[quote=FlyerInHi]From what I understand, $4,000 for 3 kids is about right.
$3,000 daycare and private preschool expenses will go away after the kids get older.
What’s wrong with spending money on your kids if you can afford it?
Nothing wrong with aiming high. Piano and language school are wonderful for kids. They learn best at a young age.
Why do you keep on pushing CSU? it’s the path to mediocrity. For example, CSU path won’t allow one to become a federal judge or supreme court justice.[/quote]
We had one child (1 year old) in a day care and the cost was $1,650/month. I agree that 3 kids for $4K month is about right (not overly expensive) for workweek care (6AM -6PM care, as needed , 5 days a week). Assuming 8 hours of care is provided per day (could be up to 12), that’s approx 480 hours of service per month (3 kids x 8 hours x 20 days) or roughly $8.33 per hour. Pretty reasonable when you consider that it costs about half that to put your dog in “doggy day care” for a day or what it costs per hour to hire a gardener to maintain your lawn. With our second child, we found it cheaper (and more convenient) to hire a live-in nanny that not only watches the kids, but also runs errands/performs house keeping duties.
I disagree that CSU is a path to mediocrity. My situation isn’t uncommon in my profession — I used my “mediocre” 4-year CSU education to gain employment at one of the largest international CPA Firms. I get a slight chuckle knowing my “cheap” CSU education landed me the same job as some of my peers that loaded up on student loan debt while getting educated at the more “expensive/elite” universities (USC, USD, etc.). This experience may be unique to my industry, but definitely proves CSU education is not always a guaranteed path to mediocrity.
