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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I really don't get why people think two income earners in a household with kids is not really worth it. I have one child in a licensed in-home daycare for a total of $13,800/year. [For those who think in-home care is "substandard," there's a reputable center even closer to my house that I could send my daughter to (yes, they have openings) for $13k a year, so I'd actually save a bit.]

Since we both work, we're each "paying" $7.5k a year to keep our full time jobs. It's a no brainer that this is financially worthwhile. Even if you wanted to attribute all of the childcare costs to the mother, you could say I "pay" $13k/year to keep my full time job, health insurance for my family, life insurance for us, retirement and a modest pension. Do you know how little I'd have to make for this to not be financially worthwhile? Even if I made that little, I would be eligible for childcare subsidies through my city, my work, and my state + low-income housing + food stamps. All of that would probably still make it worthwhile for me to stay in the work force, contribute to social security, etc.

The vast majority of people staying home with their children and out of the workforce are not doing it to save money. They are doing it because they feel it is the right thing to do, it's what they want to do, or they feel their children need them available and present all day, everyday. But I don't see the point of pretending there's a "two income trap." The numbers just don't add up. [/quote]

It gets a little more complicated if you have two kids, so let's say $26K per year in your situation (5K of which is pretax).  You also need to factor in the wage differential between the higher paid earner and the lower paid earner.  For example, if one makes $100K and the other makes $35K, you're actually losing money by working.  I think the value comes from (1) ability to have continuous insurance if higher earning spouse loses job and (2) ability to stay in the workforce and gain experience/skills which will hopefully translate to higher earnings relative to what you would make had you stayed at home and re-entered the workforce once kids are in school.[/quote]

You're totally right and we're actually expecting our second and our childcare costs will be about $26k/year at that point. It still absolutely makes financial sense for us but I understand for some, it would be cutting it close and so they may think it's all awash, especially if they heavily discount the value of point #2 you raise.

The thing is though, that families in such lower income brackets use different kinds of childcare than those in higher income brackets. I have friends with the husband making 50k, the wife making 5k a year with her part time gigs. They have two kids and they just pay a neighbor $20/day when they need childcare and otherwise stagger their schedules so they don't need it often. It's not licensed childcare, I'm sure plenty of DCUMers would call this "subpar" but it's what a lot of people do, maybe even most people do. That, or they live near family. Honestly, it's a luxury that we're able to afford to live out here on our own and make enough to support ourselves, pay for back up care when our regular is out, etc. Many don't have that luxury and stay closer to home. Assuming that a family making less than half of what we make would consider the same childcare options we do is just not realistic, so we shouldn't really be taking about a family making $60k deciding whether they can afford $26k in childcare expenses every year - they wouldn't even be in the market for that kind of care. [/quote]

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