Cost of returning to work?

[goodygumdrops]

Ok mamas, I need your help with this. We are pretty darn broke and we have been discussing me returning to work. I have a BA in Humanities, which is a pretty useless degree unless I go on for a masters. I actually finished my BA with that intention and then I got pregnant and the rest is history. So, I have applied to a few jobs but the pay is just awful. Most places are advertising between $8-11 and hour. I have seen a few at $13 but not much. So, I have put together a expenses list of what we would expect the cost to be...I was hoping to get some advice on this. It looks like its not even worth it for me to return to work unless I'm missing something.



Cost of returning to work

Fulltime expenses assuming 40 work hours

$30 dollars a week for gas
$50 for lunch and snacks
$1100 Montessori/Daycare 9 -5
$150 work clothes


$1570 per month

Partime expenses assuming 24 work hours

$15 dollars a week for gas
$30 for lunch and snacks
$600+ Montessor/Daycare 3 days at 9-5
$75 work clothes

$855 per month


Fulltime pay at $10 per hour - approximately %20 taxes

Take home pay would be around $1300
Health insurance would be covered

Partime pay at $10 per hour - approximately %20 taxes

Take home pay would be around $770
No health insurance

[Drummer's Wife]

unless I'm understanding wrong it sounds like it would cost you money to work... that you'd earn less per month than your expenses in both full and part-time scenarios.

If you could cut daycare in half I could see it maybe being worth it, but it's wouldn't be montessori and would it be good quality?

ETA: I guess if you need the health insurance bad enough... but have you checked to see if you qualify for any type of state assistance for at least your LO?

[josybear]

lunches & snacks should be cut from that budget. work clothes will not cost you 1800$/ year. (that's 150*12) you could possibly carpool or find public transportation to cut down on gas costs. private school is a luxury, you might have it as a top priority but if you're really that broke it might be time to reshuffle your priorities.

i don't mean to offend you, i just want to be honest. it looks to me like you've skewed your budget to make going back to work look more difficult than it really is. maybe i'm totally off, but could you be inflating the numbers to make it look impossible so people reassure you that you don't have to?

if you're back at work your utility costs will go down some, since you can turn the heat way down and the lights off when you leave for the day. health insurance is a major perk, and some employers have other perks, like discounts on their products or whatever.

feel free to ignore me if you want.

[tamagotchi]

I don't think you should accept a job if you can't even break even... but if you can at least break even, you may want to consider going back to work just for the added job security and health insurance. It will also build your resume so that you may be able to get a better job in the future.

I am a SAHM myself but I am starting to feel that in this economy, it is probably more secure for both partners to hold jobs. If one partner loses their job, at least the family still has one income and one set of benefits.

This is assuming you feel good about the quality of the preschool/daycare you'd be using.

[goodygumdrops]

Originally Posted by josybear

lunches & snacks should be cut from that budget. work clothes will not cost you 1800$/ year. (that's 150*12) you could possibly carpool or find public transportation to cut down on gas costs. private school is a luxury, you might have it as a top priority but if you're really that broke it might be time to reshuffle your priorities.

i don't mean to offend you, i just want to be honest. it looks to me like you've skewed your budget to make going back to work look more difficult than it really is. maybe i'm totally off, but could you be inflating the numbers to make it look impossible so people reassure you that you don't have to?

if you're back at work your utility costs will go down some, since you can turn the heat way down and the lights off when you leave for the day. health insurance is a major perk, and some employers have other perks, like discounts on their products or whatever.

feel free to ignore me if you want.

Well, I have to eat so I dont see how I can take of the lunch and snacks. I mean Im probably going to buy a coffee, here or there. As far as the clothes, I wasnt meaning that I would spend 150 per month...just to start. I dont have any work clothes so I was thinking 150 was a modest amount.

As for public transportation, unfortunately, thats just not an option where we live. As for carpooling, I would have to find a job first I guess to consider that.

