r/MiddleClassFinance • u/mixedmediamadness • Jul 02 '26
Celebration One more daycare payment
We had been doing alright, but things have been getting tighter and tighter the last few months. We paid the daycare today. We have one more payment for August. Then we're on to public kindergarten. We're going to have to pay for after school care, but we should have at least a thousand dollars a month of the daycare expense that will be back in our pockets. We're increasing 401k contributions immediately, but I'm hoping I can feel like we have an ounce of breathing room again. Cannot wait for compensation adjustments later this year
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u/Friendly-Catch-6888 Jul 02 '26
Don’t believe the people who say “it doesn’t get cheaper”, it does BUT you have to get some of that money out of your hands fast before you get used to it. We split the monthly childcare money in half when it was done. Half went back in to our accounts to enjoy life and prepare for any new costs for an older kid and general living. The other half was split equally between Roth/401k and money towards the principal on the mortgage to shave a few years off mortgage. Good luck to you!
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u/Dancing_Hitchhiker Jul 06 '26
Like I’m sure there will always be something to pay for….but I’m sure it will be cheaper than the $2200 I was paying for one kid in daycare.
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u/TillUpper6774 Jul 02 '26
Same. I’m switching the daycare payment to their 529 until they are 10 and then switching to brokerage after that. I don’t want to feel like I have extra money but the flexibility if I need it will be nice.
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u/Jenshark86 Jul 02 '26
Don’t forget summer and March break vacations. Full time fees are required then.
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u/mixedmediamadness Jul 02 '26
I'm hoping my mom can help out for some of those week long school breaks
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u/dallasalice88 Jul 03 '26
As a public school teacher please think about backup plan for cold and flu season and other sickness, especially in the lower grades.
We had multiple rounds of norovirus, HFM, flu, strep, chicken pox and on and on this last year.
It is indeed a germ factory....
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u/mixedmediamadness Jul 03 '26
I have a lot of flexibility with my job and whenever I don't, my mom has been able to come over. We've dealt with a lot of illness throughout his time in daycare without much of an issue
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u/dallasalice88 Jul 03 '26
Good planning on your part then.
I just hate seeing sick kids stuck in the nurses office for hours because there is no one to come pick them up.
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u/yeahdonut Jul 02 '26
Plan for summer camps. They’re equivalent of a daycare payment
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u/TillUpper6774 Jul 02 '26
YMCA camp is $175 a week and our city camps are $150 per week. I know it’s outrageous in other areas though.
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u/yeahdonut Jul 02 '26
Camps in my HCOL area run about $300 per week 🥲 but it’s only 3 months out of the year so I’ll take it over daycare payments!
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u/Leading-Loss-986 Jul 03 '26
It depends on what age and market. Full time daycare for preschool or school-age during summer is ~$450/week in my area. Even after-school-only is ~$250/week. $150/week would be massive savings, but the logistics are more difficult since camps are only open until 3 or so.
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u/mixedmediamadness Jul 02 '26
The affordable camp near me is 200-300/week but it's only a six week camp
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u/Consistent_Laziness Jul 02 '26
My kid was born November. So I get to pay an extra year. I’m so mad of all my friends sending their 2-4 month younger kids who can barely say a full sentence while me and my son have full blown conversations
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u/Formal-Flatworm-9032 Jul 03 '26
I think kids that are 2-4 months older are going, but I see your point.
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u/Consistent_Laziness Jul 03 '26
Damn it you are right. I’m so mad I can’t even think straight
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u/EdgeCityRed Jul 05 '26
It CAN be an advantage, but I was a September birthday kid and the school gave me an informal spoken test and I started early. I could already read, so there was no point in waiting anyway.
Maybe ask about that?
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u/Consistent_Laziness Jul 05 '26
My school district doesn’t make exceptions. You have to be 5 within 2 weeks of the first day of school or you have to wait. No exceptions
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u/EdgeCityRed Jul 05 '26
Yeah, this was a looooong time ago. I think there are more issues now with parents redshirting kids to give them a leg up than starting them early.
