Word. Our daycare expense is roughly equivalent to two years tuition at UCLA. Go Bruins!
DC is still less than a year of Rutgers (well, if you include room and board). That just goes to show you how fucking expensive it is for a state school :/ I am always amazed at the cost of tuition at other state schools.
My sister just finished her college degree at Washington State University. She graduated in 3.5 years (and found a job immediately- I'm really proud). The total mnparents paid :$87,000. For reals. The state of Washington charges no income tax; only sales tax. So as the economy tanked while she was in school tuition went up 16% 3 years in a row...
I'm really lucky that y parents paid for my undergrad. Mine was $41,000 over 4 years. Sis and I both worked through college for our own spending money.
FWIW, I do live somewhat nearby both sets of parents, but even if they lived next door, I couldn't ask them to babysit DD on a regular basis unless we were in dire financial straits. Thats SO much to ask of a grandparent.
FWIW, I do live somewhat nearby both sets of parents, but even if they lived next door, I couldn't ask them to babysit DD on a regular basis unless we were in dire financial straits. Thats SO much to ask of a grandparent.
Ha, I'm not entirely certain I'd want my kids to spend so much time with my parents. I love my parents but they are quirky.
FWIW, I do live somewhat nearby both sets of parents, but even if they lived next door, I couldn't ask them to babysit DD on a regular basis unless we were in dire financial straits. Thats SO much to ask of a grandparent.
I agree. I love my parents and they are lucky to be retired relatively young, but I can't imagine asking them to become caregivers again for their grandchildren.
As for the tax refund, we get one b/c DH's overtime is too hard to factor in. It varies from 20-40 hours a payperiod. We usually bank it or put it toward a smaller house project.
God, am I the only one who has not spent less on eating out or entertainment? Between ordering in pizza or Chinese or Indian or Thai or splurging when DH and I do have a date night, we're spending just as much now.
The worst is the $75 on a babysitter for date night. Like dinner & a movie isn't expensive enough!
The family/ friends who help thing is a good point. Interesting to think about how our mobile society, where grandkids are raised in states far from grandparents, effects American wealth-building. I'm now fantasizing about what we could do with that money of my parents lived in our town...
Also, yes, we'll get a nice tax return though monthly expenses will be painful. Do people bank that tax return and draw it down through the following year? Or invest it in things they didn't have the cash to fund through the last year?
My sister just finished her college degree at Washington State University. She graduated in 3.5 years (and found a job immediately- I'm really proud). The total mnparents paid :$87,000. For reals. The state of Washington charges no income tax; only sales tax. So as the economy tanked while she was in school tuition went up 16% 3 years in a row...
I'm really lucky that y parents paid for my undergrad. Mine was $41,000 over 4 years. Sis and I both worked through college for our own spending money.[/quote]
OT This blows my mind! Are you Washington state residents? I had no idea it was that expensive to go to WSU now! I'm shocked at the huge increase in such a short time frame.
We make around $100K combined, pay $550/month in daycare (which I know is ridic cheap), have a $1400 mortgage. So slightly lower costs, but honestly, it works out fine. Maybe we save less than some people, but maybe some people just like to freak themselves out and avoid living.
My sister just finished her college degree at Washington State University. She graduated in 3.5 years (and found a job immediately- I'm really proud). The total mnparents paid :$87,000. For reals. The state of Washington charges no income tax; only sales tax. So as the economy tanked while she was in school tuition went up 16% 3 years in a row...
I'm really lucky that y parents paid for my undergrad. Mine was $41,000 over 4 years. Sis and I both worked through college for our own spending money.[/quote]
OT This blows my mind! Are you Washington state residents? I had no idea it was that expensive to go to WSU now! I'm shocked at the huge increase in such a short time frame. [/quote]
Hers was $87,000 as an in state resident. Of course that includes her living expenses, but rent in Pullman is CHEAP. She paid $250/month for her own room in a 2 bedroom apartment.
LOL, I guess my post was two fold. I wasn't intentionally harping on the return/refund, but I caught it after I hit reply. Initially I was thinking more along the lines of, refund ... what is that? We haven't seen one of those since we were in college. We're also phased out of any child related tax advantages. It's always fun times at our CPA's office.