As for private school, I think that a regular daycare would run about 900 a month. As for the part time fee, that was taken off a regular day cares website...I was just estimating local daycare/Montessori costs. Its actually cheaper to send your kids to a Montessori program around here. However, I could send my kid to some random person advertising on craigslist for an unreasonably small amount of money and just hope for the best. I have been doing home daycare for the last year and half and I couldn't send my child to someone that I didn't trust.

[1growingsprout]

OK so you need clothes, Target and walmart have professional clothes very reasonably priced these days. $150 can get you an entire closet filled if you shop frugally and carefully.

Your daycare is very expensive. Private school is a luxury, You may need to interview many many providers to find the 'right fit' and there is no guarentee that your private school is going to have care-givers are that excellent either.

You eat lunch now...pack your lunch, the same thing you eat now, just take it with you, get a thermos (under $10 for coffee), take snacks and keep them in your desk.

With a degree in Humanites you can work in almost any field. Customer service will hire, sales will hire you, banking will hire you etc. Its up to you to make yourself marketable to these positions. You have to want the job, you have to want to work.

You say you are doing child care now, so you can even keep with that,extend your hours, take on more kids ect.

What I would do is call around to several daycares that you would consider using, private schools, places like 'tutor time or kindercare' and get some quotes from moms on craigslist. That will give you a better feel of the daycare cost.


Another thing to consider is the possibility of working opposite shifts of your DH, and weekends. There are more hours then the typical 8-6 hrs. This would remove the daycare expense and possibly the cost of professional clothing.

Many offices are casual dress leading to even lower clothing costs.

[goodygumdrops]

Ok so I adjusted this a bit. Assuming that if I take my lunch and eat something like a tv dinner it would be around 7 a day, including drink and coffee. I am trying to be reasonable because even though you bring a lunch from home it still costs money and there are always expenses that you don't think of, yk. I am going to call around today and look at the pricing of some of the local daycares. I did look online at some local pricing from home daycares...thats how I came up with the estimates. Thanks everyone for the ideas...it really helps me put this into perspective.

Cost of returning to work

Fulltime expenses assuming 40 work hours

$30 dollars a week for gas
$35 for lunch and snacks
$1100 Montessori/Daycare 9 -5



$1165 per month

Partime expenses assuming 24 work hours

$15 dollars a week for gas
$21 for lunch and snacks
$600+ Montessor/Daycare 3 days at 9-5

$636 per month


Fulltime pay at $10 per hour - approximately %20 taxes

Take home pay would be around $1300
Health insurance would be covered

Partime pay at $10 per hour - approximately %20 taxes

Take home pay would be around $770
No health insurance

Initial work clothes expense of $150.

[katheek77]

Originally Posted by goodygumdrops

Ok so I adjusted this a bit. Assuming that if I take my lunch and eat something like a tv dinner it would be around 7 a day, including drink and coffee. I am trying to be reasonable because even though you bring a lunch from home it still costs money and there are always expenses that you don't think of, yk. I am going to call around today and look at the pricing of some of the local daycares. I did look online at some local pricing from home daycares...thats how I came up with the estimates. Thanks everyone for the ideas...it really helps me put this into perspective.

Cost of returning to work

Fulltime expenses assuming 40 work hours

$30 dollars a week for gas
$35 for lunch and snacks
$1100 Montessori/Daycare 9 -5



$1165 per month

Partime expenses assuming 24 work hours

$15 dollars a week for gas
$21 for lunch and snacks
$600+ Montessor/Daycare 3 days at 9-5

$636 per month


Fulltime pay at $10 per hour - approximately %20 taxes

Take home pay would be around $1300
Health insurance would be covered

Partime pay at $10 per hour - approximately %20 taxes

Take home pay would be around $770
No health insurance

Initial work clothes expense of $150.

Your math is wrong.

If you're spending $15/week for gas, that's 60+/month. Lunch at $35/week is 140/month. Which comes to 1300/month in expenses

One thing to consider is becoming a private nanny. Some families will be happy to let you bring your child/ren, especially if they are close in age to their kids. I do this, and make more per hour than I did as a public school teacher (how sad is that???), *and* I don't have to pay any day care costs.

