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What the $%#^@!
One month ago, my wife and I were handling the recent downturn in the economy fairly well. We had cut back on non-essentials (movies, eating out, certain hobbies...)and it was no big deal.
With a new baby coming, we've started doing the math on that and damn, I never realized how expensive daycare is for kids. Not to mention all the diapers and wipes along with getting him healthcare. Ugh, we went from comfortable to now pinching pennies, I may even have to cancel my Pathfinder subscription.
How the hell does anyone afford kids these days! The costs are ridiculous!
/rant
How the hell does anyone afford kids these days! The costs are ridiculous!
I've never tried to buy a kid. What do they run?
You can get a three-pack at Wal-Mart.How the hell does anyone afford kids these days! The costs are ridiculous!I've never tried to buy a kid. What do they run?
But the kids they sell at Wal*Mart are made by the Chinese, and they won't match my drapes. I was more thinking of something in a Maori to merry things up around here.
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I've never tried to buy a kid. What do they run? You can get a three-pack at Wal-Mart. But the kids they sell at Wal*Mart are made by the Chinese, and they won't match my drapes. I was more thinking of something in a Maori to merry things up around here.
try www.tradewithaustralia.com, but the overseas shipping cost are outrageous, and then the Maori's would have to spend 6 months in quarantine before you would recive them. Just make sure the shipping company puts airholes in the crate.
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I've never tried to buy a kid. What do they run?You can get a three-pack at Wal-Mart.But the kids they sell at Wal*Mart are made by the Chinese, and they won't match my drapes. I was more thinking of something in a Maori to merry things up around here.try www.tradewithaustralia.com, but the overseas shipping cost are outrageous, and then the Maori's would have to spend 6 months in quarantine before you would recive them. Just make sure the shipping company puts airholes in the crate.
Technically, Maoris are from New Zealand. And the New Zealanders just looooove being confused with Australians almost as much as the Scots love being called English.
But the kids they sell at Wal*Mart are made by the Chinese, and they won't match my drapes. I was more thinking of something in a Maori to merry things up around here. try www.tradewithaustralia.com, but the overseas shipping cost are outrageous, and then the Maori's would have to spend 6 months in quarantine before you would recive them. Just make sure the shipping company puts airholes in the crate. Technically, Maoris are from New Zealand. And the New Zealanders just looooove being confused with Australians almost as much as the Scots love being called English.I've never tried to buy a kid. What do they run?You can get a three-pack at Wal-Mart.
Did you happen to see that episode of Flight of the Conchords (funny HBO series) where they suffer discrimination because some guy thinks they're Australian?
I'll ask my wife at dinner how we afford it. Get back to you later.
When did you go poodle?
try www.tradewithaustralia.com, but the overseas shipping cost are outrageous, and then the Maori's would have to spend 6 months in quarantine before you would recive them. Just make sure the shipping company puts airholes in the crate.
Airholes? I thought they said... oh man... no wonder!
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Technically, Maoris are from New Zealand. And the New Zealanders just looooove being confused with Australians almost as much as the Scots love being called English.I've never tried to buy a kid. What do they run?You can get a three-pack at Wal-Mart.But the kids they sell at Wal*Mart are made by the Chinese, and they won't match my drapes. I was more thinking of something in a Maori to merry things up around here.try www.tradewithaustralia.com, but the overseas shipping cost are outrageous, and then the Maori's would have to spend 6 months in quarantine before you would recive them. Just make sure the shipping company puts airholes in the crate.
www.tradewithaustralia.com is a real company I work with and they export Kiwi goods too, should have explained.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8
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I'll ask my wife at dinner how we afford it. Get back to you later.
She says we don't afford it. She recommended a vasectomy. For me, not you. Thanks a lot, Jack!
However, she also recommended that you buy more expensive diapers for nighttime and go for a cheaper brand in the daytime, not eating out so much no matter how exhausted the chef of the house is, and seeing if anyone in your network of friends has clothes or other necessities.
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For a poodle a vasectomy is much better than the other option.I'll ask my wife at dinner how we afford it. Get back to you later.She says we don't afford it. She recommended a vasectomy. For me, not you. Thanks a lot, Jack!
If you have freinds or relatives that also have kids you can try to set up a nanny network where one person looks after all the kids on some days and you look after them on others. It might save on daycare costs and provide you and your wife extra free time also.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8
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Sam's club.