Ha I thought I understood where you were going with that. Some people phase ou of kid-related tax returns. Others balance their finances/ w-2s so carefully that it comes out as a wash. We are not great at saving money, so I'm fine with letting Uncle Sam take a big bite of my paycheck and then getting it back in February. I know it's not what the pros would recommend, but it works for us.
My sister just finished her college degree at Washington State University. She graduated in 3.5 years (and found a job immediately- I'm really proud). The total mnparents paid :$87,000. For reals. The state of Washington charges no income tax; only sales tax. So as the economy tanked while she was in school tuition went up 16% 3 years in a row...
I'm really lucky that y parents paid for my undergrad. Mine was $41,000 over 4 years. Sis and I both worked through college for our own spending money.
OT This blows my mind! Are you Washington state residents? I had no idea it was that expensive to go to WSU now! I'm shocked at the huge increase in such a short time frame. [/quote]
Hers was $87,000 as an in state resident. Of course that includes her living expenses, but rent in Pullman is CHEAP. She paid $250/month for her own room in a 2 bedroom apartment.[/quote]
My parents paid for my sister and I to go to UW (graduated in 03 & 04) and i remember there had been increases every year but had no idea it was that expensive now! Crazy you can't count on instate schools to be affordable anymore!
Post by wanderlustmom on Aug 2, 2012 17:32:33 GMT -5
Late to the post, but I started my own business and worked 20 hours. On saturdays DH was with them and we had a sitter for 10 hours a week and I'd continue to work in the evening after DH got home. We missed two evenings together as a family and half of one Saturday, but otherwise, it helped me have my career, bring money in and have flexibility. Now I'll just work when the kids are in school and use the aftercare at the elementary one day a week, but my son and daughter are now in expensive activities.
Post by whitepicketfence on Aug 3, 2012 7:28:16 GMT -5
I SAH but we'd pay around $1500 for 2 in daycare and our income is quite a bit less than $100K. I'm in a LCOL and this amount is 3x our mortgage. If I had continued working FT we would have been ok but there wouldn't have been much of my paycheck leftover after taxes and retirement.
I've actually been looking into getting a PT job in my field to help with paying down our debt but most jobs I've been seeing pay so little per hour ($9-10) that I'd be losing money after paying daycare expenses. It's been frustrating. This is the one downfall of a LCOL area I suppose.
Post by dr.girlfriend on Aug 3, 2012 9:03:38 GMT -5
Popping in to say, the $5k daycare FSA helps in the long run, but in the short term (or at least the way mine works) it means you have to pay double, because you pay daycare up front and then have to submit for reimbursement from the FSA! Just something to think about in terms of cash flow.
I also worry when people talk about using parents or in-laws as daycare. This is a totally Debbie Downer story, but my friend had that plan -- her mom retired to take care of the grandkids. Then her mom got cancer, and needed a lot of caretaking, ultimately dying within two years. Now they have been forced into a situation where the hubs has to be a SAHD, even though they can't really afford to be a one-income family. They had a second kid while the grandma-plan was in place and then a third oops kid right as things started to go south, and there's no way they could afford a nanny or daycare for three.
Popping in to say, the $5k daycare FSA helps in the long run, but in the short term (or at least the way mine works) it means you have to pay double, because you pay daycare up front and then have to submit for reimbursement from the FSA! Just something to think about in terms of cash flow.
YES. its so annoying. we're finally at the point where I've submitted enough receipts that I get back the money every pay period, but it took forever to get there.
Popping in to say, the $5k daycare FSA helps in the long run, but in the short term (or at least the way mine works) it means you have to pay double, because you pay daycare up front and then have to submit for reimbursement from the FSA! Just something to think about in terms of cash flow.
YES. its so annoying. we're finally at the point where I've submitted enough receipts that I get back the money every pay period, but it took forever to get there.
Good to think about in terms of cash flow. I wonder if we could find a daycare that would let us pay on a credit card, so that we could at least get the miles for the expense too...
lowering your taxable income by $5K can't hurt Its a bit annoying to set up, but since we owe anyway, this just makes our tax burden slightly less. I think you would need to wait until 2013 though, but I'd have him ask his HR anyway.