Going back to work... is it worth it?

[Early Kids]

I don't want to be doing this, but in reality I have to look at all options...

I guess what I want to know is those of you with 2 (or more) kids in daycare and working ultimately is it worth it? Are you that much better off that missing out on your kids during the day is ok? I don't mean to come across nastily or anything like that it's just I am really struggling with the thought of someone else raising my kids while I have to go to work. I'm in tears because all I've ever wanted is to be a SAHM and because of my selfish DP now I have to go back to work. We are barely making it through the week. We have no savings and are struggling with stupid bills.

Anyway... Do you feel that you are significantly better off, or is it only a little bit (financially speaking)?

I used the estimator on centrelinks website and if I lower DP's estimate to his actual income and then factor in my income the CCB will be roughly the same as it is now. Which means we'd have to find $300 a week in childcare. Thing is I would probably only be earning around $400-450 a week if I can get the job I want. But then theres that other tax rebate thingo for Child Care right? and that's paid quaterly???

urgh I have no idea... anything please.

[briggsy's girl]

you would get the rebate quarterly - so half your cc fees each quarter rebated - but there is a lot more to consider than just the money you outlay.

i can't say whether it will or won't benefit you - i have gone back to work 2 days a week, and factoring in tax, the loss of fttb, travel etc, i'm really no better off. it's cruddy, but that's how it is. i am fortunate that i don't have to fork out for child care or we would actually be worse off than we are at the moment. i'm ONLY back at work to keep my position for when DD is at school - or to increase my hours if DH's work dries up again given he is only casual labourer at the moment

factor all things in and think it through pretty seriously. if you're going to only gain 100 in your pocket each week (cos lets face it, that rebate quarterly isn't going to help you NOW), is it really worth the stress and heartache?

wish i could suggest ways to help your DP see that - it's hard when money becomes an issue in your relationship. i'm living it at the moment and i hate it!

good luck making your decisions

BG

[Arimeh]

I think we were about $60 a week better off between me working 3 days and having the kids in care for that time. So I went down to one day a week, and it was about the same since my income had gone down, my FTB went up and I only paid $90 for that one day of child care (And then got $45 a week back with the rebate came in quarterly - which we would use to pay advance payments at the daycare)

With having 3 children - no way would it be advantageous for me to go back to work, so thats why I stay at home.

But with 2 children, working one day a week, it was slightly better.

[Jaffaz]

Have you thought about doing night or weekend work. I did this after DS1 was born it ment everything i earnt was mine and DS didn't have to go into child care.
I worked at a supermarket, wasn't the most rewarding job but the $$ wasn't to bad and the hours were perfect for me. Just 6 hours 1 night a week and 7 on a Sunday (double pay) I started early Sunday so was home for lunch.

Just a suggestion!!

[Snacks]

Sally, everyone's situation is different and I think in your case you'd be wise to listen to BG. If you find you're only marginally better off then perhaps it's worth putting it to DP that he needs to grow up? Having a kid in CC is more than just the money. There's also the sick factor. I really like the CC centre my DDs go to. Natalie has been going there for nearly 2 years and she's now so fond of the place and the teachers. However, being around that many kids that often means a lot of sickness.
I was fortunate when I went back to work to find a job where my employers were VERY supportive of my family commitments. They didn't have any problems with me taking days off when Natty got sick. And it happened a lot. The new job I've started is slightly more stressful because if one of my kids is sick I can't just ring up and say I'm not coming. I need to arrange for someone to cover me.
It's worth considering.
FWIW, in our case it is a given that I have to work. DH owns his business and we are still paying off a CRAPLOAD of debt. However the repayments come from the business so it looks to the govt that we earn a heck of a lot more than we get in our hands, so unless we find a way to live on DH's small salary alone, I have to work.
On the other hand, it's important to note that I enjoy working. I enjoy getting out of the house and I find that I enjoy my time with the girls that much more than before. My girls are being looked after in CC but also by their grandparents and they're all enjoying that too.
I hope I haven't just confused things more for you. Just wanted to open up a couple more factors than just the cash.
Hope you come to a resolution you are happy with soon, mate. xx

[Early Kids]

Thanks for all the input xx

I can't work weekends or nights because DP doesn't work set hours himself. He's a farmhand which means at the moment he is working midnight till midday, sometimes 7am till 7pm and sometimes weekends. Which is why if I return to work the kids go into daycare. Brendan already goes one day a week now (paed's orders) so I'm well aware of what goes on.

DP is the biggest issue, he won't budge on ANYTHING and his family SUPPORT that! I have cut down my internet and phone bill, which are my only bills. I have swapped food choices and buy cheaper branded things and we don't get treats as often as we used to. I've cut down on power usage in the past 6 months which hasn't helped with our power bill being increased anyway... goes up another 16-17% in July There is nothing else I can do... it's all up to him now and he just won't budge. Foxtel is currently in my name so I will be reducing that to the basic package anyway and as soon as the contract is up it's going (July). But I can't control the other things. He has a motorbike and a Ute which we are currently forking out around $1000 a month in loan payments for, and then he wants to ride his bike which costs us more. He just doesn't get that we have no money right now. I have $50 to last me till next pay which is about the 10th of May. That $50 is for food shopping because that's all we had left after paying some bills. I don't know what else I can do but go back to work and hope to make ends meet

I really wanted to see out this year because Brendan will be in kindy next year.

