She's On The Money - The Childcare Catch-22

Episode Date: September 17, 2024

Wondering if it’s worth returning to work when child care costs are eating up your paycheck? You’re not alone. This episode takes a closer look at the true cost of child care, the long-term impact of a career break, and practical tips to navigate these tough decisions while keeping your financial goals in sight. The Australian government website for researching childcare: https://www.startingblocks.gov.au/. SIGN UP FOR THE INVESTING MASTER CLASS! Use the code PODCAST for a cheeky discount. Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements. The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs.  Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kernai, Wolperi and Awadjeri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjeri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. She's on the money. She's on the money.

hello and welcome to she's on the money the podcast that makes money talk easy and relatable just like chatting with your besties that's us and if your besties are moms this question is probably one that comes up in the group chat a lot. Is it really worth going back to work with these childcare costs? It is a tricky one. I know a lot of our audience are probably feeling the pinch right now. Well, today I'm here with our resident finance expert and super mum, Victoria Devine. Super mum is a stretch. I'm like, my baby is fed and clothed and not crying slay. That is a win, a triple win. Incredible. Bec, I am very excited to be here talking about childcare. This is new to me and I cannot wait to dive deeper. I mean, I don't know. I don't

have children, but it just sounds like it's so much money. You're going to be shook with the information that I'm bringing today. You're going to be like, how in this economy can anyone afford children? Well, I'm excited to hear. So V, how much exactly are families spending on childcare? It's not very pretty. So on average, Australian families are spending around 17% of their income on childcare. As you can probably imagine, that is a massive financial commitment that's forced many parents to make a really hard decision between work and family life. And for many of them, childcare is such a big financial strain that impacts literally everything from weekly grocery budgets to long-term saving goals and living their best life. In places like Sydney

in Melbourne, full-time childcare can set you back, Bec, sit down, anywhere between $120 and $220 a day. A day? A day. And Bestie, on this side of the table, I'm spending $194 a day on childcare. A day is so outrageous. And I'm only sharing that because that's inner Melbourne. And I feel like when I put on my Instagram a couple of months before Harvey was due, because I was really trying to set all my ducks up and like you know pick a daycare before he'd even like gotten here basically because even the wait lists Beck are insane I was asking like how much do you pay and it was so wildly different like some of them like oh 120 a day some are like literally like 250 like right on average it's between 120 and 220 a day but it varied so much that now I'm

like well I'm you know inner city Melbourne I'm within that like 10 kilometer ring around to the CBD and I'm paying $194 a day. And having been a little bit over the top, I looked at basically every single daycare in my area and that was actually average. Like it wasn't, oh, the most expensive one. That was just what you pay. Crazy. Yeah. It's like sometimes that would be more than what someone makes a day. Yeah. And get this, if you have a permanent position. So I am lucky enough that Harvey has been given a permanent position. So we know that he goes two days a week but those two days a week are set aside for him but if your child doesn't go because they're sick you still have to pay really yeah you can't just like call in and be like sorry like we're

not coming in today money win like no no you're paying for that day and even though they probably got sick from being in child care that doesn't matter at all and I think nothing recently has stung quite as much as seeing a payment go through for the days that Harvey hasn't been in his little class. Wow. I mean, like I know that childcare workers do deserve to be paid a lot. And so I wrote a whole article in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age probably a year ago now, just being like, what the heck? And this was during my period of time where I was doing all of my research on my daycare centers, working out what we were going to pay for and what that looked like. And I was horrified. I mean, that's a conversation probably for another day because

they do deserve to be paid so much more. We'll touch on it. Absolutely. So because I don't really know what these costs are, like I am quite mortified, but I'm sure there are reasons for this. So there definitely are reasons for this. Tell me. Yeah. What's driving these high costs? Honestly, a lot of it just comes down to regulation. So childcare centres have to meet really strict staff to child ratios, which then obviously varies by child grouping and affects the price. So right now Harvey is six months old, but that means he's got the most level of care right now. So there's the minimum amount of babies per child care worker in his room because like he can't even sit up unassisted at this point. Like we can sit up, but then we

