Cost of Working

[DVC-Don]

Back in 1992 I left my job as an insurance adjuster and I was pulling in about $40,000 a year. My wife is an insurance agent and owns her own agency and made WAY more money than I did. I was on the road daily and bringing my own lunch would be a pain, then I had to wear a suit (nowadays the adjusters wear jeans and polo's). We paid for child care for a 8 month old and a 17 month old. We sat down with our CPA and she figured I was working for minimum wage basically when your took out dry cleaning bills, lunches and child care and extra taxes. Mainly due to my wife's income being so large and taxes we paid jointly. So, I began my 7 years as a full time stay at home dad. After the kids got into elementary school I started working for my wife in her agency part time. I'm retired now.

 

[DawnM]

When my babies were little, I did pay for childcare. It ran about $1,200/mo. Other than that, I spent about $200/mo on gas. I brought home more than 4 times that amount, so it wasn't an issue. On top of that, I got health coverage for the entire family at no added cost to me. That was a HUGE benefit.

I was allowed to wear casual pants to work, which weren't high priced. I could also wear casual T-shirts (not sport kinds, but the scoop neck, solid color kind to wear under a little sweater) and those weren't high priced either.

I spent the most on shoes as I was on my feet a large part of the day. I bought mostly Easy Spirt, Clark's, etc.....

 

[ShayBells]

This summer I worked at home two days and put DS in daycare three days... My objective with that was to save on daycare costs. My thought now is I probably spent more on those two days each week going places than daycare would of cost. It was a great summer and totally worth it to be at the park or pool each day but very expensive.

I work part time now at 28 hours a week and it would overall especially during the school year cost me more money to go full time than what I would make. I've done the math. I think it really depends on the time of the year and the family and what works best for them. I swear after school care costs more than summer care. It makes no sense but that's how it is. I love working and when the time is right I'll go full time when it makes more sense but for now I can't afford to take on those bills. I would lose more than I make at part time. It's very frustrating.

 

[scoutie]

I'm a teacher, so my biggest expense is purchasing things for the students and classroom (curricular materials, expo markers, Kleenexes, etc.) I bring my lunch every day (there isn't time to go out and I work through lunch), and I live seven minutes away from work, so gas costs are low. Even in the early days when it seemed like most of my check went to daycare costs, I looked at the big picture, and for my family....I'm not speaking for others...there were many benefits to stay in the work force. Many of my former coworkers left the job to stay home, and now they can't get back in. Those who mentioned retirements benefits, savings, college for the kids.....those are future expenses that can be offset by working now.

On the other side of this question, you could ask what it costs to stay home. Many of my SAHM friends go out for coffee, for lunch, do some shopping, etc. during the day because they need to get out of the house. I'm home in the summers and I spend way more on activities to keep us all busy, food costs are much higher, we go through more toilet paper, etc.

 

[NMAmy]

Dang, I liked you up until this comment.

I will try to still like you.

Thanks, Dawn!

 

[aprilgail]

. Back in the early 80s' a friend of mine did daycare and one of the mom's of one of her daycare kids actually only cleared 75 cents an hour after daycare which meant she was really losing money if you looked at the cost of her working.

I am a single mom so I have to work. I pay $280/month for before and after school care for my son. I have to pay for both because of my work schedule. When school is out some random day I have to pay extra for that was well. The horror which is a day when school is out and daycare is also closed I have to pay $120 for one day of a babysitter. During summer I pay $640/month for childcare. A random week off, like spring break, costs $160. Also for my job sometimes I have to go to training overnight and while I'm paid for that I also have to pay a sitter $200 to stay with my kid.

There were some weeks that it cost me a lot for child care- summer camp was 450 a week but even if I was married I would have still kept my job. Can't just change jobs or quit and go back because it would have cost me a fortune in the future! My employer paid my medical/dental/optical/life insuance and also a company paid pension- those are work more than a low salary for a few months/years. At 52 I am retired with a company paid pension the rest of my life and company paid medical- so it was WELL worth paying all that in child care yet continuing to work!

 

[Bec3b1g]

Comments on another thread have made me curious. If you do not have young children that require daycare/after school care costs, how much does it really cost you to work?

I'm very surprised at these comments because I have no big work-related costs. I spend probably $30 per week for gas and if I wanted to reduce that, DH and I could carpool (he works slightly different hours than I do) or take the bus which goes from door to door. That $30 also includes all my weekend errands, doctor visits, etc so it's not exclusively for work. I have free parking at work, as well.