But seriously, the big first step for us was to get out of debt (except for the house). Without credit cards, car payments, and store accounts, my wife was able to quit teaching and stay home full-time. Taa-daa: no daycare.
Best of luck!
-Skeld
If you head over to the 'Apple for the teacher' thread, we will give you an apple for your wife. ;-)
Congratulations, but I sure feel for you. We were paying about 14,000 a year for day care. And that was for 2 kids, one infant and one school-ager. The school ager is now a latch-key kid (she's in 5th grade now so I think that's OK) and the younger one is now 4, much cheaper, and goes to school in only one more year... so the end is in sight.
And the deductible for child care is no where near enough, particularly since it's mostly per family and not per child. It's brutal. It really is.
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If you run 8 diapers a day(6-10 is average) that's 2920 diapers a year at $30 for 150ish at the Wholesale club per pack is like 22.5ish packs or $675 for the year. Figure $20 a month for wipes is another $240. That's just the stuff needed to deal with poo. Oh, and have fun changing diapers. A kid runs through about 9000 before you potty train them.
And hope you don't get one with any type of disorders. Lactaid milk is running $6 for 3/4 of a gallon. Anything gluten or casein free is around double the normal amount for a regular version.
1 in 100 boys right now have autism. The number for girls is about 1 in 150. Catholic school is running around $6000 a year in my area (delaware) and private is running from $7000-12000 roughly.
Doom and Gloom off now.
You should pick up "What to Expect when you're expecting". It's a good reference for what you will go through until birth. It covers a lot of scary stuff. What to expect the first year is also a must-have. It helps to educate yourself so if something odd goes down you have a point of reference. Knowledge is power and an educated parent is the best defense against being torn apart by the next couple years.
Congrats.
You poor fool.
;P
Congratulations, but I sure feel for you. We were paying about 14,000 a year for day care. And that was for 2 kids, one infant and one school-ager.Where do you live that child care is that high Bill? Around here between $800 and $1000 per month for two kids would be considered steep.
Madison, Wisconsin. You see prices like that in a lot of major cities where there's an intense demand for day care. I pay about $190-210 a week for a toddler, $80-90 for a school ager during the school year, then about $150 a week for the same school ager during the summer. Adds up really quickly.
National surveys vary WIDELY about the cost of day care for kids the same age. I'm paying only about 75-80% what someone in Boston or New York has to pay, but it's still higher than other markets. Quality varies widely too. But since I'm in the state that introduced the US to kindergarten, we have some really strong traditions in early childhood care that places can tap. And our current day care does. And it's only a little more expensive than the multi-state corporate pit that is La Petite Academy we took our kids out of a couple years ago.
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Congratulations, but I sure feel for you. We were paying about 14,000 a year for day care. And that was for 2 kids, one infant and one school-ager.Where do you live that child care is that high Bill? Around here between $800 and $1000 per month for two kids would be considered steep.Madison, Wisconsin. You see prices like that in a lot of major cities where there's an intense demand for day care. I pay about $190-210 a week for a toddler, $80-90 for a school ager during the school year, then about $150 a week for the same school ager during the summer. Adds up really quickly.
Okay, after rereading your post, it makes more sense. When I first read it I thought you had said $14,000 a month. That's why I was confused. Our prices are about comparable.
Okay, after rereading your post, it makes more sense. When I first read it I thought you had said $14,000 a month. That's why I was confused. Our prices are about comparable.
Just after I posted it, I even asked myself "I didn't say $14,000 a month did I?" So it didn't just cross your mind... and I wrote it! ;)
I'll ask my wife at dinner how we afford it. Get back to you later.
"Oh, I and Helen and some other girls run a drug and extortion ring on the side, otherwise it would be impossible."
Sometimes it is better not to ask (especially if the person is a creative tightwad and cooks).
Anyway, congrats, Jack.
Congratulations, CJ. Welcome to the toughest job you will ever love.
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that happens after they leave home and you get to spoil thier kids and load them up onn sugar and caffineAh, so we're looking at long-term goals here.
Sometimes, in the still of the night with a computer monitor as a light, it's the only thing that keeps you sane.......then the kobolds come out from under the couch and crown you as their new leader.