fall over. So he needs basically someone always watching him. Whereas you can probably imagine once you get to like three or four, I won't say they're fully independent, but like they're happy to go play on their own and they can get their own toys and whatnot. So for little ones under two here in Australia, it's one carer for every four children, which obviously drives up costs to maintain that quality, but also your kids' safety. So you've got one person per four children. And as your kids get older, obviously that relaxes. And here in Australia, kids over three can have about 10 or 11 kids per carer, depending on your state, which means that usually your fees will drop a little bit lower but honestly nothing to write home about sure I assume like inflation

cost of living going up that probably is also a kind of oh my gosh yes yeah oh I'm looking at it at the moment and there's obviously a lot in the media about more support happening for child care but I can just see it coming child cares are just going to increase their prices and pass things on to you, which I think is crazy, but with basic needs like rent and utilities and our grocery bills being so much, don't get me started on the Woolies profit this year, those costs get passed on, which makes childcare even more expensive. Yeah, I see. That's so hectic. And some centres, Bec, it's like the Wild West in a way. I won't say there's obviously like a lot of regulation, but some childcare centres, like the one Harvey's privileged enough to go to,

is all inclusive. So like I drop him off in the morning and it includes his meals. It includes nappies. It includes his formula, which is really cool. I didn't realize that. Like when I dropped him off for the first time for orientation, they were like, what formula is he on? And I was like, oh, he's on this. And they were like, no worries, we'll buy it and put it to the side. Cool. Okay. And I was like, okay, like that made it sting slightly less. I guess that makes it, yeah. Formula's expensive, Bec.

Yeah, and nappies and stuff. For Harvey, $34 a can, and we go through like at least a can a week. Oh, wow. Okay. So that kind of shaves off a little bit when you put it that way. The smallest amount. I mean, if they cut my daycare fees in half, I would be very happy to be way over formula. But not everybody is in that lucky position.

Some people will probably be like, V, I'm paying what you're paying, and I have to send nappies to daycare. I have to send formula. I have to send a packed lunch. As I said, it can kind of be the Wild West. There's no like, oh, if you charge this much, you have to give this level of service. So while it's, you know, obviously very convenient for me and on average, it costs more in places like that than where places where parents supply it.

But I do know from my DMs, from when I was talking about childcare, there are some places that just know there's such high demand for childcare that they're like, you guys can provide everything. We know you're still going to come and we're going to charge through the nose. So there's a bit of a trade-off between convenience and cost sometimes, but not all the time. Yeah. Let's talk about like the impact on families. I assume it's like quite massive.

Yeah. It's so stressful. So many parents, and I'm in a mother's group now. Cool. I don't even know if they know I have a podcast, but if they do and they happen to listen, hi. Heaps of parents feel really forced to cut back on work hours or completely leave the workforce entirely. Yeah. Bec, when you calculate it out, like, thankfully, between Steve and I, we only do two days a week daycare.

If you don't get any subsidies, and we're just going to base it on that 194 that I mentioned before, if Harvey was in full-time daycare Monday to Friday so that I could go back to work full-time if I was, you know, fully employed, and I am definitely seeing the privilege that I have right now being a business owner and it being flexible. and, you know, Bec, if I'm like, hey, Harvey's coming into the office, you're like, yeah, sick, no worries. Like, yeah, nobody minds. I am so lucky and I know that's not the norm. Post-tax, that would cost my family $50,440 a year. That is literally someone's wage. Imagine you're a single parent. It's more than someone's wage. Like, Bec, that's someone's take-home cash. We're talking an $80,000 plus salary. And don't get me wrong, we will talk about subsidies and stuff because a lot of people get money back but there are families out there that you know one is a really big breadwinner has a big dog job and like let's not jump into the well they're so

lucky to have that income like we're not talking about just the income here we're talking about it being viable for women to maintain their careers yes it just doesn't make sense for your wife or your partner or your you know husband to return to work yeah if they earn less than that Because you go, well, what's the point? We're paying through the nose for me to go to work. It's insane, Bec. It is insane. I just really worry about the single parents in this situation because they're like-

Literally, what do you do? What do you do? You just got to live off zero dollars forever. And I mean, you will get, as a single parent, subsidies and stuff. We'll get into that. That's good. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't come out of your bank account, which is something we'll get onto.