I have to eat lunch whether I'm at home or work. I bring lunch from home and only eat lunch out very occasionally so I don't consider that to be a cost as I'd probably eat out more often and have to pay for a lot more activities like movies, museums, etc. if I wasn't at work.

I've been pretty close to the same size since my 20's so I have a pretty large work wardrobe of classic items built up. I very rarely buy new clothes unless something actually wears out. I also wear a lot of these clothes for other occasions besides work so I don't consider them exclusively work clothes that I'd only ever purchase for that purpose. I don't buy clothes that need to be dry cleaned.

So, really, less than $30 per week is what it costs me to work. I'm sure my earnings put us in a higher tax bracket but the money I earn is still more than the taxes we pay.

I honestly can't think of any other work related costs so maybe I'm missing something. I'm sure someone will enlighten me!

How about you?

This is very similar to my experience. I bring my own lunch, drink black coffee from home (no Starbucks for me), and we don't do take out for dinners. I've stayed the same size so have a full closet of clothes and lucky for me, I work in a casual industry so what I wear to work fits in with being a busy mom.

I was a SAHM when my boys were little and had quite a few SAHM friends. I spent way more in those days because I was always out and about shopping, going to parks, and visiting friends and didn't spend much time at home.

So I guess it's kinda ironic that I can afford to spend more money on myself now that I'm working, but I'm too dang busy to do it.

Eta: Whether I work or not, I would continue to maintain my professional certs so that cost wouldn't go away if I was a SAHM. I work in an unrelated field right now and I still keep my credentials up to date.

 

[MIGrandma]

When I worked outside the home I drove 6 miles one way so really didn't spend a lot per week on gas to get there and home.

We were required to wear skirts (at least to the knee or longer) and aprons so I had some clothing expense but still not a lot, and that was about it.

As far as food to eat while working, occasionally I brought something from home but most of the time I ate the restaurant (I was a waitress) food. We could eat from the buffet for $1.50, or from just the salad bar for 75 cents. If we wanted to order something off the menu she charged us half price what she charged on the menu.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Other than wear and tear my job costs me nothing at all. I work mostly form home, I go to the office 2x a week and drive about 100 miles rount drip each day. I use my company card for all my gas. I either bring lunch or we stock the kitchen and eat from that. No tolls, no parking fees etc.

 

[morgan98]

This is very similar to my experience. I bring my own lunch, drink black coffee from home (no Starbucks for me), and we don't do take out for dinners. I've stayed the same size so have a full closet of clothes and lucky for me, I work in a casual industry so what I wear to work fits in with being a busy mom.

I was a SAHM when my boys were little and had quite a few SAHM friends. I spent way more in those days because I was always out and about shopping, going to parks, and visiting friends and didn't spend much time at home.

So I guess it's kinda ironic that I can afford to spend more money on myself now that I'm working, but I'm too dang busy to do it.

I agree with this post 100%. I think people sometimes over estimate the cost of working, but under estimate the expense of staying home. While I do not have children, I have though about taking a "sabbatical" and staying home for a period of time. My job is really a part of me and I find I cannot give it up. It would be nearly impossible to find a comparable position to return to. Anyway, if I were to stay at home, I would need to meet people for lunch to socialize and I would have hobbies to pursue. I would spend more money than I do not that I am occupied by my job.

Also, when people speak about spending lots of money on food or coffee because they work, I would like to say that is not necessarily a work expense. We all have things we like to indulge in, but that is different than it being a work expense. Black coffee from home is still having coffee without spending $4 at Starbucks. I am not knocking having Starbucks, I just doubt it is a work related expense such as commuting costs or a work wadrobe.

 

[DawnM]

I know I spend money I never would if I didn't work. Gas is minimal because I would be out running errands anyway and work is 13 miles from home so I could easily do 26 miles a day otherwise. That said, because I'm at work I buy startbucks almost every day which is $4 plus I buy lunch most days ($7-8). I also have work clothes because we are business casual so I have more than I would have if I was home. Parking is free. I make pretty good money but if I had daycare expenses for 2 kids, it would eat up at least 1/2 of what I make, probably more. I know people whose daycare/school expenses for 2 kids is 2K+/month. When I was home with my boys for 14 years, we definitely spent less on things because I had the time to shop the best deals, etc. We also had very relaxing family meals cooked at home and weren't running errands on weekends.

