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@Smurfette: oh, I meant how you pay childcare. It sounds like the process of taking it out is just like how an FSA account is done. So if you have the dependent care account - can you use just like $400 of it each month to pay for childcare? Also, do you know if there are limitations to what type of childcare you have to use (center vs in-home or nanny)?
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@Mrs. Pen: We just pay day care on the 15th and 30th of each month. The FSA money comes back to you, so if you use it to pay for child care then you can. I usually just put in the savings when I remember to transfer it. It is more of the tax benefit. I don't think it limits on what kind of child care.
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...this is why I have no babies yet
I completely understand your frustration!
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Good freaking question. This is the only scenario where my husband's wacky schedule is a good thing. We only need a babysitter 3 days a week for 2 hours at a time.
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@Mrs. Pen: @Smurfette: we can't do an FSA for child care because we use an unlicensed babysitter. I don't know how a nanny would work though...? Maybe it depends on who you have your FSA through.
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Same as @swedishfish: here. My husband has a weird rotating schedule, and we only need a few hours a day. Our current sitter is moving though, so we have to start all over again. It will suck if we end up having to pay a full time center when we only need very limited part time hours.
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@JennyLayneAZ: This is sort of why I've put off having kids sooner, as well.
DH and I sort of structured our careers around being somewhat flexible enough to not have to use day care. I also live in the same neighborhood as my mom, sister and friends. So we hope we can just swing it that way with childcare. My stomach cringes when I think about paying for it otherwise. I'd probably try to find a trusted college girl to use as a nanny if I had to.
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We are very, very fortunate to have family help so we only have to pay for a part time childcare place. Even that is almost as much as our mortgage!
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@grizz: and @swedishfish: I'm hoping my husband's wonky schedule also benefits us in the same way!
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@swedishfish: well... when I was a nanny, my employer had me sign a paper that basically said I provide child care services for her, and that's how she got her reimbursement.
@Smurfette: oh I see! so you pay the daycare upfront, basically, and then submit the payment claims to get reimbursed from the flex account.
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It sucks but I think it's just one of those "what are you going to do" situations. We knew the costs of daycare prior to getting pregnant, and daycare costs factored heavily into our decision of when to have kids. If it wasn't for daycare costs we probably could have had them a lot sooner.
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@Mrs. Pen: Yep! Sorry should have said that upfront!
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I don't know how to answer the question other than we can afford it without cutting out extras and still saving for the long term.
We still have cable, we still go on vacations, I shop. I don't know, we don't do anything special.
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@looch: same here.
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I had to get a new job! Originally we planned to save up enough to cover the first 6 months, then we were just gonna have to make it work. I ended up getting a new job at 7 months pregnant, making 20% more, and it saved our butts. We are still on a budget, don't have cable, etc...but yeah, if I hadn't gotten this job, we'd have been in bad shape.
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We can't! so we work opposite schedules and I'm part time. We make it work though.
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We pay $2300 a month for part time day care (4 days/week) in London, England. It's crazy expensive and it's our savings that take a hit. And also as many PPs have said, we don't go out as much or spend as much on weekends away, cinema, concerts etc.
I'm pregnant with nr 2 and when I go back to work almost my entire pay check will go to daycare fees. I consider this a temporary investment, which will enable me to earn significantly more in coming years. If I take a break from work and stay at home I'll never get back on the same career track. So for now we'll just have to put holidays and other fun things on hold for a few years, and try and cut costs wherever we can.
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The main reason why we choose to live in Sweden vs US is because of the many benefits we receive as parents. Daycare is ridiculously cheap compared to the States. Cost of daycare varies by income, but there's a cap and the maximum amount is almost robbery considering it also comes with food (breakfast, fresh fruit morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack).
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@looch: Same here. We waited to have a child until we could afford all the costs associated with having a child without having to significantly change our other spending/saving habits.
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@littlebit, I found our in home by calling all the licensed ones and when they said they were full, asked if they had any recommendations. One did and it was in our subdivision and we really liked it. Since then, I mentioned to a neighbor of mine (also a realtor) we were doing in home, and she knew a few more people who did that. I think you just have to ask around like crazy. Not everyone is comfortable with an unlicensed daycare and I wasn't until I met her.
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@Sugarplumsmom: I'm Swedish and some days it kills me to know that back home I'd be paying $350 and over here I'm paying $2300 a month! State subsidized child care is a requirement to labor force participation and sustained economic growth, in my view. Sweden is a small country but it does well economically, and this is largely due to high labour force participation from both men and women made possible by generous paternity leave and subsidized day care.
Unlike good old England which is stuck in the 1950's....
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We can't afford it, that's why DH is a SAHD and works evenings/weekends when he can. My job is the one that's steady/pays the mortgage/has benefits. We're lucky that he's able to be so flexible with work, and that he has the personality to be a better SAHP than I would be.
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@looch: Same here as well. We are very fortunate!
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@looch: Same. Nothing changed for us either.
@LilyAnn: Agreed - we are very fortunate!
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you can use your DSA even if you have a nanny or unlicensed care provider as long as they have a Tax ID.
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Right now we save a ton, but if/when we have to pay for day care we will either have to cut our vacations (we typically go on 2 international trips a year) and/or cut down on savings. The last option if it really came down to it would be to reduce our retirement savings which we are maxing out right now. In general, we've always saved a lot and bought a house that was well below the max of what we could have so that we would have more cushion.
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@SugarplumsMom: what is the maximum amount?
*prepares to cry haha!*
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@Littlebit: We do an inhome and spend right at 500/month. My daughter LOVES her in home & we had orginigally discussed moving her to a center when she got older, but no way we will do that now. She's advanced for her age (18 months) without spending the money on "school." I want her to be able to enjoy her early years and if that's playing to learn then so be it. Just bcause it's not a center doesn't mean your child can't get great day care! My daughter has another "nana" in our daycare lady, and she loves her like family & so do we!
I completely understand your frustration!
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