But back to career progression, obviously it impacts that. it stalls your long-term career progression and your long-term financial stability. And in fact, there was research that I was reading recently that said that 67% of Australian mums said childcare costs influenced their decision to work less or not at all. 67% Bec. It's important to also recognize here that not everyone has the luxury of choice. So some families, parents need to work to make ends meet. But for those of you who do have a choice, it's all about weighing up what is best for you. A really common way that I'm seeing it being broken down is by comparing the cost of childcare with what the primary carer earns. So once you subtract those fees,

is the remaining income enough to justify working? Sometimes the number, Bec, it just doesn't add up. And then the time spent away from your kids, like you just go, that's not worth the financial return. And I can see that so much now. Like, I don't want to be away from Harvey if I don't have to be. Yes. And then if you said that you're not going to earn that much if you did go back to work, I'd be like, that's not worth it. Like, what are you talking about? Like, and I know that if you are a parent, you probably really resonate with that. But before I was a parent, I think I definitely had the view of like, no, no, no. Like, I am forever a working mom. Like, I just know that in my soul, I need to work to be the best version of me. And that's true. but that pull to always be closer to Harvey and be around him is there as well. And I didn't realize that it would be as strong as it is. So I can see it being really, really overwhelming for a lot of families to be like, I really want my career, but I really love my kids, but I really want a career, but is it financially viable to do so? And there's long-term impacts.

Like if you're out of the workforce, you don't just get to enter back where you were and have the same amount of career progression. But Bec, what if we are looking at all of this the wrong way? We're going to take a really quick break. And when we return, I'm going to share why I think this mindset could potentially use a bit of a shake up. So don't go anywhere. All right, we are back. Thank you for sticking with us. V, you promised us a hot take before the break. Did I do a little? Yeah, I was really like intrigued. How could we possibly turn this around. All right. I want to give you guys a bit of a mindset shift when it comes to thinking about childcare costs. As you probably already know, I'm a really big believer that when you're doing

those sums, the cost should actually be split between both parents. Yes. Not just the primary carer. So how many times do families sit down and go, okay, cool. Well, Beck, you know, let's pretend you and I had a baby. It would be really cute if we did, by the way. What do you earn, beck and then what do i earn and then you know the child care cost gets calculated and we go well beck you wouldn't be able to earn that much so not worth you going to work let's push that back so not just what the primary carer is earning but we're sharing the cost and by sharing the cost we're acknowledging that raising children is a joint effort and that both parents benefit from childcare. I think so often the primary carer is the one that has to sacrifice. And then the other

person is seen as like, oh, but they're the breadwinner. As though childcare isn't the benefit for them when that's not the case, because there is a trade-off to consider. A career break could obviously lead to a very significant drop in superannuation contributions and missed opportunity for career growth, like I was saying before, and promotions and bonuses and pay rises and over time the gaps in this widens and it affects long-term earnings and your financial security and when you return to work it often means that you started a lower salary or like a reduced position which is another financial penalty and these cumulative effects they add up and they add up quickly but silently you don't see them but they're adding up making

it really important to weigh the short-term benefit of a break against the potential long-term financial impacts and it's a very tough call with honestly I wish I could tell you but no perfect answer and it really comes down to what's best for your family and your unique situation but I want to reframe it it's a family cost not a you cost it's not the cost of you leaving the business yeah that's so true you know $194 a day broken up in my family looks like $97 per head for Steve and I to have a career-ish. That's a bit more palatable. I didn't even think about that.

That's so funny that my brain was automatically like, whoever's going back to work is paying for the whole thing. That's the patriarchy for you. Yeah, it should not be the case. Based on that, I assume this affects women more, right? Definitely. And, like, it's not a topic that we're discussing on She's On The Money because it impacts men significantly.

Like, it is a topic that we're discussing because it does impact women more and women are more likely to take extended breaks to care for their kids. And so often they shoulder most of these costs and that contributes significantly to the gender pay gap and the superannuation gap over time. And how many times have you seen my name pop up on Instagram, Bec, because I've gotten in another fight in the comments section on a post about the gender pay gap where people are saying it doesn't exist. Fighting the good fight or starting fights with people who, you know, when you just go, is this even worth it? Like, because you get people who are smarter human beings going, yeah, V's correct. Right. But then the potato who posted the stuff, like,

Juniper Grapp's not real. Like, why are we fighting with people who you can't change the opinions of? No, and it's also factually real. It really is. Like, they're like, show me the research. Send me a link. And I'm like, right here, right here.

