Income for single mom in DC

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Infant child care is the highest in DC, averaging around $1200-1800 a month. I say $200k is the needed salary with the cost of living.

LOL what? I'm not a single mom but my husband and I don't earn that much combined.

OP, I'd say $80-100K is a good range if you want to be comfortable. If you're ok with tightening your belt, $60K would be sufficient. You have lots of options WRT where you live and childcare. I toured an in-home daycare that would have cost $185/week for my infant. And of course there are still plenty of areas in the DC metro area that are not exorbitantly expensive.

Best wishes to you!

I actually agree with this. I'm a single mom and was making $190K before I got DOGEd. We were not that comfortable, financially. We live in a small condo and always had plenty for essentials but never had enough for things like trips or electronics or meals out.

Keep in mind that a single mom has to pay for things that you don't have to pay for in a family with 2 adults -- extra child care costs, extra fees for convenience (like grocery delivery when your child is sick). It's more expensive to be a single parent.

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07/01/2025 14:01

Subject: Re:Income for single mom in DC

quote

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:You can do it for cheap...

$150-200/ week daycare (in-home daycares are what I used for low cost)
I used reusable diapers at home, diapers at the daycare
Breastfeed (you will need to eat more food though)

If you want to travel, the prices will be double but you can do things on the cheap side (Amtrak has 1/2 price kids seats til their 12)

Double cost of food depending on what you eat. I cook ever meal now so that saves money. Also not really drinking/partying saves money too.

Spend time at parks and libraries. DC is great for free museums!

Housing... With just 1 child, it's easier to rent an attic, basement, even a room. I have done swaps where we live somewhere for free in exchange for me babysitting/petsitting but I could have my child with me.

You make do with what you have to do. The love of a child is priceless ❤️

This person is clearly married. I think you're getting some bad advice here, OP. OP cannot babysit in exchange for a free place to live because then she would have no income. She also likely cannot cook every meal if she's working full time and parenting full time. There are enough hours in the day.