PS Sorry for the rant

[Peg]

your situation sounds really tight at the moment

I remember when i put my dd3 into a child care centre, i was paying $180 for 3x 6hr days per week and i was earning $300 per week gross. Not really worth the effort for an extra $120 pw.

So i moved her into family day care. The cost was based on an hourly rate of $5, so it worked out much more economical.

Is there any work you could do from home? (babysitting, ironing, washing???)

[Catastrophic]

Hey hun, will come bk n respond tomorrow... xoxoxo

[Mrs Jak]

Hi Sally,

Have you called Centrelink and made sure you are currently receiving the correct entitelments for your current situation?

Also, have you called your phone provider and asked them if there is another/better plan for your situation?

Does your DH want you to go back full-time or part-time?

[Early Kids]

Family Day Care have a HUGE wait list here and getting both kids in together is next to impossible. I do have a couple of people who will look after the kids as back-up if they are sick and I need to work.

Haven't called centrelink, but we aren't entitled to any more than we receive now because DP earns 55K a year. Although this year will be less as it's already a bad year (no rain = no seeding and no seeding will = no harvesting... for rain!)

Not looking at full-time, but something consistent like 15-20 hours or so (preferably over 2 days). He doesn't really want me to go back to work at all... but there isn't much else we can do.

There isn't really anything I can do from home... I have even tried party-plan things but I guess I lack motivation when I'm home lol

[Peg]

Family Day Care have a HUGE wait list here and getting both kids in together is next to impossible.

if thats the case, then perhaps becoming a family day carer might be an option?? Im not sure what the regulations are in WA but if you called your local council they would be able to give you a rundown.

[Willow]

I am not all that much help because I did go back after having #2 but my MIL looked after my children for me so I didn't have to factor in daycare. We did pay her but it wasn't much so we were much better off with me working.

I was made redundant after being back less than 6 months though. By that time I was prg with #3 and knew I wouldn't be returning to work with 3 kids at home. I called Centrelink for the first time to see what we were entitled to and was very pleasantly surprised. We aren't all that worse off than when I was at work.

I hope you can work something out, it is so awful when you don't want to go back but feel you have no choice.

[Snacks]

Ok - here's a couple more thoughts.
Firstly, hugs. I know how hard it is to have no money. To not be able to go to playgroup this week cause there's no petrol in the car. To not be able to take the kids to the shops for a doughnut because you might need those couple of dollars for milk/bread later in the week. For some, these things may seem easy to sacrifice to stay home with your kids but I never found it easy.
Secondly, when things are tight, that little bit extra is... well... a little bit extra. Sometimes that can make all the difference.
Thirdly, (and great that you have sick-leave back-up) childcare can be VERY good "enforced savings". I have to have about $500 in my account each f/n for childcare. So if I am cutting things fine, then something else has to give. (Usually groceries that we can do without or miscellaneous items like gifts and clothing.) Then every quarter when we get the rebate I either put that onto a debt (usually my credit card) or a major expense (like a big bill. This last qtr was rego and greenslip for the car). What I mean is, it can help to manage money better which may not be something you need but could well help with the situation with your DH.
I have to get going to work, LOL, but will keep thinking of things to toss into the mix. It's such a tough decision, made even tougher when you are the one in your partnership carrying all the financial burden. xx

[Early Kids]

Thanks everyone. I've pretty much decided that if I can get the job I want I will be going back to work two days a week (15 hours) it works out that we will be about $100 a week better off not including the rebate.

Thanks again.

[AnyDream]

Hey Sally, do yourself a favor and ring Centrelink anyway, just to check. Are you getting FTB A and B? If not, you should be, and you can have it paid fortnightly rather than waiting for it at tax time. You may also qualify for some rent assistance (not sure what the cut off is but worth asking about). 55K is not a lot to live on, esp if DP is being a total prat with his vehicle expenditure.

[Catastrophic]

Hugs Sally!
It sucks not having any money! I hate living Fortnight to fortnight! and not having any savings! My suggestion to you is to make up a budget, If your good with computers make up on on EXCEL and you can add and delete things as they come, it really helps me to know where the money is going... I also have my DPS working roster in an excel program too, So i kno pretty much how much money is comming into the household and I can budget for it...

With Family Day care, I know you said there is a waiting list... But it might be worth putting your name down, even if you don't get it for a while, it will save you money in the future??

Hope things improve, xoxxoxo

[Early Kids]

Hey Sally, do yourself a favor and ring Centrelink anyway, just to check. Are you getting FTB A and B? If not, you should be, and you can have it paid fortnightly rather than waiting for it at tax time. You may also qualify for some rent assistance (not sure what the cut off is but worth asking about). 55K is not a lot to live on, esp if DP is being a total prat with his vehicle expenditure.

Yep get A & B and it's paid fortnightly. Don't pay rent anyway. Thanks

Thanks MN, I did have a budget and we tried the food plan thing too and it just never worked out. If I had complete control of where money went to it would be easier... but that's not going to happen any time soon. I don't want to uproot Brendan out of his centre, he's been going for just over a year now (14 months) and they are trained to help him too (sees speech, ot, ect) his room leader and the co-ordinator have done some extra training to help Speech Delayed children.

I've put my name down for a job at Target, that's where I want to go, they are very understanding of having children especially prems and special needs kids.

Thanks everyone