It is right here. I have put a flashy sign on it. It is right here. And they're like, that's not real research. I don't know. There's no getting through them. What do you deem as real? The onion?

Like, I can't. I saw that on the Batuta. It must be true. Oh, Batuta people. So I guess, Bec, back to the conversation at hand. If you do decide to stay home with the kids, it's really important to keep these factors in mind when you're planning for the future.

So my favourite thing ever. Maths. Let's do some maths. So say you're getting about $10,000 a year in super. Yes. Nice. This amount might not seem in isolation like that much. So while you're not working,

contributing might feel like less of a priority like whatever it's ten grand ten grand's a lot of money but let's say you take five years off because that's the amount of time that it might take your tiny human being to get into school that's fifty thousand dollars in missed super contributions back true that's not great but over five years it's easy to go oh whatever it was five years we'll shrug it off in the short term but here is why it matters and it all has to do with my favorite thing that's not maths which is compound interest yes you're like compound interest it's the money that your money makes when your money is made money like that is very sexy if that fifty thousand dollars had a chance to compound over 30 years not unreasonable at a very

conservative rate of seven and a half percent because we all know that the Australian share market has returned more than nine percent but we can use seven and a half because I would much prefer to under promise over deliver you know oh yeah yeah that's a me thing it would grow to around $450,000. Holy hell. That's so good. I'm always shocked by this. But Bec, most women do not retire with $450,000. No, that's a real problem. So you're telling me that just by really caring about this, we could put women in a better position. We know that the highest growing demographic of people experiencing homelessness, Bec, are women in their 50s and sixties. You're telling me that by caring about this, by helping them contribute when they take

career gaps, I could save a lot of people from going through that. Why aren't more people doing more stuff about this? That's a great question. So it could be very worthwhile having your working partner, Bec, contribute to your super while you're on that break. Yes. Again, a privilege if you have a partner in that situation and you're not a single mum, but there are lots of things that you could plan around that if you were a single parent, Bec. Like if you're planning to become a single parent in the future, contributing a bit more to your super before you go on leave or even after, there's just a lot to do, but it could be very worthwhile looking into that. I think it's also really worthwhile thinking about ways to upskill while you're not working. Are you going

to re-enter the workplace even more skilled than when you left it? Smart move. Smart move though. Yeah, you could just YouTube a bunch of stuff. Yeah, and there are plenty of courses and certifications that you can do online, even at your own pace to keep your skills sharp or learn something new. And this can make you obviously a more attractive candidate when you're ready to return to work and help aim for those, I guess, promotions and pay rises in the future that you might have missed during your break. That's a really good idea, Vee.

And then I guess like, you know, obviously you will be working full time unless you have an equal parent. Hopefully they take some of that off your hands. I mean, they should. Like all of it's just hard, Bec. I totally agree. It'll look great in interviews if you're like, hey, while I was. On leave, look what I did.

I'm a very motivated person. I'm a very big believer in hiring mums. Like I have a few mums on the team and I just know they're the ones that are going to get it done, Bec. Oh, yeah, because they've gone from working 24 hours a day. Back into being like, oh, you only want 38 hours from me. No worries. Easy. Easy.

Also, like I just hire a working mum. Whole recruitment strategy around hiring a working mum and giving her work-life flexibility to be able to pick the kids up, go to school, assembly, and then work. Anyway, we could do a research piece into my business, but that is not what we're talking about, Bec. No, that's true. But I do want to know, like, how are some ways that families can get support? Yeah, so we were talking before, you could claim some.

So currently in Australia, the Child Care Subsidy, or the CCS, is available to families who have a combined income under $530,000. that's so much money yeah so like I was talking before about obviously an individual earning so much that you don't get the CCS right and then obviously weighing up whether it's worth somebody else going back to work obviously that is a very unique situation and that must be nice but when we're talking about this I think we need to check our own privilege but also kind of keep our blinkers on and stay in our own lane like let's say that there is a case study sitting over here and it's like George and Frankie, right?