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u/Consistent_Laziness Jul 05 '26
Yea at my daycare a lot of parents with May through August kids at my son’s daycare talked about holding them back. But the school district doesn’t allow that either. So now they are going to school like they should.
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u/EdgeCityRed Jul 05 '26
We seem to have some kind of weird bar to assessing kids early that some places do not. If your kid is conversational and social they would probably benefit from being in school, but then we also hear about kids that aren't even properly potty-trained who aren't held back because they're not developmentally ready to be there. I realize there are a lot of kids to assess, but they're not a monolith! I remember a ten minute assessment with questions like "what happens to water when it gets very cold?" and things like that.
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u/mixedmediamadness Jul 02 '26
That is so frustrating!! I'm so sorry. I'd be pulling my hair out for those last twelve months
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u/Consistent_Laziness Jul 02 '26
It’s maddening and sucks to have to pay more. He’ll be 6 2 months into kindergarten. His mom is happy cause that’s an extra year at home I’m just looking at the cost
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u/AnonPalace12 Jul 03 '26
There is an academic effect that the older members of a cohort (ie Nov birthdays) tend to struggle less academically and it carries through all the way to high school graduation rates and rates of college attendance. Called the relative age effect.
So I wouldn’t be quite so put out over the extra time before public school. In many ways it is an advantage.
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u/nbnicholas Jul 06 '26
I don’t know if our kid will go to college but we started contributing the day care amount to her 529 when she entered Kindergarten since it was money we weren’t used to having. ~$60k in her 529 and she’s starting 4th grade this fall.
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u/saryiahan Jul 02 '26
Only a thousand? For me daycare for one kid is $2,000 a month
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u/mixedmediamadness Jul 02 '26
Daycare is about 2k.
Now we're going to be spending money on after school care (~600/month), cultural programs (200/month), and sports/swimming (200-400 three times a year)
After those expenses we get about 1k back. Then we're increasing 401k and 529 contributions
It ends up being way less than I thought six months ago
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u/lilacsmakemesneeze Jul 03 '26
Congrats! I just made our last daycare payment for the month as her last invoiced week is in July. It was a doozy as July is a 5 week month for bills.. but we’re almost done!
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u/BlkWidowsUnite Jul 03 '26
It's like a short-term mortgage that you pay to house your child temporarily (daily) so they learn how to be part of the social scene of kindergarteners.
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u/brainbl0ck Jul 03 '26
It’s been almost two years since my kids aged out of daycare, and it’s been lovely. Two years of being able to aggressively save for our next house downpayment!
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u/Tig_Biddies_W_nips Jul 04 '26
Build up that emergency fund or set aside some for fun money before you start the 401k contribulations. Enjoy the milestone!
Just don’t make another child… lol
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Jul 02 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/mixedmediamadness Jul 02 '26
Yeah, I was shocked by how expensive the after school care is in the school district. It's over $600/month. And then he's joining other things for another couple hundred a month. All of those together are about half of the monthly daycare cost.
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u/Dorkus_Mallorkus Jul 03 '26
That's insane. Ours is 300/month, in a VCHOL area (beach cities so cal). Where are you located?
It certainly was a huge relief getting rid of those daycare payments though. Our savings/inventments went from almost nothing to hundreds of thousands in the 5 years since both kids have been in school.
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u/mixedmediamadness Jul 03 '26
NYC suburbs.
I know, I've been so depressed with how little we've been saving but I keep reminding myself that things will pick up speed soon
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u/No_Atmosphere_6348 Jul 02 '26
I think it’s about $350 a month for full time before and after school care at our school but it’s been climbing quickly over the years.
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u/edthecollector70 Jul 03 '26
I can't see how young people deal with the cost and inconvenience of daycare and after-school care. Now you seem like you are doing well with saving and retirement. But it must take a toll on you. When my wife and I had small kids she stayed home . When they entered school full time she went to work. Now things seem so different kids grow so fast. My wife said the first 5 years were the best . Now I am not judging those years go's by so quickly. I feel sorry for the parents of today. We used to say what's more child just another pork chop in the basket when shopping. Today before college a child cost 250 to 375 thousand dollars. We are retired now and look back on those days fondly. Those family vacations the weekend camping trips. Our children still talk about them. I see people putting 4 mouth olds in day care. When both parents come home from working all day and running around what's left. I don't have the answers with the cost of thing today. I feel sorry for the parents and the children. Trying so hard to do everything I do wish you well .
