It seems that we are members of the social elite without realizing it:
- Cost of having a child full time at Amy and Evan’s nursery: £7,800 pa
- Cost of having a child full time at Rishworth, a local high prestige private school: £8,460 pa
- Percentage difference: 8%
Rishworth school has a sports hall, tennis courts, sports fields, a swimming pool, and a performing arts center. Nursery has a plastic slide and some CD’s hung from a tree in the “sensory garden”. Doesn’t feel quite right somehow. Here’s some more numbers for you:
- Cost of having two children at nursery full time: £15,600 pa
- Our rough combined income (net): £32,000
To be honest I am being a little over-dramatic. We don’t actually send the kids to nursery full time, just three days a week. But still, currently nursery takes up 30% of our income. Add in the 21% that goes to our mortgage, and the 48% that’s blown on my Diet Coke addiction, and you can see that money is a bit tight at the moment.
I think I might buy myself an iPod to console myself.
When I was in London a couple years ago I got a pint at a local pub in Chelsea. It was 5 pounds (I don’t have your monetary symbol on my keyboard). I didn’t think much about it until I realized that was 10 dollars US. Pricey ale!! And a few months ago my wife was offered a job in London. We both would love to live there for a few years, but when we did the math, we realized we’d have to sell kidneys to make it work. I think you need to have the Royals sell off some assets and spread the wealth a bit because that one expensive kingdom you have over there.
I couldn’t afford to live in London, things get more affordable the further north you go. Especially housing (although it’s still pretty expensive to be honest)
I think i need an ipod too.
Could you be a victorian style dad and send your children out to clean chimneys and such like so they can pay their way?
I am joking of course but a friend of mine whose 4 year old models for mothercare catalogues and that kind of thing and the money comes in very handy. She also puts half of the earnings in a post office account for future college fees and that type of thing.
I got my mp3 player from Nettos for just fifteen of your earth pounds. Its a goodman one and granted it doesn’t look as snazzy as an ipod but it does the job.
*plugs in ipod*
Those numbers are scary! My eldest son will be starting nursery next year.
…arrrghhh!!!!
I have an IPOD, but I had to sell one of the Baby Goats.
Libby, my wife, is a stay-at-home mom just because it wouldn’t make much difference if she went to work and we had to pay for day cares and nursery schools. So 5 of us live on a single income. This is fine since I am a millionaire. lol.
Good luck, Dan!