Like we've just made them up and George earns so much money and Frankie, you know, has a good job but isn't going to be able to claim anything. Do you think it's fair to then say, Bec, well, that woman because her partner earns bank and like takes home so much money should, you know, just stay home with the kids or should they be spending heaps and heaps and heaps on childcare? Like I just don't think that women should have to have the burden

of choosing between either because it's their problem. I get the conversation. I get the privilege in earning so much that it's like a financial conversation, but also like a work-life balance conversation. But I just still at any income level, even if you are so financially secure, hate the idea that women are still choosing between these two things like it's the 1950s. I know. What the hell? Like, cool. Like your partner earns heaps, but like, I want to pave my own way too. I want to feel accomplished. I want to feel like a contributing member to this household. Like I know that it's not just about the money, but like, I want to feel like a whole person. It's like me, right, Bec? I have said before I had a baby and after I had a baby, I'm a working mom. I am not going to be that mom who is a stay at home mom. Does that mean I'm less dedicated to my kids? Absolutely

Absolutely not. But I am the best version of me when I get to work. And I think other people in that situation should have the privilege of choice. But the CCS, back to this, is a subsidy that the Australian government pays directly to your childcare provider to reduce the fees that you have to pay. So the amount you receive really depends on your income, the number of children that you have in care and the age of your children and the type of childcare that you use and the hours of approved activity that you undertake, like work or approved study. So, there is in the CCS an hourly rate cap that's based on your child's age and the type of care that they are in. So, for example, Bec, the hourly rate cap is $14.29 for kids under six in centre-based care.

If your CCS rate is, say, for ease sake, 50% and you were paying for 11 hours of care at $200, uh-huh so 18 and 18 cents per hour you'd only get 50 of the ccs on the first 14 and 29 cents per hour and you'd have to pay full fee for the rest of the time wait a goddamn minute i am having trouble absorbing that so that's ridiculous that is a lot right thank you for helping it's like I'm still paying full fees on top of that. So there's an online calculator and I'll make sure that this is in the show notes if you want to have a play with it, not you specifically, Bec, but the community who it is relevant to. I feel like people are probably going to think this is really pervy as well. If you don't have kids, you're like, wait, that's how that system works?

Yeah. But it's at startingblocks.gov.au, which is a government website about all things childcare, which can help you estimate your subsidy and how much you will pay based on specific centre costs. Bec, some proposed policy changes aim for more affordable care, including a campaign proposing $10 a day care for all Australians, but nothing's finalised yet. And do you want my two cents, Bec? Of course. So hold on, let's step back. So say you incur a cost for your work. You get to claim that on tax, right?

Yes. So for me to turn up at work today, Bec, I had to put my child into daycare. That's a work cost. why can't i claim child care as a part of my work costs it's the cost of going to work like my husband and i should be able to and this is not me being greedy this is because this is what i want across the whole country for everybody yeah like i want you to be able to claim your out-of-pocket costs which we just articulated to you you're paying 50 still i want you to be able to claim that against your tax return. I want you to be able to say, well, this was a cost that I

incurred in order for me to go to work and be a productive member of society. I should get the tax back on that. If I'm paying for something that is very work-related. I feel like this conversation needs to open up and hopefully in the future, it becomes like one of those conversations that we had a couple of years ago about how we used to get taxed on tampons. Oh, yeah. Obnoxious, right? You're like, well, why are we being taxed on that? Yeah, soon one day we'll be like, wow, why couldn't we claim it? But these costs aren't tax deductible, as you're saying.

Which is bullshit. There are some other ways that people can lower these costs, I assume. Yes, there are. So first I'm going to tell you something and I'm going to sound like a broken record, but you need to do your budget and figure out what subsidy you are entitled to to help you make the decision that is right for you. Then I want you to do your research. So costs for different centres and services are going to vary greatly within the same suburb.

