How do you financially make having kids work? I live in NYC, own home, max out 401k, and have student loan but have anxiety about the cost of a kid and wonder if it’s worth it. I am the breadwinner...

Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

Another post recently gave the cost of daycare in UWS as ~40k a year. I can’t vouch for that personally but if you live in Manhattan proper it is quite challenging, not just the cost but also the lack of kid friendly infrastructure, so people usually move to Jersey, Queens or at least Brooklyn which makes it easier.
Of course if you have the flexibility to move to another geography completely, pretty much any city in the Midwest or South will let you raise a family on a consulting salary quite comfortably.

like

I saw that... I live in Central Brooklyn that is far less expensive than the upper west side and other parts of Brooklyn.

Cont: with the above (and our dogs) we don’t save (but max out 401k). A big portion is $1400 existing med bills a month. Plus the thought of doing this while consulting to afford a kid frightens me.

Need extra $2000 to raise a toddler (daycare + other expense)

At least. Our daycare alone is $2000/mo

like

Do you all max out your 401ks? I’ve heard many that don’t.

I do. I’m the primary breadwinner (make 2-3x my husband). Our big expenses are daycare, mortgage and utilities. We’re planning to have a second kid and definitely worried about finances. We have some savings so can potentially dip into that until the older kid starts kindergarten. I don’t really have any good ideas except to tell my husband to get a better job

I’ve moved out of the city to NJ suburbs and commute into the city for work. Daycare is still ~$2k per month, and you also need to consider a few hundred a year for other additional cost of living- gear, clothes, food, school supplies as they get older etc.

You have to reprioritize your life. There’s no way to pay for daycare + continue to buy yourself high end handbags etc. Things like going out to expensive dinners every weekend, bars, and travel just naturally fall to the side because the kids become your life. It does get a little easier when they go to school, but daycare costs get replaced with after school activities, camps, more expensive clothes. IMHO kids are worth it, but it’s not easy!
For reference, I’m a manager making $150k. Single earner. School aged kids in dance and gymnastics, still have school loans, max out 401k, but struggle to save otherwise!

@D1 sounds so similar! My boyfriend is working on his doctorate, so basically near zero income. We have a little one on the way and the NYC daycare costs are freaking me out 😭

I’ve made my peace with not saving whilst kids are young. Daycare is just too expensive. Before having kids I saved for a few years to give myself a cushion for maternity leave. I then went back to work full time and my husband stayed full time.
Two years later we were going crazy with stress. He has now stopped work to be a stay at home dad and life is a bit easier. Money is tighter but we have more time. Once the kids are in school he will go back to work and we can get ourselves right financially. My only financial goal in the next five years is to keep putting pension aside & not to otherwise get into debt

Yeah kids are crazy expensive. My husband wants to send ours to a private school that costs $30k per year. We have two now (toddler and baby) and may want a third. So... that would be $100k per year in tuition. Jesus. Among the reasons we will continue to be a dual income hh with pretty serious careers. Turns out making a lot of money is pretty helpful.

Related Posts

Is it realistic to have a decent WLB if you’re a parent and working in MBB/T2 in Dubai? Is it guaranteed that you’d be travelling Monday-Thursday? Currently, I have a decent WLB in London but money is very attractive in Dubai but don’t want to miss my child growing up if I’m expected to not be home >80% of the time.
Any parents working in Dubai MBB/T2 have an answer?

like

LCSW 50k loan repayment- Has anyone been granted a contract through the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program? I’m interested in applying for the 2 years of full time work as an LCSW but my loans are a bit under 50k so I’m wondering if they would only give me what I need to clear my loans or would I still get 50k as long as I complete my contract ?

Need tips for dating someone with a kid

like

What games, toys, or science kits would you recommend for a kid who’s showing an interest in the sciences?

like

SD peps, trying to decide between Seattle or San deigo as we move away from Texas. Realize both places are different, specially weather wise but wanted to hear from someone here who's lived both places or can comment on which city would u prefer? Nature and water are important to me. Also, I will be buying my first home in the next two years so need to consider that as well.

like

How did you navigate refinancing loans? I have both private and federal loans (definitely applying for the relief for the federa). I'm going to have to refinance all of them bit I don't really know where to start. I've been holding off because I'm in a contract to hire situation and upon hire (if hired) I'll probably be offered a lower salary.

like

Advice on successful advocating for better maternity leave policy? Especially at a small agency that is genuinely trying to make it work but can’t compete with a 72&Sunny 6 mos off?

like
like

Why is the MTA so awful!?!? And they are going to be raising the fares again!? For what!!? 🤬

The MTA should be our audit client. I’d bet you’d find so much wasted and pocketed money!

likefunny

I am about to leave the US to go back home and settle there. What should I do with my 401k? I’m 40 years now so not close to collect it, and know it will be heavily taxed if I collect now. Any advice from others who were in the same situation? Dont know if its worth leaving it in bank for another 20 years.

like

Have a bud who was a FX trader and now unemployed. Saw him yesterday and he wants to roll over his 401k at abt 800k. Now he has some bad habits so I ignored him but now need to give him an answer.

like
likehelpful

What are the benefits that ey gds has as compared to deloitte ?

