Having worked in finance for almost 20 years, Nichole Alexander isn’t averse to running her eyes over a spreadsheet populated with numbers. But there’s one figure the Sydney-based mum of three has studiously avoided for seven years: exactly how much she and her husband, a builder, have spent on childcare for their daughters. “At our peak when all three girls were in long daycare we were spending more than $1300 a week.” Alexander says. “We’ve spent more than $300,000 after tax on childcare.”
They tried many combinations – long daycare, family daycare and a nanny – at different times, but no matter the solution, two factors remained: the juggle was immense and the cost was eye-watering.
“I’m in an absolute minority as a 38-year-old woman, working full-time in banking with three kids, and I know that’s because it’s too hard and too expensive,” Alexander explains. “I’m ahead in my career because I’ve continued to work, but from a financial perspective, whether I had worked or not, there’s barely any difference.”
If it hadn’t been for a timely piece of advice from an older female boss, Alexander admits she may have resigned. “One of my mentors said: ‘You might not be making anything right now, you might even be in the red, but think about your super,’” she recalls. “That was persuasive … but if you don’t love your job or it doesn’t pay well, why would you persevere with the juggle? Because it effectively means you are paying to work.”
This story is from the November 2020 edition of Marie Claire Australia.
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This story is from the November 2020 edition of Marie Claire Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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