So as I said before, like my cost was much of a muchness, but they did range. Like I did go and see a couple that I was like, okay, like I am providing like, you know, formula and nappies and it's 160 a day. But when you calculate it all out, it all comes out in the wash when you, you know, are adding things in. But we want to shop around. We want to make sure that we know what we're paying for and its relevance in our community. So Starting Blocks, the website I mentioned earlier, is going to be able to help you with this. I also want you to weigh up the price of childcare closer to home versus closer to work. So if you live in the suburbs, childcare actually might be cheaper than if you opt for an inner city service where rent could be factored

into the price that you're paying. And having care close to home instead of your work could actually be convenient too if you don't have to go to the office but you still want to put your kid into child care during the day maybe your boss is nice and lets you work from home let's cover but having a kid at home not ideal one of my friends workplaces has just brought out this entire policy back side note and they sent out this big email that obviously i got sent screenshots of because t in the friend group chat of course of how if you're working from home you're not allowed to have your kids home at the same time as you what isn't that wild what that's not allowed and there's like so much backlash because I can kind of understand that if you had a full-time

parent working for you but they were also like full-time caring for a child you're not going to get the dedicated hours out of them give or take like there's a very big conversation about that but it included like if your partner was home with the kids they see that as too much of a distraction. Isn't that insane? That's ridiculous. Wouldn't work for me. No, that's ridiculous. If you have the option as well, Bec, you could ask your support network. But again, that's a privilege that so many of us in our community now don't have. Like we just don't have the family support that we used to have. Could a family member potentially help out? Or have you got friends who might be able to help out with childcare? Not everyone can do this, but we are so lucky.

I think you know when you're just like I married into it you probably have not had this thought you're not married yet but like I remember being like one I've messed up I've married into a family of runners oh yeah it's a problem there's a problem like they run for fun on holiday on holiday they run don't like it any type of event Mother's Day wow we're running the Mother's Day classic sorry we can't run on Mother's Day like my sister-in-law holy moly Boston Marathon like wow be for real like incredible she's training so hard but like it's impressive you know what I make the pancakes at home but the one thing that I did marry into was a family with great support like great oh my gosh Steve's mom she's like so do I get Harvey on Fridays like can I

look after him you let me know I'll drive to you and pick him up I'm like you are doing the most but that's not something that everybody gets right like that is absolutely a privilege but worthy of sharing but i think also you could ask yourself beck is there an alternative to center-based care that you could choose like maybe a family daycare or like nanny sharing or like community co-ops occasional care or even employer supported care i've got a friend who has three kids and she found that having an au pair, which sounds really bougie, actually worked best for them financially. They've got a spare room in their house and by providing room and board, they deduct that from what they pay their au pair, which ends up costing them like 250 bucks a week.

Oh. Before I had a baby, I thought that like an au pair, well, that's what rich people have. Yes. Nannies, rich people. But like you're telling me right now that if I had my child in full-time care, Monday to Friday, nine till five, it's going to cost me $50,000 post-tax. Honestly, once I have two kids or maybe even three, like maybe a nanny makes more sense. Again, a lot of financial privilege talking, but we're just cycling through the options that are there. You know, going back to this example of my friend, that's way less than having kids in traditional daycare. Kids in traditional daycare, for her to put her kids in that daycare, before the CCS subsidy, $150,000 a year.

That's so outrageous. Be for real. Daycare costs more than private school, Bec. That is outrageous. I can't deal with it. But they've also found that with an au pair, the kids are being exposed to less germs. I have a sniffly nose consistently now,

so they're never stuck paying for care that they don't use when the kids are under the weather. Isn't that kind of cool? Yeah, all those little things you don't even think about. Another thing I want you to do as well is, check with your employer will they allow some flexibility in the days and hours that you work to help juggle your kids a bit better can you say maybe work from home or have like adjusted work hours so you can do daycare pickup next when you have made your decision you're like you know what

daycare's for me put your child's name down early beck oh my god i did not realize the wait list so I put Harvey's name down when I was 20 weeks pregnant whoa 20 weeks pregnant great yeah we got a text in July saying hey there's gonna be a spot in August my baby was six months old oh my god that's hectic be for real like that took almost a year to get him into daycare and he didn't even exist yet like I didn't know what gender we were having and we didn't even have a name. Baby Divine was down on the wait list. Be for real. But put your kid's name down early. In a lot of this country, childcare centers have wait lists. So having your child's name on a few lists early can mean a bit more flexibility to choose a daycare that suits

