If there's extra after aftercare, etc. (and I presume there will be cause our daycare is $$$), I will be ten times more careful all around with saving it than I ever was pre-kids. That is for damn sure.
If there's extra after aftercare, etc. (and I presume there will be cause our daycare is $$$), I will be ten times more careful all around with saving it than I ever was pre-kids. That is for damn sure.
Our Y for before and after is $24 a day. A holiday or half day is $38. The school program is $19 a day for before and after but a little too Lord of the Flies for my taste.
yes. Ours is a y program too.
I pay $650 for ft infant (in home) dc so $500 sounds outrageous to me for 3 hours in the afternoon.
Well we have to pay for full day K, so that plus before/after+ summer will be a wash. We might see some savings in early elementary but I expect activities and older kid "stuff" (food, clothes, etc) will eat up the rest from 8+.
I think I felt the difference for the first month or two, and then it just kind of slips away again. I went from paying $400 month in childcare to paying $120/month for swim team, $100/month for afterschool care, and the rest goes to God knows what. But I know some of you are paying way more then $400 a month.
I am jealous of this rate! I live in a mid col area and have "cheap daycare of $225 per week! Only one week of vacation without pay per year.
I've just been assuming that the funds will shift to other kid-related costs and we won't be really saving any money once DS starts K.
My responsible answer is that we would put the extra towards savings, either college or IRAs. Realistically there won't be much left over after activities and after-school care so it will probably sit in the checking account as buffer.
I bought DD a lot more clothes from mini Boden when our childcare costs went down dramatically.
Eta: on a serious note, I work for myself. So I've been able to finish up my day when DD gets out of school and take time off when she has school holidays, for the most part. So, yes, the switch to public school was pretty much a "windfall." Everything I personally made last school year was pure profit because I did all my work during school hours. If you work longer hours or have to use winter vacation camps, etc., I agree with everyone else that the savings aren't enormous.
Re: activities, we've always spent a lot on those. Now DD takes piano classes instead of going to toddler yoga.