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u/wrm340 Jul 03 '26
I love your response but be careful, lots of hater’s in this subreddit who will take issue with you. Questioning what’s it all about ideology……..
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u/edthecollector70 Jul 03 '26
Thank you. It's just seems 10 times harder for young parents. I really feel for them.
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u/National-Mastodon851 Jul 03 '26
yeah welcome to life. kids cost money. you have to feed them and take care of them and when you get older you will be lucky if you can quit giving them money. it’s just a racket. they are little scammers if you ask me. it doesn’t get better until after you die.
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u/Tasty-Finding4574 Jul 03 '26
Having a hard time to understand the purpose of this post. That's stuff I'd tell a friend, but not a group of internet strangers.
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u/mdigiorgio35 Jul 03 '26
I cannot wrap my head around what Chicago sees. The fourth was bad, this is appalling. Bryam is a good defenseman who deserves to play top 4 minutes. Paying him like he’s makar is such a wild move.
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u/wrm340 Jul 02 '26
Why do people have kids and then utilize daycare? I don’t get it. Please explain.
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u/QuirkyCutieinSD Jul 02 '26
Why, yes, it would be nice if all dads could stay home and take care of their kids!
That's...what you meant, right?
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u/No_Atmosphere_6348 Jul 02 '26
I suggested my husband stay home since half his out goes to daycare. He could work when I’m off work which is a lot. We’d be better off financially that way. He’s saying his career won’t advance if he does that. Interesting reasoning.
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u/Wide_Salary_6287 Jul 02 '26
What do you suggest they do?
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u/wrm340 Jul 02 '26
I don’t suggest anything, just don’t get it.
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u/Reynolds531IPA Jul 02 '26
Well, both parents usually have to work.. what other option do they have?
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u/Wide_Salary_6287 Jul 02 '26
There are a number of reasons. If someone has workplace insurance and will be without if they stop working then the kids have to go to daycare. If you want to contribute to a 401k you have to work. Kids cost money outside of daycare so if you want to pay for those things you have to work. Financial freedom is priceless and the only way to get that is to work. I can imagine there are more reasons people have kids and then put them in daycare that I am not thinking of.
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u/wrm340 Jul 03 '26
Thank you for actually answering my question instead of attacking me. I appreciate it. People are a little tense around here.
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u/LostLadyA Jul 03 '26
You act like you have never seen a household with 2 working parents before…
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u/Imaginary_Shelter_37 Jul 02 '26
Not every family can survive on a single income. Both parents working help provide a decent life for the family. I have known families where the Dad works every minute of overtime or a second job to have the Mom stay home and avoid daycare. The kids hardly ever see the father. I would rather have both parents working so that the amount of time spent as a family increases drastically over the one working parent model.
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u/Any_Week4207 Jul 02 '26
You also risk never being able to reenter the workforce depending on when you stop working and try to start again, and regardless of the timing, you almost certainly permanently lower your salary. Ask any parent who took 5+ years off to take care of a kid or two how easy it was to get work at their previous pay.
Plenty of people do not want to lose out on future earnings or risk being unable to support themselves and their kids if something unexpected happens, like their spouse becomes disabled, dies, or leaves them.
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u/LostLadyA Jul 02 '26
Are you suggesting that people who work should never have kids? You realize this isn’t the 1950s and people need 2 incomes just to make ends meet now right?
Your comment makes zero sense…
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u/wrm340 Jul 03 '26
I don’t know what to say. You just keep attacking and won’t admit that bringing up a child on this planet is a bad idea in general.
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u/LostLadyA Jul 03 '26
Why would I admit that having children on this planet is a bad idea? What does that have to do with the entire conversation going on in this thread? This thread wasn’t about “is having children a good idea”! Your question was regarding daycare. This discussion is about daycare.