I usually work 24 hours/week, and that brings home $1000/month, after taxes.

[Lisa85]

I am trying to be reasonable because even though you bring a lunch from home it still costs money

Right, but even if you're not working, I still assume you eat lunch and that costs money as well. It shouldn't cost you any additional money to bring your lunch to work with you. Soup in a thermos, sandwiches, steam left over veggies in the microwave, etc. You may WANT to buy that coffee now and then, but you really don't need to.

Anymore, it's not WHAT your degree is but that you HAVE a 4 year degree. You don't need to just stick with your field.

Your daycare costs sound very high for your pay. Daycare here can cost at minimum $100/week. Some of those are very good providers and some aren't. Montessori would probably be close to what you said. But you don't NEED Montessori. Its nice if you can afford it, but you can't. I'm having a hard time believing it's the only good option. Maybe there's another SAHM in your neighborhood that wouldn't mind watching dc for you. Stagger you and your dh's work shift to minimize the daycare cost if not completely eliminate it.

Your pay may only start out at $10-$11, but if you're a good employee and don't constantly job hop, you'll be up for promotions, performance raises, bonuses, etc. So even if you break even now or even come slightly under, the added health insurance and foot-in-the-door would be worth it to me.

[maryeliz]

Also keep in mind that jobs can have hidden benefits, in addition to hidden costs. My employer offers a yearly daycare subsidy that equals about one month of care. Perhaps you could find a job with a more flexible schedule that would allow you to use less daycare. I think it's worth applying and seeing what employers can offer you, then you can make the decision about whether or not it makes sense financially.

[mammastar2]

Hey there,

Just wanted to chime in and say that I work about 50 hours a week, and certainly don't spend $21 a week on lunches and snacks! You don't need to purchase tv dinners to bring, just put some leftovers in a tupperware and grab some snacky things from the cupboard.

So far as daycare and clothes go, I suppose it depends on the specific jobs you are looking at - the field, the hours, and so on. Some jobs you can do in sweatpants or jeans, others you need a suit. Some jobs you can work a couple of evenings and a Saturday which, if it's opposite your partner's hours, would cost nothing in childcare.

In that sense, you need to ask yourself not just "what's the cost of going back to work," but instead "what would be the expenses associated with this particular job?" Making $8 an hour at job A (when your partner can do childcare, and you can wear your normal clothes) may make more sense than $15 an hour at job B (planning on private school and suits to wear).

[slsurface]

Try posting your question on the Working Parents form as well...I know I got a lot of great advice before I went back to work full time.

I just wanted to comment that initially, you are likely to have more expenses than income. During that first month, you will have a lot of expenses. These may include: dishes/containers for you and you LO's lunches, 1 week deposit to get started at a daycare (in addition to the normal weekly rate), work clothes (try thrift stores in addition to Target and Walmart - I bought my entire work wardrobe for less than $30), etc.

To make matters more difficult, you may need to pay for daycare for a couple weeks before you actually start seeing paychecks. I got paid bimonthly, plus I had a daycare deposit, so I essentially had to pay for a month of daycare before I ever saw a paycheck. So realize that you might need to dig into savings initially, but you will soon be able to start saving money to make it up.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t think you should work. In the long run, it will probably benefit your family. When looking for a job, try to find one that will allow alternative schedules, such as working 4-10 hour days, or allow you to work from home. Both of these options may allow you to reduce your childcare costs. A friend of mine and his spouse both work 4-10s. This means that they both get one day a week off to be with their DS. Because they have different days off, they only pay for daycare on three days.

Alternatively, you could fund an evening job, so that you had no daycare costs. I worked nights part-time as a tutor for a year before working full time. It was the perfect job because DH could watch DS when I went to work after dinner. I didn't make a lot of money, but I also didn't have to pay for childcare. If there is a college nearby, see if you could put your humanities degree to work tutoring college students.

