They say a mortgage is your biggest financial commitment. But for Lauren Hansell and thousands of other parents, housing costs are dwarfed by the monumental cost of childcare.
The 34-year-old and her husband pay £69 per day in nursery fees for their 16-month-old daughter, totalling more than £800 a month for three days a week. But care costs are rising across Britain as nurseries struggle to absorb inflated energy and food prices.
Last week Ms Hansell received an email informing her of an inflation-busting 12pc price rise at her daughter’s nursery from April, which will increase the daily cost to £77.
She said: “Our monthly childcare costs will then be almost £1,000 a month. We already spend more on nursery fees than we do our mortgage, by about a fifth.
“My salary goes entirely on housing and childcare costs, there is no way we could afford it without a double income.”
Perhaps you just can’t afford servants then?
“My salary goes entirely on housing and childcare costs”
Still worth her going out to work then; not only paying the external costs of working (childcare) but enough to pay for accommodation for her, her partner and their child.
What does she ant – someone else to work to pay for her? (yes, presumably)
But, but, but Madam, that mite is going to bring you untold joy. Until she’s about twelve, anyway.
I’m no expert but looking at the HMRC site there appears to be 15-30 free hours of childcare available per week for kids aged 3-4 unless the parents are already receiving tax credits. After that age there are tax-free childcare concessions.
It seems unlikely that the lady and her partner are not eligible or receiving any such form of support.
It seems more likely that we are only being given a percentage of the relevant facts.
As a worse case scenario her salary (around £26 gross) apparently covers childcare and mortgage. One would hope hubby’s income would cover everything else with something to spare.
N.B. Just a few years ago married couples each earning £49,999 still qualified for child support payments.
If her entire income is going for nursery costs then she can either
1. Just do it herself
2. Consider it what it is – paying for a temporary convenience and when the kid doesn’t need daycare anymore pocket the income.
16 months!? The kid’s not even one-and-a-half years old, and she’s putting it in daycare.
jgh,
What else is she supposed to do, take the baby to work with her?
“What else is she supposed to do, take the baby to work with her?” Well she could put her in a dog costume.
The servant problem rears its ugly head again!!
If your mortgage is your biggest financial commitment, you’ll have a poor old age. Your pension should be bigger.
If I say its terribly hard to afford a good butler these days I don’t think I’d get much sympathy, so not sure why she should either TBH……..or can we add ‘servant poverty’ to all the other ones that seem to apply these days?