Working parents with tight budgets-Any suggestions?

[new york momma]

Hi, Someone in the pregnancy section suggested I cross-post this message in your forum-they said you all had a lot of good ideas.

My husband and I are private school teachers in New York City. Our income affords us a very tiny one bedroom apartment in Harlem and some small luxuries, but no car and little savings. We are so pleased that after 9 years of marriage, we are expecting our first child in November.

Because we won't be able to pay the rent and basic bills (ie. grad school loans) without my income, I will need to return to work as soon as possible after delivering. We have no family members or close friends in the state so unfortunately, we will need to place our baby in a nursery very soon after birth. I'm worried about paying for the nursery. I also think we will eventually need a two bedroom apartment for our family, which is very expensive in New York City.

I plan on going on disability for 12 weeks when the baby is born, but the disability check is only 20% of my regular income. My school has no maternity leave or compensation.

Any suggestions on how to make ends meet?
-Much gratitude to the forum.

[kriket]

would you mind posting your budget? I'm sure we could help from there!

[aslyn]

I would look into any childcare subsidies your state can help you with. Generally you can make a fair amount of yearly income and still get a subsidy (even if it's only $100 a month off the day care bill) As for housing, You can set up the baby in your room (co-sleep or put a crib in your room) or the living room/area for at least the first 6months to a yr. When we had my first DD we had an efficiency apartment (basicly a bedroom,bathroom and a kitchen) for the first 8 months of her life. I would suggest looking in a close suburb area that has a good transportation line and some cheaper rental properties. I have never lived in NYC so I am not sure what types of areas you would find that but at least here if you live in the city of Cleveland some areas are much more expensive or about the same rent wise as in the suburbs and most of the adjoining cities to Cleveland have a decent busline.

Above all else take it 1 day at a time, by the time the LO gets here you may be in a very different situation.

[eirual]

If you see this storm on the horizon, start preparing for it now though! Take a close look at your spending and try to cut back and bring in some extra income (tutoring maybe?) while you can. I couldn't imagine doing childcare with your first newborn while you're still getting to know one another, but after you settle into a groove, maybe it would make more sense to take a few children into your home instead of returning to work? Depending on their ages, you could bring in $100/day if you stay home with your babe and a few others vs. paying for someone else to watch yours (which may be alright if you find the right person and your salary justifies it).

As far as first children go, it's kind of a rite of passage to get every baby gadget on the market and need the space to house it all, but if I were to do the infant thing again I'd be comfortable with only the following items: sleepers, a couple dozen pre-fold diapers, a small chair/bouncer to place the baby when need be, a few receiving blankets, and a good carrier. Really, when you breastfeed and co-sleep you need little more than that (except for a good pump if you do plan on returning to work- shop around, you can find them used or I've heard of subsities that will even provide one for you)! You can save a lot of your money and space if you keep the materialism/societal norms in check.

[TiredX2]

This is going to be a little bit more extreme...

Are you both certified teachers? Given you have no friends or family in the state, why don't you move? Most places in the country two full time certified teachers would not be straining to afford a two bedroom appartment. I understand that NYC is a wonderful experience, but have you at least considered somewhere with a lower COL?

[Smithie]

I'd look at moving to a cheaper COL area if one or both of you is certified, too.

And honestly, if you are NOT certified and have a tremendous education debt to deal with, then it's probably time for one of you explore a career with more income potential, and the other one to explore being a SAHP by day and tutor/adjunct by night. FT child care in NYC is going suck up one whole private-school-teacher salary, I am almost sure. Add it the other costs of working and the time spent away from your baby, and it's just a bad deal from every angle not to have a SAHP. (Note: YOUR HUSBAND CAN BE THE SAHP. Much as I love breastfeeding, boobs are not a 100% job requirement for SAHPs).

The one-bedroom apartment is seriously the least of your problems right now. I don't think you have a solid handle on what FT daycare is going to cost you financially, timewise and emotionally, if you think that keeping that second private-school salary and having two FT WOHPs is going to be a net positive.

If my assumptions are completely off-base and you are making 60k/year or something, then my apologies and feel free to ignore my post.

[kriket]

out of curiosity, I googled here is what I saw

Large cities such as Boston and New York are most expensive, with average daycare costs of a little more than $1,000 a month. Contacting two KinderCares in the San Jose area about infant day care, we received quotes of $300-$330 a week, plus annual fees.

http://www.costhelper.com/cost/child...-day-care.html

I don't know what teachers make these days, but that's more than DH and I make.

I will mention, most (not all) parents that both work play "swap the baby" where one works days, and the other nights, or M-W-F and T-H-S or something like that. I don't see another way to have 2 FT parents working, and not have opposite schedules! It makes you feel like you are a single parent that has a really bitchin' nanny. It's hard on your relationship, but you figure it out and make it work.

One of you may consider work at home tutoring? I hear there is money to be made there! With all the kids doing online school it only makes sense. That's what my DH and I do. I WAH online, (and go to school online) and he WOH 2 part time jobs. One is delivering the newspaper, so he is working while DS and I are sleeping. I work when he and DS are sleeping in the evening. Which is what I SHOULD be doing now

[Om Girl]

Both DH and I work OOH and we have a pretty tight budget. However after the first babe we noticed that we were spending less money on "luxuries" than we had pre-baby.

First things first: I would highly suggest getting on a waiting list at a reputable child care facility...they sometimes have wait lists as long as a pregnancy lasts! You can always decline the offer when your spot comes up (if something changes in the future) Many sites require a deposit to hold your spot, so thinking of that when you budget. Find out their rates and start saving that amount of money each month and living off the rest of your salaries now to see if it's actually feasible. Also many states have child care subsidies to help offset the cost of childcare, and there's a childcare tax credit as well. (Some FSA-flexible spending accounts allow you to use your pre-tax FSA money to use for childcare, that may be an option for you)

Also you need to start saving for the amount that you'll be required to pay for the birth...insurance companies typically cover 100% of prenatal care, but only 80% of the birth. Call your insurance company and ask now, then you can start saving so you're not hit with an un-expected medical bill after the birth.

Babies don't really require a lot of stuff...they need food, clothing, diapers, a place to sleep and a loving caregiver.
The big budget items for most simplifying/frugal families is: breast pump (check if your insurance company will help with the cost), co-sleeper/pack-n-play/crib, diaper system (cloth diapers can be economical, but most daycare facilities will not/are not allowed to utilize them, check with yours).

You can make it work, but sometimes its tight and a little stressful making sure that all the bills get paid on time.

[bluebunny]

According to one internet site, the average teacher salary in NYC is $57K. I've lived in the city and my one-bedroom apartment rent was $1750 per month and that was ten years ago. NYC is such an expensive city to live in. The good thing is that you don't really need a car.

As others have mentioned, have you looked into moving to a lower COL area? Even central NJ would be less expensive than NYC.

In the mean time, can you save as much as possible so that you have some cushion while on leave? And I'll echo what others have said about getting on wait lists for childcare now.

These ladies are great with budgets if you want to post yours.