Was in a similar situation and I decided it wasn't worth it for me to continue to work. I couldn't justify spending over half of my salary for some one else to take care of my dc. At times, we have to make sacrifices but nothing major, and we know this is temporary and we will be able to enjoy certain "luxuries" when I return to work in a few years. Also my husband and I made the decision that 2-4 years of having only one income to contribute to retirement accounts will not impact us that significantly, considering I would not have been able to contribute all that much while I was working and paying for childcare. You really just have to think about what is best for your family, how easy it will be to re-enter the work force, and what you think you will need as a woman/wife/mom to stay balanced.

Our daycare is about 1/2 of my take home.

HOWEVER - I have a lot of pre-tax deductions. Health care, 401k, life insurance, social security, etc. DH is a 1099 and doesn't have healthcare. I also have a very flexible job and WAH.

So - it wasn't a choice, really, we needed to both work mainly for the health insurance (DH stayed home for a couple months between contracts, but that was with one kid and it was an...interesting experience Regardless he enjoys working too.)

But the long term effects were a big factor too. Not only would we continue to contribute to social security and our 401ks, so that retirement savings would continue, but we also had insurance and job security. Seeing how our first kid was born in 2008, GOOD LUCK if I would have tried to pop back in the job market now or in the next couple years, when both my kids will be in school. (I am fairly risk averse, and couldn't handle relying on one income PLUS making my own situation less predictable).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you calculating child care as if it should be counted only against your salary?

Why don't you clarify your question? Do you mean to ask, "Why are not including your spouse's salary with yours when counting against the cost of daycare?" if this isn't what you mean, then ask with more specific language.

She did mention HHI. Come to think of it, we don't know if this question is from the father.

OP, do you have a sense of how hard it would be to reenter your profession if you took time to stay at home with your child/ren? For me, this is one key issue. The other is how much I find my job rewarding or satisfying.

I work part-time, and my income fluctuates dramatically. I continue to pay for full-time childcare for my kids so that I can take on more work when it is available. Sometimes my childcare costs are about a third of my income, and sometimes they are more like two thirds. For me, paying for child care is an investment in my career so that I can continue to build my cv and have fresh contacts, as well as doing work that I enjoy.

My kids are 5 and 3. I took 6 months maternity leave for each but felt that I shouldn't quit even when I was essentially bringing home fast food wages. Good jobs are hard to come by and keep in my industry. Kids are in public preschool now and financially things have improved 90%. We are saving for retirement, investing, and are able to go on vacations. I am able to replace a worn out purse or old swimsuit or plan a weekend outing without worrying my account will be overdrawn. Big things are still stressful because of the $ commitment involved, like renovations to our old fixer upper and needed a car that is not 20+ years old.
HOWEVER I would never diss a SAHM or D for making that trade-off. Every day I am frustrated by the little things like not getting enough time at home with the kids in the afternoon, having to rush to do simple errands or chores, and not having more energy for DH. I feel like, if your decision is NOT truly out of financial need, you would be lucky to be able to follow your emotions.

The bottom line is that if you want to stay home and you can manage on one income, take a break. If you don't really think you want to be home, then as long as you're not paying more for childcare than you make and it eats into mortgage, bills, etc. then keep working.

I make 100 percent of our income, so staying home isn't an option. Even if it were, I'm not cut out to stay at home all day with a small child. In another generation, I'd have definitely had help in the house.

totally understand OP, I am a shift worker with a 7mo. Currently she only has to go to a baysitter 10 days a month for 8.5 hours a day.
They might change our schedule in Jan to shorter shifts and 5 days a week.
I would have to weigh up whether its worth it to me to pay for full time childcare and be away from my child more often....Its hard.
Childcare would be about half my income too.

This is a very anti-SAHM board OP so you are unlikely to get a balanced answer. Many women would not want to be at home with their kids regardless of income threshhold. You need to make the decision that is right for you. There are benefits to being at home for some people. A reduction in stress, more family time, less chaotic mornings and evenings, greater influence in raising children, spending more time with the kids...depending on your view there can be positive mental health and relational outcomes as well. You need to weigh what the benefits to you would be against the priority you place on wealth and climbing the corporate ladder.

Childcare costs are short-term. The consequences of leaving the workforce are long-term. (Not that you can never go back - just that in many cases, you can't just hop back into the same spot on the ladder.)

Anonymous wrote:Why are you calculating child care as if it should be counted only against your salary?

Why don't you clarify your question? Do you mean to ask, "Why are not including your spouse's salary with yours when counting against the cost of daycare?" if this isn't what you mean, then ask with more specific language.

Why are you calculating child care as if it should be counted only against your salary?

You have to look at the long term, not just the current balance sheet. For me there are 3 big issues:

--If I take a few years off now it will be very hard for me to get back into my field, and even if I could I would be making a lot less money than if I'd stayed the whole time. (This isn't unique to my field/career, but of course there are exceptions.)

--It would be hard for us to keep up with our current level of retirement contributions, especially the portion my employer matches. I'm not comfortable with dialing back retirement savings.

--DH is healthy, our marriage is strong, and his job is fairly secure, but you never know. We have cash on hand to cover about 4-6 months of expenses (depending on how frugal we are), but I would want it to be a full year at least before I would think about quitting.

Obviously you may be in a different position than we are. But either way you need to consider the long-term implications of quitting rather than just how much is coming in and going out each month.

Anonymous wrote:It's hard to put a monetary figure on mental health. I for one, would make a horrible SAHM. My job doesn't pay that much more after you add up commuting costs, nanny costs and clothing costs, but my job provides the health insurance and the daily 8+ hours of interaction with adults is worth the salary to me.

This.

Do what's best for you and your family.

It's hard to put a monetary figure on mental health. I for one, would make a horrible SAHM. My job doesn't pay that much more after you add up commuting costs, nanny costs and clothing costs, but my job provides the health insurance and the daily 8+ hours of interaction with adults is worth the salary to me.

Is there a certain income you have to earn over your childcare costs to make it worthwhile for you to continue working? In my case care costs a little over half of my income and about a quarter of our HHI and I am seriously tempted to quit.