But those are choices you made. $200/month or more is far more than I would have ever chosen to spend on coffee and lunch for just me. If my DH did the same, that would be close to $500/mo. I made my own lattes at home and usually packed a lunch, although lunch was very cheap where I worked ($4 or so I believe it was.) I did cook when I got home, although I really don't enjoy cooking, so whether I work or not doesn't change that I make very easy meals.

I remember when my kids were young (so in the early 90's) there was an article out that showed you had to make something like $30,000/year to more than break even. The reasons were: day care, taxes, commuting, clothing, meals. People who work tend to make less meals at home and eat out more. Also, people forget when a family has a combined income, odds are they are in a higher tax bracket than they would be on just one salary. So, when one parent stays home, they aren't losing the entire salary. Back in the early 80s' a friend of mine did daycare and one of the mom's of one of her daycare kids actually only cleared 75 cents an hour after daycare which meant she was really losing money if you looked at the cost of her working.

People always bring up this tax bracket thing......but it doesn't work the way most think it does. Only a portion of your salary will be taxed at the higher rate if you qualify.

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/taxes/tax-brackets.aspx

 

[bcla]

Depends on the job. I've had a several over the years, and where I worked relative to home varied. I've had great situations, then got laid off and had to start over again. However, in the end I'd rather be working than worrying about the lowest costs of meals or getting to work.

I've lived as close as 5 miles to work with either free parking or monthly garaged parking provided by my employer. In fact, I once bought a house just to be close to work, but that job went away after a few years and I found myself closer to my hometown.

Meal situations have varied. I'd brown bag sometimes or find a cheap place to eat near work. It was great when I was working in a downtown or at least close to affordable lunch options. Other places had an on-site cafeteria. Occasionally meals were provided by the employer via a sign-in sheet or sometimes where dinner was catered. I've never worked at a place where the employer provided all meals/snacks/beverages - a la Google. I did work at a contract position where the direct hired employees were allowed to get beverages and certain items without paying. I never tried to hide that I was a contractor, but occasionally the cafeteria cashier didn't charge me since they were so used to the majority of their customers being direct hires eligible for the freebies.

That contract job I ended up taking was about 90 minutes from home. I actually stayed in a hotel then went camping (in a nearby public campground) for a couple of days before I found a room sublet pretty close to work. In fact, the other people subletting in the house were working at the same employer. Yeah - that was $500/month plus a share of the utilities. With the distance from my permanent home, it probably was a tax deductible working expense, but I never took it. My contract agency was supposed to maybe compensate part of my income as a per diem (i.e. not taxed) but they kind of put off my requests until I gave up. The costs for taking that job weren't trivial, but it beat the alternative of not working.

At my current job I like taking the train to work if I don't drive. It may not be that cost effective, but I make a decent salary that can cover the costs, and it's a lot less aggravating than dealing with other drivers and being stuck in traffic. That is, unless there's train delays.

 

[Domo]

There's the emotional cost too...

 

[sk!mom]

Comments on another thread have made me curious. If you do not have young children that require daycare/after school care costs, how much does it really cost you to work?

I'm very surprised at these comments because I have no big work-related costs. I spend probably $30 per week for gas and if I wanted to reduce that, DH and I could carpool (he works slightly different hours than I do) or take the bus which goes from door to door. That $30 also includes all my weekend errands, doctor visits, etc so it's not exclusively for work. I have free parking at work, as well.

I have to eat lunch whether I'm at home or work. I bring lunch from home and only eat lunch out very occasionally so I don't consider that to be a cost as I'd probably eat out more often and have to pay for a lot more activities like movies, museums, etc. if I wasn't at work.

I've been pretty close to the same size since my 20's so I have a pretty large work wardrobe of classic items built up. I very rarely buy new clothes unless something actually wears out. I also wear a lot of these clothes for other occasions besides work so I don't consider them exclusively work clothes that I'd only ever purchase for that purpose. I don't buy clothes that need to be dry cleaned.

So, really, less than $30 per week is what it costs me to work. I'm sure my earnings put us in a higher tax bracket but the money I earn is still more than the taxes we pay.

I honestly can't think of any other work related costs so maybe I'm missing something. I'm sure someone will enlighten me!

How about you?

As I said on the other thread, once my kids were in school, I consider my cost to work to be zero.

I live less than a mile from work so no commuting costs. I pack my lunch every day.

I'm a teacher so I have a significant amount of time off. Our discretionary spending increases in the summer and any other time that I'm off. I'll have lunch out during the week, see a movie, and with a slower pace DH and I go out more often.

