Reply to How much money did you lose each year by working during the preschool years?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I really hate when I hear people say it made sense to stay home because their salary was less than daycare cost. The is a myopic view that overlooks the lifetime compounding effects of raises, retirement contributions, etc. and the impacts of time out of the labor market on long-term earnings and career trajectories. Not to mention for some the mental health benefits of having time away from kids and something else to focus on. If you exit the labor market because you want to stay home with your kids, that's fine. But be realistic about the reasons and the tradeoffs.[/quote]

I'm the poster who turned down a 112k job. Clearly I could have paid for daycare, but with my spouse essentially unavailable for regular dropoffs or pickups, I didn't think that amount of money was worth it to have my kids in daycare for 10 or 11 hours a day, 5 days a week. There's sometimes more to life than money. [/quote]

Sometimes. It’s all about trade offs. You may or may not get the opportunity to make that kind of money again. It may or may not matter to you because of what your spouse makes.

But one thing remains true - the longer you’re out of the workforce, the harder it is to get back in at any level. Maybe it works out and your spouse earns enough to carry you through retirement, maybe it doesn’t and you find yourself back at work in an entry level gig at 55. Most people don’t regret the time they spent with their families, but people do kick themselves for not looking out better for their interests all the time. [/quote]

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