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I had that issue too. I made practically nothing so it would be silly for me to work, especially because I want to be a SAHM. But it would still take a lot of money for me to go back to work. As long as we can afford for me to stay home, that's where I want to be.

DS's daycare is about 1/4 of my salary, and about (1/9 or 1/10 of our combined income). Between all of our expenses, and my school loans which are like a second mortgage payment, I can't swing being a SAHM. Right now I work because I have to.

I make significantly more than our daycare costs would be - that does vary by what field you work in and where you live for daycare costs.

One thing that is also important to remember is the social security and 401k contributions you make while working. Those can add up over the course of several years.

It made sense financially for me to be a SAHM. I was miserable at my last job, and I was only making an hourly wage. There was no guarantee that I would work 40 hours a week. It also hindered me from going after a real career. If I had stayed, my pay would have covered for daycare with about $100 - $200 leftover every week.

Financially it makes sense for me to keep working part-time (just calculated that 14% of my income goes to childcare), but I feel like there are other benefits. I'd probably keep working even if a larger % went towards childcare because I enjoy the adult interaction, and the balance makes me enjoy time at home so much more.

I have often run these numbers in my head.... I think if I made less than $10/hr after daycare costs, it wouldn't be worth it. Of course, this comes from the perspective of wanting to be able to be a SAHM. An extra $20,000 a year would certainly still come in handy, but I feel like it wouldn't be worth working. This is all assuming we were able to live comfortably on DH's salary.

since i've gone part-time, i make significantly less than it would cost to hire a nanny or put them in daycare. but no matter what i was earning, i'd rather be a sahm. that was the plan from the beginning with my hubs. he makes enough for the both of us and then some.

Daycare (at least in the beginning) will probably be a huge chunk of my income, if not all of it, but I want to get a new job in the field I've been studying and I have to start out somewhere and need the experience, so I'll probably go back to work a few months after the baby, as long as I can secure a job in the field I want.

I think daycare would have come to something like 17% of my pre tax salary working 4 days a week. The FINANCIAL benefits of me working were not the issue, it was the care itself which posed the problem. It was a 40 minute car drive in the other direction and we just couldn't swing it in terms of time, which also needs to be considered.

I was a SAHM for way too long because I believed I wouldn't make enough to justify daycare costs. But we found an affordable daycare and I get paid a lot more than I expected to, and eventually the cost of me not working just got to be too much (me working 3 part time jobs and Rob Sr. working full time and part time as well, we still BARELY got by) and we were never ever together as a family, so we made the jump and I got lucky with a great paying job and reasonable daycare.

I make significantly more than what daycare costs are in the area, but with my mom planning on being our main source of childcare before schooling years, there's no reason for me to not work. The extra income for where I'm at is too much to give up.