how do you handle the cost of daycare in DC?

[Anonymous]

do you forego a savings account? cut cable? stop eating out? i know this may seem insane but i really want to know! i make a decent salary but when i add up my current spending and bills plus the cost of daycare, i would not be able to save any money while my child is in school (and i'd only be able to save a few hundred if i cut out some of the things mentioned above)

how does everyone deal with paying the high cost of living plus the high cost of daycare here? looking for actual advice and tips on how to make it work! ty

[Anonymous]

We don't eat out. We go on budget vacations rarely. We drive old cars. No cable. No new furniture or other non-needs. We do continue to save money though. That is a priority. It sounds tough but it's not. There are a ton of low/no cost things to do in the area.

[Anonymous]

Wait till you have the second child!

We budgeted big time - cutting coupons, eating out only once a month, no international vacations, buy used stuff (Tot Swap, online yard sales) and just shop when there are steep discounts.

[Anonymous]

We can still save almost the max into TSP and some 529 savings with 290 HHI, but nothing beyond that (we're military). We take small trips to see family and eat out only a couple of times a month. All kids (3) have basic IKEA stuff in their rooms and we use the refinished furniture we inherited. My dream purchase would be a brand new bed/mattress and some IKEA sofas right now, but we can't afford it.

[Anonymous]

We have two in infant and toddler programs and we don’t manage. We cut all of the things discussed. If you have student loans like most working people of childbearing age do, there’s no good answer. My husband and I moved even farther from the city, make good money, and our childcare and my student loan payments are my entire salary. And I’m an attorney. We are just resigned to significant credit card debt and are waiting for them to get older.

[Anonymous]

We live in Brookland and daycare just 15 minute drive away to Hyattsville is half the price...just sayin

[Anonymous]

Post your budget OP and people will have good advice.

[Anonymous]

We barely eat out anymore and cut back everywhere we could - no cable, cheaper cell phone and internet plans, no trips except to stay with grandparents. We do spend money to get a babysitter most weekends for a few hoursand we usually do something free or close to free. That break helps make all this budgeting tolerable.

[Anonymous]

Had kids later so we built up a big nest egg

[Anonymous]

Somehow it works. No more fun stuff, vacations, less eating out, more meal planning, very little saved; I’m in burbs so it’s driving cars until they die.

I’ll feel rich when we get to elementary

We also have student loan debt and a biggish mortgage so we are screwed

[Anonymous]

Maybe I'm not the norm, but a great daycare/preschool that my DD attends is only $1500 per month (Huge savings over what we were paying the nanny!!). HHI is $375k, so with a $4k a month mortgage, 2 cars, and other expenses we still manage to put away over $10k per month. What are your HHI/daycare costs/budgets that it's not working?

[Anonymous]

You have to purchase a home under your budget.

[Anonymous]

Credit cards. And yes, scale back where you can, but do keep netflix or something so you can stream entertainment without paying for a babysitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I'm not the norm, but a great daycare/preschool that my DD attends is only $1500 per month (Huge savings over what we were paying the nanny!!). HHI is $375k, so with a $4k a month mortgage, 2 cars, and other expenses we still manage to put away over $10k per month. What are your HHI/daycare costs/budgets that it's not working?

Yeah, you’re not. Your HHI is high, mortgage relatively low and you have one kid in an inexpensive daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We can still save almost the max into TSP and some 529 savings with 290 HHI, but nothing beyond that (we're military). We take small trips to see family and eat out only a couple of times a month. All kids (3) have basic IKEA stuff in their rooms and we use the refinished furniture we inherited. My dream purchase would be a brand new bed/mattress and some IKEA sofas right now, but we can't afford it.

Unless OP is also military this isn’t going to be equivalent. A good percentage of your HHI, especially in this area isn’t taxable, you may have one or all of your kids at a CDC or be eligible for a DoD subsidy on market, and if you bought your home might not have had to put $$ down. Otherwise without some of those (well-deserved) benefits, maxing your TSPs with three kids in daycare here isn’t that feasible.