Also, you are definitely over estimating your weekly/month expenses. I don't eat out and only buy an occasional cheep coffee from my gas allowance. I actually spend less per month on gas than before I worked, because I only drive to work and home. Rarely, I will bring in goodies for co-workers, but that only amounts to less than $10 every other month. You just have to be sure to pack a lunch every day and keep snacks at your desk, that way you won't be tempted to eat out. Both DH and I do this.

When I first started back to work full time, I was convinced that DS needed to be in an expensive private daycare. We did this for several months, until I realized that we just couldn’t afford it and continue to save money like we wanted. So I switched DS to an in home daycare down the street from us. His new DCP used to be a schoolteacher. She is very good with the kids and treats her daycare like a preschool setting, with periods of formal and informal learning and play experiences. I have to say that I am very pleased with that decision. DS is actually happier in that smaller setting, where he gets more attention. He loves his daycare and we are able to save more money. So while it may seem like a private daycare is essential, it is possible to find quality daycare at a lower cost…you just have to do your homework (so to speak).

Lastly, your local government may offer childcare scholarships. I know that my city offers several scholarships for low- and middle-income families. It is worth looking into.

I hope some of this info will help you make a decision. Let us know what happens. Good luck!

~S

[EFmom]

I agree with the others in that it costs nothing more to eat at work than it does to eat at home. You just need to make a little effort to pack something. I have a hot pot in my office and make tea for pennies. I don't fork over $4/day for coffee.

Your daycare sounds very high to me.

[Alyantavid]

Ok so I adjusted this a bit. Assuming that if I take my lunch and eat something like a tv dinner it would be around 7 a day, including drink and coffee. I am trying to be reasonable because even though you bring a lunch from home it still costs money and there are always expenses that you don't think of, yk.

Just pack up what you'd normally eat for lunch. Me working full time only costs us daycare and gas. Which I'd use the gas anyways, getting my oldest to the school bus. I very very rarely ever buy lunch, its always something from home. Once in a while I do get breakfast, but not very often.

My daycare costs less than $300 a month, 4 days a week. Its the best daycare in town and almost impossible to get into. I know we have a fairly low cost of living here but all the daycares I've priced in this area are roughly the same.

You could always work opposite shifts. Honestly, it sucks but it is possible if you really do need to work. At this point, while I hate my job, I will not leave it. I think right now is the time to have a stable job.

[Citymomx3]

I went back to work after 12 years as a SAHM. I homeschool so I chose part-time and wanted evenings and weekends. My hours are 6-10pm Mon-Thu, and 2-6pm Saturdays. It works perfectly for our family and still leaves us plenty of family time (we're all night owls, lol, and do tons of together stuff on Saturdays and Sundays). I just go to work when dh gets home. Not a big deal (I love it, actually) and I found something making WAY more than $10/hr.

I eat at home (maybe I'll spend a dollar or 2 per day at work)
Part-time work almost anywhere wouldn't require a professional wardrobe. Most want casual and neat - both of which can be done very cheaply. Gas prices are down (for now) and day care, well, you tend to get what you pay for. I'd still look for cheaper options in the area - ask around. Is there a spouse involved here who has health insurance that covers you and the kids?

Don't limit your options.

[madskye]

Also--think about what you want to do, ideally.

My good friend had to go back to work after 13 years, and ideally she wanted to work at a non-profit doing events. She didn't think it would pay enough to make it worth while, but lo and behold--she did get a salaried position doing events at a non-profit making over $40K to start.

Assess what skills you've gained over the past few years, think about who you know in your community, what needs you see that you could fill--there might be something out there that you'd really enjoy doing and you can make the needed dollars as well.

Also--I'm in NJ and your daycare sounds right on to me. A lot depends on where you live.

[slsurface]

Originally Posted by Alyantavid

My daycare costs less than $300 a month, 4 days a week.

