[nichole]

Hello,

I have been staying home for five years. This might sound bad, but I am bored of it. In addition, we could use some extra income right now because we are trying to save for a down payment on a home.

So...here is my problem. Since I have been staying home for so long, I do not know if I can get a job that will cover daycare. If I work full time, we will definitely eat out more, but we already eat out a few nights a week anyway. I guess we need to stop doing that

So what kind of salary or part time wage do you think I would need to cover child care expenses? We live in Delaware.

For now, I am not considering doing opposites from my husband, b/c he wants to make sure we have plenty of family time. Maybe we will change our mind, but for now, I am looking for something to do during the day. I guess I am in the information seeking phase of this decision. Thank you for any advice you can offer.

 

[Alyantavid]

I think it varies so much by where you are, you might not get a real accurate answer.

I pay $16.50 per day for my not quite 3 year old. He goes 4 full days a week and stays home with dh the other day.

Dh and I worked opposite shifts for awhile. We still used daycare though so that he could sleep and go to school. And it was rough. It can be done obviously, but if you do go that route, just be patient.

 

[slsurface]

Ditto, research daycare options to find out how much it will cost. The cheapest daycare around here is $30/day. We've paid as much as $45 per day. It stinks.

You could also try working PT in the evenings, opposite your DH, at first. Then you wouldn't have the daycare costs and you'd get out of the house and bring in some extra $$. Good luck.

 

[earthyamber]

My husband and I are full-time college students and do opposite shifts and when we worked, we did opposite shifts as well. We live in WA state and daycare costs $20-35/day here for one child.

 

[Kristine233]

Here its $3 an hour per child.

What line of work are you looking into? Are you particular about the job field or just wanting to get out of the house and get some extra income? I'm a preschool teacher for the YMCA and they provide all their YMCA staff with free childcare.

 

[kilamonster]

I pay 640/month right now but we are moving to a new daycare in August that doesn't make me pay for the summer (I'm a teacher) and it is $710 a month.

 

[snapper mamma]

It can even vary within your area based on what kind of care you choose. For example my kids school charges $900/month PER child for a montessori school that also begins with care for infants and then goes to age 6. The hours are from 8-4.

Previously we paid a woman $40/day to watch one child in her own home.

My BFF pays around $500/month per child for a full-time daycare run by a local church.

I would suggest making visits and see if you can find a fit for you rfamliy and budget and then see how long it takes to get you rkids in. Around here the places I felt comfortable with all had waiting lists.

 

[Lauren710]

We pay $228/week at a center (she's there 5 days, DH and I are both full-time grad students). We went daycare shopping a few months before DD was born and the cost seems pretty average for our area, perhaps a home daycare would be less expensive.

 

[~pi]

I would research costs in your area.

In my area (large city in Canada) we pay $850 a month for our nearly 3 y.o. When he was under 2.5, it was $1050 a month. This is at a centre. (Infants are ~$1400 a month in our area.)

When we had him in home care, we paid $50/day, which is a little high for our area, but from my perspective, the people caring for him were doing the most important thing of all the things we paid for, and although it was a stretch, we could afford it, so we happily paid. We gave bonuses, too -- as much as we could reasonably afford.

 

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

You definitely need to do some research in your specific area. If you know moms with kids about your age who use daycare, you can just ask them. Or call a convenient center and a neighborhood homecare and ask. You don't have to make any sort of commitment, just say that you are investigating options and need a figure for your budget.

You say you have been home for 5 years? So is your child 5 years old? If so, maybe you are only looking for after school care? Or would be after September? That can be a whole 'nother ballgame, so be sure you are considering the right things.

Also, it gets increasingly difficult to cover childcare the more children you have.

 

[AlwaysByMySide]

I continue to struggle with daycare. (Working opposite shifts isn't an option; I am a single mom.)

Daycare in a center here runs, at the cheapest, $175/week for the first child, with sometimes a 5-10% discount for the second. So, at least $300/week for my kids. By the time I work 40 hours during the week, if they were in a regular daycare, I'd clear about $100/week, not counting expenses.

Right now, my kids go to a pregnant girl's house, and I pay her about $50/day, if they are there the whole day. (On the days they aren't there all day, she just tells me how much she wants, and that's what I pay.) The only thing is that my kids don't interact with other kids, but that's the tradeoff. (There aren't any home daycares in my immediate area.)

 

[2xshy]

It varies so much, here (quebec, Canada) there is subsidized day care at 7$ a day but the wait lists are 2+ years, if you go private and are in certain income brackets you can get a whole lot credited back k to you on your tax return or forwarded to you quarterly. So for me to send DD to a private 35$/day daycare I end up paying 7.50$/day which will work well for me when the time comes.

 

[lisac77]

I'm in a suburb of Dallas. The least you pay for an infant in center based care is $300 per week. I paid $188 per week for DS when he was 4. It's incredibly expensive.

 

[nichole]

I emailed the YMCA about a job listing, but the position has been filled.

I will still have my 2 year old at home, but I kind of want to start this summer so I would have two in day care. I don't know if I can go through with it. It is such a big change, BUT, like someone said I need to get out of the house more and we could use the money.

When I got pregnant, I was graduating from college. Other than daycare, I think the line of work I am most cut out for is translating, tutoring, or a secretary. The kids need something, but I will have to do more brainstorming later. I'm just worried I can't bring in enough money to cover daycare, but I guess I won't know until I ask around.

 

[Selesai]

Have you thought about doing something part-time, just a few days a week?

 

[nichole]

Yeah, I would really like to do something part time, even if it is something like working at the Health Food store or vitamin shoppe. I just don't think I can pay a babysitter enough with that kind of wage. My husband wants us to have our evenings and weekends free. That is why he took a pay cut so we can spend more time together (upon my request actually). We are going to be okay, but we will be living with his parents a few months while we save up for a down payment or find something affordable. There was one foreclosure that would have been perfect, but somebody already scooped it up. I am doing a pantry challenge and am going to really try to cook every night.

I emailed a translation agency on a whim. Maybe if they do not hire me, someone there will give me some tips. Translation seems to be really competitive. I would like to get some more experience or schooling under my belt before I freelance.

It might just be easier to wait until both my boys are in school, but I guess I will just keep an eye out. I did see one job that would be perfect for me, but the commute would be too far.

 

[guestmama9915]

Yea, it's really quite a balance most of the time, and varies SO much. I pay $546 a week for my 3 kids, all still preschool age and younger. I SO cannot wait until kindergarten starts... You could hone some skills for when you DO return to work, work on a degree if you don't have one, etc.

 

[jitterBug mom]

You should see if you or your DH would have a dependent care expense account through work (flex account), which allows you to pay for child care pre-tax and save some money that way.

I pay $31 a day for home based care, a center would have cost a lot more. I found a website for Minnesota at the time that gave average rates by the county and neighborhood, and also a directory of licensed care providers.

If you have something like a Workforce Center in your state, the job counselors might have ideas about jobs where you get free or reduced daycare as part of the job. It isn't very common, but occurs sometimes at places with their own daycare centers like colleges, fitness centers, and some large corporations. I've also heard of part time mamas "swapping" child care services with each other.

Good luck!

 

[Leta]

The cheapest daycare I have ever run across was $20 a day, with something of a discount for multiple children, or $4 per hour. I also know of two families who shared a nanny, and that was pretty affordable, but also a unique situation.

 

[misswerewolf]

i think that the cost of daycare really depends on where you live. For my area, daycare or preschool runs anywhere from $1700-2000, depending on the age of the child (cheaper for older kids). In-home care is usually cheaper, but I have not looked into that option. There is also nanny-share as another possibility.