I love my job.....today.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ya I agree ... I could not survive on my income alone and pay our bills as they stand either we would have to seriously cut our standard of living just to keep the roof over our head and my program would have to drastically be cut back if I did not have my spouses income to rely on ~ I have a special Celiac / Diabetic diet to follow that does not allow me to cheap out on groceries or eat processed foods ~ last year my total groceries between daycare and home was almost $21,000 so no way would TWO children support our family and allow me to stay healthy

I get that depending on the area you live in home childcare providers can charge almost as much as centre care ~ so over $200 a week ... so with two children at $200 a week that would be $20,000 a year assuming you only take two weeks vacation so if you were to keep your budget for program next to nothing so you can KEEP all that money for your own family budget than I can see supporting two adults on that but IMO you'd have to own your home already or something cause most people would loose 1/2 that to mortgage or rent alone ... not sure where you live by in my home town the average 'rent' is about $800 a month unless you are lucky to have a rent controlled unit or a landlord who is 'absentee' aka they do not do a whole lot of improvements on the units and you still have to pay utilities, eat, medical expenses, transportation and so forth not to mention phone, cable and other extras ... it would be pretty tight to support two adults on what was left after rent/mortgage!

I have peers who are single income household and manage on a childcare income ~ some are in inexpensive all inclusive rental units which help cause utilities alone can be a huge expense in this industry with all the hot water and toilet flushing and having to light and heat all day long being home or others have access to another source of steady income (child support and so forth) to help make those ends meet for sure ~ so YES it can be done.

We do make a FAIR wage but I hate the implication we are raking it in ... last year my hourly wage after expenses was LESS than minimum wage and I was FULL all year long ... sure I got a lot of non financial perks that make this job worth while ... better work life balance and less stress being my own boss are priceless to me but the fact remains I could make more money working OUTSIDE the home in a retail job or other service industry ... been a long time since I have heard society refer to wages in retail as GOOD MONEY

Mind you I do not have 'wee children at home' to factor in the saved daycare as part of my income equation so I get that for those with young children adding in how much is saved in those costs would pump up how much you are making on paper to well over minimum wage for sure depending on how many children you have needing childcare still!