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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Daycare is the cost of working split between both parents. It’s not a cost that’s only charged to women. Ugh!![/quote]

It is a cost that only needs to occur if both parents work. Don't make it about sexism. It's math.[/quote]

DP and sure, but this thread presumes it comes out of the woman’s salary.  If you want to do the math, do the math for both partners to work vs. not, and the costs for both of them.  Include things like retirement savings, increased social security, etc., on the benefits side.

There are less tangible benefits to working for many people.  I don’t know if I could put a specific dollar amount on the meaning I derive from using my graduate degree to (hopefully) make the world a better place, but I sure would miss it if I didn’t work.  [/quote]

What you find are the less tangible benefits are benefits to you but not others.  Regardless of if you work or not, its always good to have education.

Some of us had enough credits for social security before we became SAHM's.  I did.  We still save for my retirement and I have money from when I did work.

It doesn't matter whose money day care comes from but if you look at the total cost of day care vs. the lower earning spouse, then you look at the cost/benefits.  If I was barely making enough to cover day care for one child, what is the point in working?[/quote]

Were you calculating the net present value of all lost wages and social security credits and income when saying that you barely made enough to cover day care for one child? Even with two good incomes, daycare was a strain on our budgets. However, childcare is only expensive the first few years and compared to a lifetime of earning potential, it's good to take the long view.[/quote]

Earlier PP (who referenced less tangible benefits) and right, exactly.  PP was barely making enough to cover daycare costs at that specific point in time.  So was I, when we had our first kid.  Now, 10 years later, I've more than doubled my salary, have a healthy retirement account, and have great prospects for career advancement.  Had I quit 10 years ago because my salary didn't cover daycare, I wouldn't have any of those things.  You've got to take the long-term perspective.  You may still arrive at the same decision, but choosing to leave the workforce has implications beyond the years a child needs FT childcare.

As for those less tangible benefits - they're different for different people.  Some people might REALLY want to stay home with their kids, and so that less tangible benefit outweighs others.  I wasn't saying that my specific ones were what mattered for everyone, but that people need to take those into account beyond the simple mathematics of salary vs. childcare.[/quote]

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