I am in a similar boat (only, right now, it's pretty much all of my pay). I think about it the same way I used to think about taking a cab to my just-above-minimum-wage job during graduate school. Yep, it's a big bite out of my paycheck, but it's about income security now and in the future. I may not be netting much now, but I'm getting health insurance and retirement contributions. (Or, at least, I would be if I were working.) My income over my lifetime will be better, which might enable me to retire earlier or provide Butternut with a better standard of living.
As an added bonus for those of us non-married types (married types, too, but it's different), it is also important because of how it will affect our social security earnings. These are the best wage-earning years of my life.
Plus, I enjoy working.
But, yeah, it's hard to swallow that most of the money you are making goes to pay to have someone else take care of your kid, when you just look at the raw numbers.
Yep, and those pretty much echo my beliefs and experiences...and it was even more expensive than I thought! I had thought it would be around $900, but so far it is looking like it might be over $1000.
I think a lot of times the analysis that it would be "cheaper" for women not too work doesn't take these issues into consideration--let alone what would happen if the partners separated. (When working with survivors of DV trying to lave and make it on their own, I saw how the consequences of that a lot.) That said: I enjoy working, but for the first time I thought that if we have a second kid, I might take a year or two off, since I make half of what Sam makes--if we could get affordable health insurance. Anyway, right now I am just focused on getting this first one out, so not really a problem I have to worry about now!
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As an added bonus for those of us non-married types (married types, too, but it's different), it is also important because of how it will affect our social security earnings. These are the best wage-earning years of my life.
Plus, I enjoy working.
But, yeah, it's hard to swallow that most of the money you are making goes to pay to have someone else take care of your kid, when you just look at the raw numbers.
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I think a lot of times the analysis that it would be "cheaper" for women not too work doesn't take these issues into consideration--let alone what would happen if the partners separated. (When working with survivors of DV trying to lave and make it on their own, I saw how the consequences of that a lot.) That said: I enjoy working, but for the first time I thought that if we have a second kid, I might take a year or two off, since I make half of what Sam makes--if we could get affordable health insurance. Anyway, right now I am just focused on getting this first one out, so not really a problem I have to worry about now!
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