from what I see.

Kids are the most precious gifts we have - much more valuable then possession's or cash. IMHO - not an area to try and be 'economical' to the point where problems are likely.
With days off, etc., the actual total comes to $30/day/child, which is a typical rate around here for in-home care. State law allows up to four unrelated children in an at-home daycare, which would amount to $120/day (we provide the food). I don't see what is unethical about that. Also, I completely agree that daycare is not the first place to save costs, and we completely trust our provider . . . more than we would trust a stranger at a large formal daycare center.
smitcat
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Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 9:51 am

Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by smitcat »

"With days off, etc., the actual total comes to $30/day/child, which is a typical rate around here for in-home care. State law allows up to four unrelated children in an at-home daycare, which would amount to $120/day (we provide the food). I don't see what is unethical about that.""

I believe you posted that the person only cares for your child in addition to her own that would mean you have exclusive use of her services other than her own family. That would indicate that she is being paid at or near $2.77 an hour as an employee.
We are in NY and the state regs are much different than what you infer.- easily read at the NY OCFS site.
She would need to be registered in this state to be able to operate safely.
What state are you in I would like to read up on those regulations as a comparison?
mnnice
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Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2012 5:48 pm

Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by mnnice »

stoptothink wrote:
mnnice wrote:
stoptothink wrote:
$425/month extra isn't life-changing, but it is more than we spend on food, utilities, and gas...combined.
We have kids ten years older and I can't fathom spending so little on food. I spend more than that feeding my 15 yo and he gets a couple free meals every week at his part time job and buys his own food occasional when out with his friends.


For a family of four, we spend $225-$300/month on food. There have even been months where we spent <$200. Check the food threads, how we do it has been detailed many many many times.
You are missing my point which is that your 5 year old is likely to go from eating a third of what an adult does to twice what an adult does. Meals that a year ago would have leftovers for lunch for one or two people now are completely consumed and people are rummaging around for fruit or toasting some bread. I'm not complaining or struggling with our grocery budget. I am resigned to having it be the biggest expense until our nest empties out.
stoptothink
Posts: 15368
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:53 am

Re: How did graduating out of daycare impact your finances?

Post by stoptothink »

mnnice wrote:
stoptothink wrote:
mnnice wrote:
stoptothink wrote:
$425/month extra isn't life-changing, but it is more than we spend on food, utilities, and gas...combined.
We have kids ten years older and I can't fathom spending so little on food. I spend more than that feeding my 15 yo and he gets a couple free meals every week at his part time job and buys his own food occasional when out with his friends.


For a family of four, we spend $225-$300/month on food. There have even been months where we spent <$200. Check the food threads, how we do it has been detailed many many many times.
You are missing my point which is that your 5 year old is likely to go from eating a third of what an adult does to twice what an adult does. Meals that a year ago would have leftovers for lunch for one or two people now are completely consumed and people are rummaging around for fruit or toasting some bread. I'm not complaining or struggling with our grocery budget. I am resigned to having it be the biggest expense until our nest empties out.
So, you are saying that my 5yr old daughter is likely to eat several times more than her 6'1" 210lbs. powerlifting father? As a single man 4yrs ago, I would usually spend ~$120/month. I have a fairly decent idea about how much kids eat, having been one, and also having spent a large part of my career managing public school meal programs (hence, why I am very knowledgeable at keeping food costs low). Due to how/what we eat, there is simply no way increased food costs come remotely close to cancelling out the savings from no more childcare.
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