Daycare is eating our ENTIRE budget

1w ago·1 min read

Twin 3yo boys. Daycare is $2,800/month. $2,800!! My wife makes $58k gross annually. After taxes we're basically breaking even on her paycheck just to cover childcare. We've looked at nannies (more expensive), in-home care (sketchy options in our area), and asking parents to watch them full-time (creates family drama).

Does anyone else feel like the system is completely broken for families with multiple young kids? Genuinely wondering if she should just stay home at this point.

5 comments145 views

Comments(5)

SSam Y.Regular1w ago

2800/month for two kids is absolutely insane. that's basically a second mortgage. have you looked into any kind of subsidy programs or tax credits? some states have pretty decent childcare deductions

FFrank D.Regular1w ago

we went the nanny route last year and honestly it was MORE expensive but at least someone was in our house instead of us doing drop-off/pickup shuffle at two different places. still brutal on the wallet though

FFred J.Regular1w ago

Have you guys considered one parent scaling back to part-time? I know that's easier said than done but sometimes the math works better than people realize. Lost benefits suck but so does being broke

TTyler K.Regular1w ago

Man this post hit different because we're in year 1 of this exact nightmare. Honestly thinking we just accept this sucks for a few more years until they hit elementary. At least then it's 'free' school childcare

RRuben A.New Dad1w ago

This is the trap nobody talks about. My wife considered just staying home because the math literally didn't work. $58k minus taxes minus daycare equals... her working for free basically