;P
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that happens after they leave home and you get to spoil thier kids and load them up onn sugar and caffineAh, so we're looking at long-term goals here.Sometimes, in the still of the night with a computer monitor as a light, it's the only thing that keeps you sane.......then the kobolds come out from under the couch and crown you as their new leader.
;P
I think you lost sight of the goal if your the kobold king...
Unless your going to spoil the kobolds...they grow up fast right?
1. Congratulations
2. Don't cancel your pathfinder, it may be one of the few things that'll keep you from flippin'out!
3. Get some art commissions for extra cash! (in deviant ;P)
4. Its amazing how a "serious" tread can turn into this kind kind of ranting. Hilarious!!!!
4. Its amazing how a "serious" tread can turn into this kind kind of ranting. Hilarious!!!!
It is a mission of mine. Leave no thread un-jacked.
What's health care to a kobold? They would die of old age in the waiting room.Bah, they'll probably want healthcare coverage too..........then the kobolds come out from under the couch and crown you as their new leader.
;P
Hey!!! Oh wait. I'm a poodle now.
It is a mission of mine. Leave no thread un-jacked.
Congratulations are in order then, you are doing a great job!
We had our first child last year (2007) in April. We were both working, but decided that quite simply, day care was a stupid idea for us. We’d be funneling most of her salary towards letting someone else raise our child. Now she is a stay at home mom while we live on a single middle-class income (mine). We’ve always been single checking account what’s-mine-is-yours people, so it wasn’t a tough transition. I don’t have to worry about what’s going on with my son and he gets constant contact with one of us, pretty cool. I have zero illusions about just how difficult her new job is. Her going back to work would be a break!
Things that helped:
Breast-feed if possible. Boobie milk be free! Not always a reality for women, despite what the "Lactation Nazis" will try to push on you.
Generic formula costs less than half of regular formula, even with the manufacturer checks, AND it foams less.
Generic diapers work fine for days. As mentioned earlier, go with the good stuff for at night.
Bananas and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches are inexpensive (and tasty). I prefer the natural peanut butter (without all the hydrogenated crap), but you have to get over the grossness of stirring in the liquid.
I haven’t tried it yet, because the whole milk (skim for us, whole for Drew) at Aldi’s runs in the $2.50 range, but the powdered milk stays good for a year and comes in HUGE boxes.
Relatives with slightly older kids are your new best friends. I think I’ve bought clothes for Drew maybe once.
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stuff
I'd love for my wife to be able to stay home and raise our kids but unfortunately unless I want to live in a trailer park or a shabby condo(just moved out), we need the additional amount she earns to afford a decent house.
I'll have to remember the powdered milk at Aldi's, I think there's one nearby. We just stocked up on diapers and some other stuff at BJ's, thank goodness for that place.
We have some friends who are waiting to have children until they can afford it. We keep laughing at them every time they come out with this ridiculous statement. No matter how many times we tell them, they just will not get it through their heads that you can NEVER "afford" kids. Not gonna happen. Somehow you just learn to rearrange your life so that it all works. Lots of good suggestions so far in this thread. Let me add one more. Thrift stores, especially ones like Once Upon a Child that sell gently used kid stuff, are your new best friend. All the same baby gear and clothes at a tiny fraction of the original price. Strollers, cribs, swings, toys, all of it. The only thing you actually HAVE to buy new is a carseat.
Congratualtions, BTW. Being a parent is a wonderful thing. Terrifying, confusing, and hard, but it's totally worth it. You'll understand soon.:)
Daddy, I’m hungry. Daddy, I’m thirsty. Daddy, can I use my curly straw? Daddy, I’m still thirsty. Daddy, I made poo poo, will you wipe my butt. Daddy, I want to watch cartoons. But, I don’t like the news. Daddy, can I watch t.v. upstairs? Daddy, my cartoons are over and there is something I do not like on t.v. will you change the channel? Daddy, I want to watch my video, will you put it on for me?
And that is just 15 minutes.
I haven’t tried it yet, because the whole milk (skim for us, whole for Drew) at Aldi’s runs in the $2.50 range, but the powdered milk stays good for a year and comes in HUGE boxes.
For my money, powdered milk tastes terrible. I find it reasonably acceptible for cooking, but can't palate drinking it.
For various money-saving tips, find a copy of the Tightwad Gazette. We got a number of ideas out of it, including recipes for cheap dinners that have become staples at our house.