Like in deloitte we have smartphone policy, well being subsidy, internet bill reimbursement, hybrid home office setup etc etc.. what do we have in EY GDS ?

like

anyone have recommended resources on how to parent?

Soon to be a new parent here. Has anyone been given the impression that "yeah you get some leave time, but can you come back sooner?" feel/discussions? It gets really uncomfortable.

like

A Big4 Professional died at the age of 45 and went to heaven straight way.

He questioned God, why life was so less for him.

God replied: "Child, the way you filled your timesheet for number of hours worked, you seem to lived for 90 years already"

funnylike

a very specific question to all Canadians.

Current situation , i need to refund signing bonus which was paid along with 3 days of work at the company, taxes are withheld obviously
When you refund a signing bonus do you
1- refund ALL of it even taxes Withheld ?
2- refund only the amount that was deposited in your account
3- mix between 1 and 2 refund more than was deposited but less than the whole amount ( taxes should be refunded to me next year)

My contract says 2 and they want to do 3 Help

like

Anybody let their kid watch Blippi? Creepy AF, especially given what his previous character got up to 💩

like

My SO and I plan on settling down, but, I was pretty surprised when he asked if I would sign a prenup. I currently make almost 3 times what he makes. He is in the process of finalizing a social media app that he expects to be very successful, however, its made me a bit uncomfortable that he would suggest this when I have been with him all along when he's had little. Being that I have no filter, I asked him what pray tell, does he think I am after?? What are your views on prenups/postnups?

like

If anyone is interested in investing in crypto, I’m running a kickback campaign on Vauld, where both, you and I can reap benefits. You could also FD your crypto investments at interest rates as high as 12.68% for a few tokens.

Comment here or DM me personally if interested to talk further. Note that this crash is a great opportunity to enter. 😊

More Posts

I feel like public accounting isn’t my calling, but I’m good at it and could probably make partner one day. How does one decide if they should explore other companies/roles and potentially find happiness/alignment in the role or just send it and stay in public accounting? I struggle because on paper industry doesn’t interest me since I’m a people person and not really a number cruncher.

like

Recommendations on which MBB to apply to with a Tech Strategy focus? In process w/Strategy&, EY-P, and two other boutiques. My background is broad in strategy, implementation and the last couple of years in tech strategy. Thanks!

like

Is it mandatory to return IBM badge. I have been only asked to return the laptop. There is no info about badge submission.

like

If you left your job to push your business, what steps would you recommend before doing so?

The business is profitable, I’ve got savings…
Just nervous I guess.

like

If London people could move further outside the city not worrying about the commute to office for next one year, where would you go?

like

Anybody work for ZeroHash??? Had a interview for a Surveillance Analyst and can’t really find any reviews from employers.

like

I wanna move away from sales. Any suggestions on easy roles to transition into?

like

How many funds are going to be honest when marking down their pre-product investments?

like

I have a son he is 8. I’m pregnant again and I only have nausea at night time. It’s seems to start around 7:30-8:30pm every night. 🤔 I never had this with my son.

like

That point in the deck when you need to double down on your POV.

Post Photo
likefunny

Welcome to the SALT bowl!

Expected outcome to Wayfair?

like

Hey there
Can somebody help me with the avg salary of wn an analyst (with almost 3 years experience overall) in the Marketing domain? In Hyderabad region.

Thanks in advance for your help.

It's funny that for clients making something "hispanic" means putting an abuela on it.

Ok, i get it, you've seen Coco...

funnylike

Hello Friends,

I am currently serving notice period in my present company. My last working day is 23/12/2022. Currently I have only one offer but I am looking for better opportunities in terms of company/pay in QA role. Can anyone please refer me if there are any openings in your company?

Total Experience : 7.2 years

Skills : Automation testing, UI automation, API automation, Selenium, Java, C#, TestNG, Specflow, BDD, CI/CD

like

Microsoft, Facebook (Meta) ,Google, Amazon , Apple , Samsung

Post Photo

Freelance copywriters, what would you normally charge for a website copy refresh on a website of 50ish pages?

like

Has anyone done Bundaberg, Australia? Or Lady Elliot Island?

like

Where do people go post consulting > post start up (and don’t want to do either again)? In digital health/health mgmt, btw

like

Simple question:
Strategy Magazine or The Message?

like

=“Which teams will play in Super Bowl “&ROMAN(56)&”?”

likefunny

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Send download link to your phone

OR

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Messaging rates may apply

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal