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Old 02-03-2016, 06:55 PM
 
18 posts, read 108,885 times
Reputation: 24

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Hey everyone! I am genuinely befuddled about how people do this; numbers aren't adding up for me, and I'd love some advice.

I work at a Montessori school and make $10.50 an hour; I also have a four-month-old who goes to the baby classroom and I get a 50% discount on his tuition. He also only goes half-days; his dad works nights at the airport and so the tuition comes down to about $300/month, which we split. So my total income, after tuition, is about $1200/month. We don't do child support because his dad doesn't make any more money than I do and we split expenses. We are temporarily staying with some relatives but are expected to be out by July.

From browsing online, I can't find anywhere in Denver under $800-$900/month that is not sketchy as all get out or unreasonably far from my place of employment. If I went in on a $800/month spot, I would have $400 leftover for insurance, gas, phone, car expenses (which would include buying a car at this point), food, toiletries, clothes, baby stuff, EVERYTHING. I don't even make minimum wage!! How do people do it??? I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of getting another job, but I am a fulltime college student - 16 credit hours in addition to 40 hours per week of work and the baby. I got the full Pell Grant...but that basically paid for my books with a couple hundred leftover.

If I apply for food stamps and WIC then MAYBE we could get our food costs covered, or nearly so. Still, a few hundred dollars per month isn't nearly enough to cover our other expenses, much less ever be able to put a little away for savings. I owe a couple thousand on the medical bill for the birth (Medicaid wouldn't cover it) plus $150 to the bank.

I am almost done with a child development associate degree ( studying engineering for my Bachelor's) and I had wanted to get a small house and open an in-home preschool (I am also Montessori trained/certified). I thought there would be more money to have there - charge $20/day/kid, get 10 kids, and that's $30-$35,000/year ,pretty solid, wouldn't have to pay daycare for my son, and much more affordable for the parents than center daycare/preschool. I thought if I could save $800/month until July I could try for that. It's just a risk....which I don't know I can afford to take on such a tight budget with a baby. I couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. And the initial investment...there's no way to know I'd even have enough money to invest.

So, how do other people make the numbers add up?
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Old 02-03-2016, 08:43 PM
 
9 posts, read 23,278 times
Reputation: 11
Do you have anywhere else to go?
You can always move in with you baby's father. Two incomes, even if not very high, are much easier to manage than one. I am sorry you find yourself in the situation.
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Old 02-03-2016, 08:44 PM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,669 posts, read 29,550,848 times
Reputation: 33180
You cannot.
Omaha is much cheaper than Denver.
Housing: cheaper 2/3 or LESS
Daycare: less
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Old 02-03-2016, 08:49 PM
 
Location: Denver CO
24,204 posts, read 19,020,768 times
Reputation: 38265
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcortona View Post
Hey everyone! I am genuinely befuddled about how people do this; numbers aren't adding up for me, and I'd love some advice.

I work at a Montessori school and make $10.50 an hour; I also have a four-month-old who goes to the baby classroom and I get a 50% discount on his tuition. He also only goes half-days; his dad works nights at the airport and so the tuition comes down to about $300/month, which we split. So my total income, after tuition, is about $1200/month. We don't do child support because his dad doesn't make any more money than I do and we split expenses. We are temporarily staying with some relatives but are expected to be out by July.

From browsing online, I can't find anywhere in Denver under $800-$900/month that is not sketchy as all get out or unreasonably far from my place of employment. If I went in on a $800/month spot, I would have $400 leftover for insurance, gas, phone, car expenses (which would include buying a car at this point), food, toiletries, clothes, baby stuff, EVERYTHING. I don't even make minimum wage!! How do people do it??? I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of getting another job, but I am a fulltime college student - 16 credit hours in addition to 40 hours per week of work and the baby. I got the full Pell Grant...but that basically paid for my books with a couple hundred leftover.

If I apply for food stamps and WIC then MAYBE we could get our food costs covered, or nearly so. Still, a few hundred dollars per month isn't nearly enough to cover our other expenses, much less ever be able to put a little away for savings. I owe a couple thousand on the medical bill for the birth (Medicaid wouldn't cover it) plus $150 to the bank.

I am almost done with a child development associate degree ( studying engineering for my Bachelor's) and I had wanted to get a small house and open an in-home preschool (I am also Montessori trained/certified). I thought there would be more money to have there - charge $20/day/kid, get 10 kids, and that's $30-$35,000/year ,pretty solid, wouldn't have to pay daycare for my son, and much more affordable for the parents than center daycare/preschool. I thought if I could save $800/month until July I could try for that. It's just a risk....which I don't know I can afford to take on such a tight budget with a baby. I couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. And the initial investment...there's no way to know I'd even have enough money to invest.

So, how do other people make the numbers add up?
$20 per kid per day for 10 kids is 26,000 a year, not 30-35. But you can't handle 10 kids on your own day in and day out. Do you ever pee? And you have your own baby to care for - who is watching 10 kids while you do that? Plus you'd be running a business and having to deal with phone calls, parents, etc. And you'd have expenses to rent or buy a house, supplies, food, etc. Running a daycare isn't a terrible idea but you seriously need to reassess the economics of it.
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Old 02-04-2016, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Colorado Springs
3,959 posts, read 4,332,477 times
Reputation: 5267
Minimum wage in Colorado is $8.31, so at $10.50, you are already bit above it. Unfortunately, the people who make minimum wage live in those sketchy places you avoid. They drive rattle trap cars they share with others, they get WIC, they seek out other assistance, they have multi-generational homes, they work multiple jobs, they do without a lot of stuff. Eventually they get tired of the fight and migrate back to where they came from.
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Old 02-04-2016, 10:14 AM
 
3,111 posts, read 4,999,333 times
Reputation: 7375
I can't really see how you can make the daycare work. 1st it is a business. You need to know how to run one, pay taxes, hire help (background checks etc), pay them, pay their taxes, have back-up help for when they call in sick, get insurance, get a place that is in good shape (no lead paint), modified for small children, buy the supplies for small children to learn and play, pay for it to be inspected, be able to afford changes to pass inspection, get the required licenses and certifications etc. It is a full time job and you will have no time for school. From your post you seem extremely young.

In terms of how most people do it they go to college first, get a job second, get established financially with a place to live, a car and some savings and then have a baby. Your order is all jumbled up. So you can't do it the way most people do. You need to share a place with the baby daddy so he can share the expense and the work. Try to prioritize getting your education so you can get a decent job to support yourself and your child.

Look at the long term. By the time your child is in school you want to be able to afford to live in a decent area so they can attend a good school. To do that you can't work at at Montessori making $10.50 an hour. And you can't do it running a day care. You want a salaried job with health insurance. Keep going toward that.
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Old 02-04-2016, 11:08 AM
 
Location: Denver, Colorado U.S.A.
14,164 posts, read 27,091,768 times
Reputation: 10428
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcortona View Post
Hey everyone! I am genuinely befuddled about how people do this; numbers aren't adding up for me, and I'd love some advice.

I work at a Montessori school and make $10.50 an hour; I also have a four-month-old who goes to the baby classroom and I get a 50% discount on his tuition. He also only goes half-days; his dad works nights at the airport and so the tuition comes down to about $300/month, which we split. So my total income, after tuition, is about $1200/month. We don't do child support because his dad doesn't make any more money than I do and we split expenses. We are temporarily staying with some relatives but are expected to be out by July.

From browsing online, I can't find anywhere in Denver under $800-$900/month that is not sketchy as all get out or unreasonably far from my place of employment. If I went in on a $800/month spot, I would have $400 leftover for insurance, gas, phone, car expenses (which would include buying a car at this point), food, toiletries, clothes, baby stuff, EVERYTHING. I don't even make minimum wage!! How do people do it??? I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of getting another job, but I am a fulltime college student - 16 credit hours in addition to 40 hours per week of work and the baby. I got the full Pell Grant...but that basically paid for my books with a couple hundred leftover.

If I apply for food stamps and WIC then MAYBE we could get our food costs covered, or nearly so. Still, a few hundred dollars per month isn't nearly enough to cover our other expenses, much less ever be able to put a little away for savings. I owe a couple thousand on the medical bill for the birth (Medicaid wouldn't cover it) plus $150 to the bank.

I am almost done with a child development associate degree ( studying engineering for my Bachelor's) and I had wanted to get a small house and open an in-home preschool (I am also Montessori trained/certified). I thought there would be more money to have there - charge $20/day/kid, get 10 kids, and that's $30-$35,000/year ,pretty solid, wouldn't have to pay daycare for my son, and much more affordable for the parents than center daycare/preschool. I thought if I could save $800/month until July I could try for that. It's just a risk....which I don't know I can afford to take on such a tight budget with a baby. I couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. And the initial investment...there's no way to know I'd even have enough money to invest.

So, how do other people make the numbers add up?
This shows how horrible wealth inequality has become in this country. I was making about $10.50 an hour working at the DMV 20 years ago!!! And I was broke back then, paying $350 a month to rent a room in a crappy old house. And I didn't have any kids, and I was still broke making that amount 20 years ago.

Min. wage really should be at least $25 an hour. I'm sorry you have to deal with this. IDK... rent is really high here.
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Old 02-04-2016, 11:12 AM
 
4,795 posts, read 4,783,232 times
Reputation: 7348
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74 View Post
$20 per kid per day for 10 kids is 26,000 a year, not 30-35. But you can't handle 10 kids on your own day in and day out. Do you ever pee? And you have your own baby to care for - who is watching 10 kids while you do that? Plus you'd be running a business and having to deal with phone calls, parents, etc. And you'd have expenses to rent or buy a house, supplies, food, etc. Running a daycare isn't a terrible idea but you seriously need to reassess the economics of it.
Seriously. I have a 7 month old and when I am home alone with her I have to keep my eyes on her every second because she is crawling all over the place and trying to grab everything she can reach. The idea of one person trying to watch 10 kids by themselves is exactly why my wife is not working so we don't have to put our kid in daycare even though second income would help us a lot
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Old 02-04-2016, 11:15 AM
 
Location: Prescott Valley, AZ
3,393 posts, read 4,561,514 times
Reputation: 3868
Quote:
Originally Posted by denverian View Post
This shows how horrible wealth inequality has become in this country. I was making about $10.50 an hour working at the DMV 20 years ago!!! And I was broke back then, paying $350 a month to rent a room in a crappy old house. And I didn't have any kids, and I was still broke making that amount 20 years ago.

Min. wage really should be at least $25 an hour. I'm sorry you have to deal with this. IDK... rent is really high here.
Are you kidding me? Do you know how much everything will cost if you had it that way?
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Old 02-04-2016, 11:27 AM
 
4,795 posts, read 4,783,232 times
Reputation: 7348
Quote:
Originally Posted by denverian View Post
This shows how horrible wealth inequality has become in this country. I was making about $10.50 an hour working at the DMV 20 years ago!!! And I was broke back then, paying $350 a month to rent a room in a crappy old house. And I didn't have any kids, and I was still broke making that amount 20 years ago.

Min. wage really should be at least $25 an hour. I'm sorry you have to deal with this. IDK... rent is really high here.
Move to Scandinavia
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