Podcaster and finance expert says $80,000 isn’t enough for parents
Australia’s top money expert claims it’s ‘not worth it’ for parents to go back to work if they earn $80,000
- Podcaster claimed the $80,000 salary wasn’t enough
- Victoria Devine said families would struggle
A financial expert has sparked debate after claiming that an $80,000 salary isn’t big enough to warrant a return to work after having kids because of childcare costs.
Victoria Devine admitted the salary was a “good income,” but explained in her podcast “She’s On the Money” why it wasn’t enough for those with kids.
“It’s not worth going back to work if you have $80,000.
Ms. Devine revealed that a person making $80,000 a year would be taxed about $21,600.
“You have an annual take-home pay of $68,685 after taxes because you would pay about $21,600 in taxes.” she said.
She then said that a parent should send their child to a daycare center so that they could work full time.
Ms Devine claimed that most of their salary would be spent on childcare costs if they had two children.
She calculated that this would leave the parent with a fraction of their income.
“If your two kids are in daycare full time and you go to work every week, you’ll only make $15,885 a year,” she said.
Finance guru Victoria Devine admitted the salary was a “good income,” but explained in her podcast “She’s On the Money” why it wasn’t enough for a family
Social media users were divided over Ms Devine’s comments.
‘Totally agree. Yes, you’re losing big, but you also have to weigh up whether that amount is worth letting someone else raise your kids full-time.
“This is a big factor for me to quit and set up a home shelter for myself. I can earn money at home with my son and three other paying children.’
‘This is exactly my problem. A gap fee of $458 a week is ridiculous and you still have to pay if they are sick or sent home.”
Some argued that it was better to have some money than no money at all.
That’s $15,885 in bills. What’s the problem?’ one wrote.
A second added: “You have to consider super. The difference in super with accrued interest is several hundred thousand at the time of retirement.’
It’s ridiculous, but having a gap in my resume and not having that extra $15,000 is also important. And a good day care center can also have many advantages.’
Others said fees shouldn’t cost so much because the parent must be eligible for a childcare benefit (CCS).
“You are not considering CCS,” one wrote. ‘With CCS, childcare for the second child should be virtually free.’
But others claimed they didn’t get much support through CCS.
“We get very little CCS and my husband doesn’t even make a wild amount. Working parents should get more.’
Another said, “The more you earn, the less subsidy you have.”
Childcare costs range from $70 to $190 per day, with the average Australian parent paying about $118.36.
For parents who are eligible for the childcare allowance, the costs are considerably lower.
The amount a parent can claim depends on their income, with some people saving up to 85 percent on their costs.
Ms Devine claimed most of their salary would be spent on childcare costs if they had two children (stock image)