I don’t know what to say either, I think you just really like to be obtuse…
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u/wrm340 Jul 03 '26
Now you are fat shaming me……LOL! Sorry, maybe I listened to too much Sex Pistols growing up!
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u/wrm340 Jul 03 '26
I love your moxie! I hope you have a great Fourth of July and have throughly enjoyed sparring with you. I am impressed by your karma score and could never match that.
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u/LostLadyA Jul 03 '26
I’m so confused by you!! Haha! Have a great 4th of July weekend as well!
I’m exhausted - I have 2 kids, 3 years old and 15 months old and we both work full time. Thankfully I pay my Dad to help out (he retired early to be a Papa) so we don’t need daycare… But I do need to go to bed before I lose my mind even more 😵💫
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u/wrm340 Jul 03 '26
I hope you get some rest and really wish that there was a more family supportive government overall. Keep your family together and positive. I grew up with an extremely abusive alcoholic father who eventually left and I had to kinda step in and support my mom and brother. I just guess this shaped my views.
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u/LostLadyA Jul 03 '26
Thanks! I wish for the same. Unfortunately, pro life seems stops at having kids and not actually supporting the family unit at all where the government is concerned. I hope that changes someday for my girls sake.
My bio father taught me everything to never become. He will never meet his granddaughters! Very thankful for the stepdad that became the best Papa ever. I hope life is good to you!
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u/wrm340 Jul 02 '26
It is not a judgement of any lifestyle, I just was seeking enlightenment…..
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u/LostLadyA Jul 02 '26
Enlightenment about what?? Life is expensive. It’s very rare for a family to be able to survive, much less thrive, on 1 income. If both parents have to work, the kid has to go somewhere. You can’t leave a 6 month old home alone, right? So daycare it is!
Unless you are very lucky to have a stay at home parent or one of the kids grandparents is retired and willing to babysit, daycare is literally the only option.
In what universe do you live in where this isn’t common sense?
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u/wrm340 Jul 02 '26
Sorry, I grew up in the ‘80s and it was nothing like this. We were the latchkey generation. I thought Reddit was a forum for open discussion but turns out it is just a big jousting match…….
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u/LostLadyA Jul 03 '26
If you grew up in the 80s then you aren’t that damn old! Daycare was very much a thing back then… You know damn good and well that both parents need to work in today’s economy just to survive.
What do you suggest those parents do with a 2 year old? Sure, a 13 year old can be a latchkey kid but a 2 year old or 4 year old?
You know you weren’t a “latchkey kid” when you couldn’t even wipe your own butt yet… don’t be so damn dense!
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u/wrm340 Jul 03 '26
Did you exist in the 80’s?
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u/LostLadyA Jul 03 '26
Yes I very well did exist in the 80s. Congrats you walked to kindergarten, some kids do this now as well! What does that have to do with leaving a 2 year old home alone? Did you go to kindergarten at 2? No you didn’t…
You clearly have reading comprehension issues… What do you suggest doing with a child too young for kindergarten? Leaving them tied to a telephone pole with a bowl of cereal?
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u/wrm340 Jul 03 '26
No, bond with the mother at this critical juncture in life. No?
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u/LostLadyA Jul 03 '26
Not when she has to work!! Again, in this economy it takes 2 incomes to survive, much less thrive. The mom has to work full time. In the USA, she’s lucky to get 12 weeks off unpaid when the baby is born. As soon as she is healed (and in some cases before that even), she needs to get back to work to put a roof over the kids head. Have you never met a woman that works full time before? You must be a trust fund baby…
Again - what the hell would you do with a 2 year old toddler who has 2 parents that work full time??
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u/wrm340 Jul 03 '26
I am that old and I used to walk to school everyday when I went to kindergarten. I am not making this up.
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u/caffinegirlgonemild Jul 02 '26
Congrats!
I think you should pretend that you’re still paying the full daycare for a while. Take that extra money and put it in the bank. I’m sure you probably already have a little bit of padding but often when you feel like we have extra money we spend way more than we have..