We may be in a higher tax bracket but I certainly realize a lot more than we pay in taxes.

 

[dotfurio]

I'd say it averages out to $30-40/month on supplies, and maybe it'd cut my gas in half so that'd be another $100 saved per month. I eat out once a week and probably would anyway, and I wear to work what I'd wear anyway. Thankfully I'm done paying for child care! Between the 2 kids that took up half my salary.

At this point it'd probably cost me more NOT to work, because I'd finally have time to do more (paid) activities with the kids and spend more time on my hobbies!

 

[HM]

When my kids required daycare, most of my salary went toward it. At that point I was working for health coverage, longevity, and to keep my job.
When they started elementary school we all of a sudden had extra money for doing things around the house, taking more vacations, etc.
Currently the cost to work is my gas, and $400ish for yearly parking. The clothing I wear to work I'd wear any other day, so I can't count that and food is the same as if I were home.

 

[Tiffylv]

.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Well, I carpool to work with DH most days. My office has free parking. I don't usually "do" lunch. My wardrobe is pretty minimal (wear the same suit outfits over and over). DH actually pays more, because he needs to have parking reserved near his office ($85 per month) for when he does drive separate and he does like to eat lunch out. So for me about $30 per week, if you don't count child care. Daycare is $267 per week.

 

[eliza61]

My cost are usually pretty low. I've had a car since I was I was 18 so I can't blame that on work, lol. I can wear jeans to work so unless there is a meeting, no extra clothing cost. after gas, I can keep 30 bucks in my pocket all week

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Right now I am situated the best I ever had been, since I had my oldest 12 years ago. I work from home with a flexible schedule, so no daycare costs. I wake up to work 2 hours before my kids and stay up 3 hours after they go to bed. When they have activities, I bring my laptop and find a private, quiet corner to work until the activity/practice is over. Monday is the only day they don't have activities so I've instituted "movie mondays" this summer and they aren't allowed to bother me while the movie is playing so that I can retreat to the master bedroom/office and work. It's exhausting, trying to squeeze work in every spare child-free moment of my day, but cheap. My 4 year old is going to preschool this year, that will only cost $150/month for 2 1/2 hours per day, M-F and of course I'll use that time to work, maybe I won't have to stay up so late.

A big cost of work that's been bugging me is the extra expenses. Of course, I don't have to spend money on a work wardrobe now that i work from home, but I don't have the time to do all the money-saving things that i did as a SAHM. I know, I know, boo hoo, poor me--I want you to know that I'm not really complaining, just sharing.

I belonged to a homeschool preschool co-op, so that saved us $150 a month.

We participated in two playgroups and I traded favors with all the moms so I almost never had to pay a sitter to watch my kids. I think all of us parents know how valuable that can be.

I had time to make extravagant home cooked meals completely from scratch, and comparison shop and coupon for the best prices on groceries and toiletries. Now, I pay a bit more to buy convenience foods like frozen veggies, I don't have the time to pick and can my own produce, I have to buy jarred spaghetti sauce, we went from never eating out or getting takeout to doing it at least once a week.

I used to bake my own bread, bake treats for my kids and husband every day, make homemade ice cream and plan elaborate family nights, complete with personalized menus and coordinating craft projects and games (I hunted down a huge box and made a "box of shame" for Despicable Me movie night, I created a 6 hole mini golf course in our backyard complete with flamingo covers for the golf clubs, created by cutting and gluing craft foam sheets for our Alice in Wonderland night, I could go on but I think you get the idea).

I did my best to be super mom, and now I feel guilty for not doing those magical things for my kids, but if I do take the time to do similar stuff I feel guilty for not working--I'll find myself thinking, "if I had spent this time working I could have made 'X' amount of dollars". It's terribly hard for me to separate work from home life now that I work from home, it's like I'm at work 24/7. Oh, and over the last year I've been working from home i've managed to back out of most of my volunteer commitments : (

So to sum up, for me the biggest cost of working is the guilt. This isn't the first time I've worked, though I have spent more of my adult life as a SAHM than as a working mom. Even when I worked outside the home I struggled with the mommy guilt. And the wife guilt, I don't do nearly as much for my husband as I used to--in fact, when he woke up today he couldn't find any boxers in his drawer. I thought I was keeping up with the laundry for everyone equally, though we always have dirty clothes in the hampers, but it turns out I was mostly washing clothes for me and the kids and neglecting my husband's hamper. More guilty feelings.