Top Australian money expert claims it’s ‘not worth’ parents going back to work if they earn $80,000
- Podcaster claimed $80,000 salary not enough
- Victoria Devine said families would struggle
A finance expert has sparked debate after claiming an $80,000 salary is not large enough to justify returning to work after having kids due to the cost of childcare.
Victoria Devine admitted the salary was a ‘good income’ but explained why it wasn’t enough for those with kids on her podcast, ‘She’s On the Money’.
‘It’s not worth going back to work if you’re on $80,000.
Ms Devine revealed a person making $80,000 a year would be taxed around $21,600.
‘You have an annual take home pay of $68,685 after tax because you’d be paying about $21,600 in tax.’ she said.
She then said a parent would need to send their child to a daycare centre so they could work full-time.
Ms Devine claimed the majority of their salary would be spent on childcare fees if they had two children.
She calculated the parent would be left with a fraction of their earnings as a result.
‘If your two children are in full-time childcare and you’re going to work every single week, you’re only earning $15,885 a year,’ she said.
Finance guru Victoria Devine admitted the salary was a ‘good income’ but explained why it wasn’t enough for a family on her podcast, ‘She’s On the Money’
Social media users were left divided over the comments made by Ms Devine.
‘Completely agree. Yes you loose super, but you also have the weigh up if that amount of money is worth having someone else raise your kids fulltime.
‘This is one huge factor to me quitting and setting up a home daycare at myself. I can make money at home with my son and three other paying kids.’
‘This is exactly my problem. A $458 gap fee per week is ridiculous and you still have to pay if they’re sick or sent home.’
Some argued it was better to have some money rather than no money at all.
‘That’s $15,885 towards bills. What’s the problem?’ one wrote.
A second added: ‘You need to factor in super. The difference in super with interest accrued is several hundreds of thousands at the time of retirement.’
‘It is ridiculous, but a gap in my resume and not having that extra $15,000 is important as well. Plus a good daycare can have many benefits too.’
Others said fees should not cost so much because the parent should be eligible for a Child Care Subsidy (CCS).
‘You are not considering CCS,’ one wrote. ‘With CCS the second child’s childcare should be practically free.’
But others claimed they were not getting much support through CCS.
‘We get very little CCS and my husband isn’t even earning a wild amount. Working parents should get more.’
Another said: ‘The more you earn, the less subsidy you’re entitled too.’
Ms Devine claimed the majority of their salary would be spent on childcare fees if they had two children (stock image)