your lifestyle and your budget. And then read the fine print for a childcare service before you sign up and know the terms and conditions, including any fees and any charges that might apply if you need to cancel. Good call. And then money, obviously. Don't forget your Centrelink CCS forms. Get them in as early as possible. You're not going to believe this, Bec. I have heard horror stories of families having to pay the full childcare fees out of pocket while they're waiting for their claims to be approved. No back pay? No back pay because it goes to the childcare centre. So remember how I said, oh, wait, when we were talking about how the CCS gets paid to the childcare centre. If you're not approved, the childcare centre is going to

invoice you personally, Bec, and you have to pay in full. And then when the childcare centre gets paid, they're like, no worries, we've put this credit on your account because they can't give you the cash. Now you might have a credit, but you've had to pay full. I see. Exactly. So make sure that you're getting those forms in ASAP. And when the back pay finally does come through, do a bit of a budget so that you don't end up in that situation again but also so that you don't feel as stung like it's stressful and I think it's really important to be aware of that and not for you but like hypothetically speaking you didn't hear this from me but if your claim's taking too long I have heard on the grapevine that you call them you ask to

speak to the complaints line and it can speed things up. So sometimes in that situation, I have heard of people getting approval the next day. So sometimes it does literally pay out to complain. We're not going to get on the phone and be rude or threaten or do anything. We're just going to, hello, kind sir. I would really like to talk to your complaints line. And what a coincidence. It got escalated. And if you're financially struggling, be sure to mention it because they might be able to push your claim through even faster if you're experiencing financial hardship, which is obviously, especially right now, taken really seriously, Bec. Honestly, from my experience, if you call first thing in the morning or like right before they

close, they answer pretty quick. Right before they close. I would think that everybody is on, And yeah, you know what? I actually don't call places if I'm like, oh, it's like $4.50. Nah. Yeah, no one's calling at $4.50 if they close at $5. Oh, you're sneaky, but be really nice. We can make this really quick. Yes.

But like, we need to get paid. So do what you gotta do. Like, sorry, but also not sorry, fix the system. Don't hate the play, I hate the game. Exactly. Exactly. All right. Well, that is a very good tip.

And look, we know how tough navigating childcare costs can be. It's not easy. And at the end of the day, there's actually no one size fits all approach. I wish there was, but with good information, I hope that it can become a little bit more manageable for you and you can feel a little bit more empowered. And hopefully by me sharing what I'm up to, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to do it. But Bec, I've had so many messages from mums being like, thank you for talking about putting your kid in daycare early. Like I felt so judged, You know, I felt like it was a bad mom or I felt like, you know, I was doing the wrong thing for my kids.

Like, if that is you, just know I love it. Harvey loves it. He has the best time. Bec, I dropped him off to daycare this morning. He is six months old. So like he lights up when he sees faces sometimes. He saw his carer and he just went, oh, that's my friend. Like he immediately was like, oh, I'm here.

I'm going to have a good day. Like I just know that he's probably getting more stimulation than I could give him at home. Sure. And like then when we get home, I know we can't talk back yet, he's only six months old, but I tell him all about my day and I ask him about his day and I just feel like this is going to really work for us and I feel like there's so much judgment

in this space. Oh, my God. Mums really cop it. I know, but we're all just doing the best that we can. Like we're just all out here doing the best for our family, the best for our community and like trying to also support ourselves we're always told oh you can't pour from an empty cup and then when I say that I'm filling my cup up you're like don't do that I know I feel like if a mom's not emotionally or physically abusing a child

let them be let them do what they're gonna do I don't care how you live your life if your kid's happy slay they're trying to do their best also I call this like small steps of like micro feminism next time you run into a dad and they're like not with their kids be like oh who's looking after the kids and just see them squirm yes really fun yes yes great idea all right well have a good day guys we will see you next week i hope that this has been an enlightening chat certainly for me you do you absolutely you do you we support you you're doing a great job you are have a good week guys bye guys the advice shared on she's on the money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's on the Money exists purely for educational purposes and

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