Calculating baby

People keep asking me if I plan on returning to work after our little squirt is born. Although my official line at work when clients and random people ask (no one in my department or HR has yet) is that I am or I am in the process of deciding, I truly have no plans on returning full time. Since I work in a financial industry, let me show you the math. (Or as my father would say, the arithmetic, since there are no variables or higher functions involved.)

Hypothetically, let's say I make $71,000/year. I am not saying if I earn more or less than that, but it's a good working number. Why? Six figures is a respectable salary but, according to the latest data, women in Illinois make $0.71 per $1.00 that a man makes, for the same work. Not that women overall earn 71% of what men overall do but that, statistically, I am making 71% of what some dude doing the exact same thing makes. (I have reviewed enough payroll budgets to confirm this general gist; I've seen numerous instances in which women with more work experience and better education make significantly less than their male counterpart.)

So, earning $71k:

• About 1/3 ($24,430) to the coffers of Uncle Sam.
• The cost of decent day care in Chicago ranges from about $15,000 to $25,000+. So, $20,000 to day care.
• Right now, I spend about $70/month getting to and from work. Of course, I will still need to shlep little Liffy around but, if the squirt's in day care I'd have to shlep there before work, since Eli gets to work at 7:00, which is way too early to drop the kid off, thus a transfer there and one on the way home or more gas. And I'm going to ignore the rumors of a CTA fare hike. So I'll keep work transportation costs at $70/month, or $840/year.
• Lunches. We waste way too much money on them. We could bring them, but if we're too lazy now imagine how difficult it'll be with a kid and both of us working full time. Those glorious 7 weeks when I was unemployed in 2002 I made Eli lunch every day, like a good little housewife. (It was easy, they were leftovers, but he was the envy of his office.) I know groceries will still cost, but probably only about 30% of what lunches out everyday do. If we each spend about $150/month (that Whole Foods salad bar is daylight robbery!) that would be an annual savings of $2,520.
• Dining out/take out. Yes, I imagine we'll still do some, but I'll be home to cook. If I go back to work we'll probably be too exhausted to make decent meals every night. Conservatively, let's say we'll save $150/month on dining out, or $1,800/year.
• Clothes. I will have to buy a lot more of them and dry clean more frequently if I work. Unlike Eli, I can't go to work in some shmata! We're a pretty conservative, but image-conscious, industry. Although until this whole maternity thing I have restrained myself as of late, I spend a lot of money in clothes. So, let's say I just cut back by $1,000/year. (OK, so I have a habit.)
• Cleaning. You expect us to keep a clean house while chasing after a toddler and working full time?! But do the cats care? They'll keep on shedding and I'll have to rush Eli to the hospital. We would probably have to get a cleaning service in twice a month, at $100 a pop. Savings: $2,400/year.
• Gardening, snow shoveling, miscellaneous house repairs. If I'm home all day and the sink clogs, I can read my repair book and figure it out. Not if I'm wiped out at the end of the day. Just by having someone around to do the dirty work, we'll save at least $125/month, or $1,500/year.
• Diapers. Yes, the kid will have them either way. But right now Eli and I are taking about doing fuzzi bunz, and not just because we can't stop saying their name. But day care facilities only allow disposable diapers. (Squeamish bastards!) Conservatively, the difference between disposable and cloth diapers would be $40/month, or $480/year, let alone the cost to the environment.

After all those deductions, one is not losing $71,000 by leaving full time employment, but only $17,030 (76% less). And this is aside from all the studies that show parents end up spending a lot more money on children in full time day care.

Now, I think every family needs to make their own decision and I am certainly not demonizing anyone who wants to return to work. If I had an emotionally rewarding job in the arts (even for a fraction of the moolah) or cared about a career path, then I would go back and not feel guilty about it. Other than my paycheck and a chance to surf the Internet freely, I can't imagine that raising a child will be any less rewarding than my job. (I got an art history degree for a reason. Someone with a finance degree might drool over my job.) So, personally, I feel we can make up the estimated $17k through Eli booking more freight, my consulting or teaching, or*gasp* living more frugally.