Wow, that's what a week of a private school daycare costs here. I think the costs is very relative to the region you live in. I would say a the average daycare costs between $150 to $200 a week where I live. So, the OP will have to research daycare options thoroughly before making a decision.

[bobandjess99]

You need to find a way to work without daycare, or with very limited daycare, if you can. I assume you have a dh/partner, since you said "we" were discussing it....so here's what you do.
you work opposite.
It sucks, cuz you dont get to see your dp except when you are handing off the kid so one of you can run off to work, but it's not as horrible as it sounds, really. Especially if you only do it for a year or 2, maybe to get out of a situation and get back on your feet, etc.
when does dp work? standard 8-5 "days"? nights? Heck, does he work weekends? If he doesn't, then the simplest thing is to just get a weekend PT job for you..that way you dont have to worry about switching off on the weekdays at all, and get family dinners or breakfasts together, etc.

I agree you can just bring your lunch, wth maybe a small $5 bidget for the occasional treat, and even if you land a truly professional PT job, you can get clothes for a lot less at a thrift/consignment store, which you have already stipulated. Gas will be an expense, as will things like possibly more frequent oil changes and maintenance, due to increased usage.

i work PT around my DH's schedule, with a liberal arts/humanities bachelor degree, for $13 per hour, and bring home a gross pay of about $400-$500 per month. That money is essential to our household budget.

how old is your child and do they sleep through the night or get up looking to you for comfort or milk? if not, an early morning paper route might be an easy bet to work around dp's schedule, unless he works early first shifts..my dh sometimes adds in a paper route before work, because it brings in $100 a week between teh hours of 3am and 7am.....

Or I know another family who has the dh work first, and the mom wortks second shift ( at the same place) and so they get daycare for one hour each day..the mom drops kid off in order to get to work on time, and dad then gets off work and gets kid on way home...they pay like $30/week for that 1 hour. A situation like that might work for you....

[Mosaic]

I think the kicker here is in the math. For daycare, you generally pay by the week/month, but your salary is by the hour. There are 261 work days in 2009, which, on a monthly basis, ends up being $1392/month (and in truth, only Feb. has 20 working days, so some months it could be as high as $1472). If you can type at home after the kids are in bed, etc., you can easily rack up more than 40 hrs/week, too.

I can't tell from your post if daycare is $1100/month or $275/week (which translates into$1192/month at the end of the year). If you want to look at things on a monthly level, this may be a slightly better approach.

I agree 100% with what folks said about eating costs, gas, daycare, etc. Yes, there are ways you can cut down. That said, my daycare (both the good one now and the sucky one breaking state regulations we had before) definitely cost more than $275/week, and it's not the most expensive in the area by far. And while I don't spend a penny on food/coffee during the work week, I admit buying bagged salads, jarred spaghetti sauce, and other "convenience" foods because working fulltime just doesn't give you the time to do those cost-saving measures that you would normally for dinner prep. So $35 is not an unreasonable estimate, imo.

So, basically, the upshot is that you have to, and I believe you CAN, find a job that will pay more than $10/hr. Either that or get different work hours, overtime, etc.

[I~love~pie]

You need to find a way to work without daycare, or with very limited daycare, if you can. I assume you have a dh/partner, since you said "we" were discussing it....so here's what you do.
you work opposite.
It sucks, cuz you dont get to see your dp except when you are handing off the kid so one of you can run off to work, but it's not as horrible as it sounds, really. Especially if you only do it for a year or 2, maybe to get out of a situation and get back on your feet, etc.>>>>>>>>>

It really doesnt suck. I did this for 13 yrs. I didnt work full time. I still had 3-4 days off so its not like I never saw anyone. the upside , I never put any of my kids in daycare or had anyone eles watch them, I was home by 10pm at the latest. really the only downside was I missed a couple of dinners a week. which as long as there is one parent there to discuss the day with the kids I think that is ok, I was there the other 4 nights.
Even if you just get a weekend job(+1 night a week) while your spouse is home would give you more take home pay than what you have listed, with all your extra costs.