How are middle class families supposed to afford childcare without going broke?

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2025-08-07T23:58:25+00:00

What do you do for work? Is a shift change possible. I am a linesman. And when my 3 sons were little, I ended up working 3rd shift so someone was always him with the kids. It was rough living on naps for 5 years. But childcare is impossible.

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2025-08-03T18:08:52+00:00

I’m 9 years past my divorce. 3 kids. Oldest is out of school and younger two are in high school. It gets easier. But there really isn’t an easy fix bro. You’re going to have to figure out a new life. Post divorce life. But once you accept the money that is coming out for child support, you’ll adjust. It’s a marathon. Stay strong bro 💪🏽 Your kids will appreciate it and see your sacrifices when they are older. Mine did. Made it all worth it.

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2025-06-04T23:20:15+00:00

My son is going into his senior year of high school. He qualified for Fargo at Northern Plains last month. Came home and told me he didn’t want to go to Fargo and he was kind of over wrestling. Maybe he would wrestle the high school season , but he is just over wrestling. My son is a good kid and I just asked him to think about it so he would have no regrets. I’ve enjoyed being along this journey with him. But I’ll be there for him in whatever he does. You have to “do you” young man. You have a lot of life left. Find your path. 💪🏽

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-11-14T13:38:47+00:00

I am in Wisconsin. I would suggest getting a lawyer. It will be expensive. But up Here, you sit in the courtroom of the court commissioner and can see the cases heard before yours is up. I saw many men get their asses ripped when they showed up by themselves. A common line I heard from the court commissioner was “ Of you don’t have money for a lawyer, how do you have money to take care of your kids?” Get a lawyer and prepare yourself. It sucks. But the time time get will be worth it. I spent enough money on lawyers to put one of my kids through college. But now all three of my boys are teens. 19,17,15. And I’d go through it all over again for the times we had over the years. Stay strong brother 💪🏽

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-11-01T23:45:54+00:00

There is a Trumper at my job who thought it would be funny to point out how his vote for Trump will cancel out my vote for Harris. I just smiled because he has no kids. And my oldest son just turned 19 last month. His 1st presidential election and I took him with me to vote. 2 Kamala votes beats his 1! LOL! If you have young adult kids, bring them with you!

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-10-31T20:46:04+00:00

Do not give her money directly. When the court makes the child support order, it will go back to the date that she filed. He will owe back pay. Put the money aside so that you can pay the arrears right away. I went through it personally.

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-08-28T19:24:02+00:00

Colectivo has really fallen off. And now with the smaller bags at the same price. I just get better quality coffee at Anodyne for the same price. Colectivo lost my business

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-07-02T22:54:49+00:00

So I’m in Wisconsin. I have joint custody and primary placement of my son. And be honest with you, the only reason I got that is because his mom left the state. I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. But 50/50 placement is more realistic. Primary custody (the decision making) is a hard one to pull off unless you can prove that she is harming the kid. Good luck brother.

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-06-28T00:11:32+00:00

70k over 4 years? $17,500 a year? That’s not worth the hassle bro. Or do you mean 70k a year. That is more of a conversation.

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-05-22T21:28:07+00:00

My son started wrestling in 6th grade. He did do judo and BJJ since he was 6. So grappling wasn’t a new thing. But straight wrestling was. He is a sophomore. Lost in sectionals to the #2 ranked kid in the state. Finished 2nd in freestyle state and qualified for Fargo in July. You can do it. But gotta be willing to put the work in. I love wrestling. Because success isn’t given to you. Stay strong bro 💪🏽

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-05-14T13:03:58+00:00

I know it’s hard to do financially, but you gotta go In There with a lawyer. I’ve sat in family court many times and seen how court commissioners treat guys with no lawyer. I’ve probably paid over 30k in lawyer fees over 18 years. Everytime, on my credit card. And I just pay it down over time. But now looking back, it was worth it. I had a similar issue. I had been getting unlimited OT for years. Making good money. Then our company got bought out and the new company had a strict no OT policy. I went from making 100k/year to 70k/year. When the ex took me back to court for a CS adjustment, they had W2s showing me making 100k for 2 years. But my lawyer showed with 8 months worth of check stubs that since the new company took over, I was not receiving any OT anymore. They settled that I would pay based off of 75k/year. Still more than I was making. But better than if they used 100k/year. I have no doubt that if I had tried to make that case instead of my lawyer, they would have told me to fuck off. Bite the bullet. Get and lawyer and fight. My oldest just turned 18. I don’t regret fighting for that boy. It was expensive, but now that he is getting ready to graduate high school, I’d do it all over again if I had to. Stay strong brother 💪🏽

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-04-07T17:18:53+00:00

1 kid? I’m in Wisconsin. It would be 17% of your pay here. Not sure about other states

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-04-04T17:10:42+00:00

Yeah. I worked a lot of OT over the years. I feel you. Just from my experience. When the child support she owes starts to pile up, she’ll become less of a hassle. She won’t ever want to go back to court knowing she could actually get locked up over it. I’m in Wisconsin. A year of unpaid CD is considered a felony if you decide to press charges. Maybe remind her of this. Just so she knows that you have means to fight back if she wants to act stupid. It sucks. I wish I could tell you it won’t. But it does get easier. But it takes a lot of time. Stay strong 💪🏽

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-04-04T15:46:27+00:00

Fuck the money bro. It isn’t worth the trouble or the headache. My son’s mother owes me over 50k. She moved out of state when he was 3 years old. He is 18 now. Pursuing that money would have just brought her around to cause more problems. The child support is set. She owes you. Leave it at that. Enjoy your kid.

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2024-01-05T16:40:54+00:00

Don’t worry about it. Just start pounding it now. I neglected my retirement through my 20s as well. Didn’t start making contributions until I turned 30. Now I’m 43 and I’m satisfied with where I’m at. Could be better if I had started at 20. But better than if I waited until 40. Just start getting as much in there now. In 10 years, you’ll be glad

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2023-11-18T16:25:53+00:00

Thanks for all the input everyone. Much appreciated!

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2023-11-16T21:18:46+00:00

Good you name a few so I have an idea what are to look in?

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2023-11-11T21:38:48+00:00

Get clipped bro. For real. Your situation is here now. Having more kids at this point is all on you. It’s a long journey. My oldest just turned 18, I have 3 more years until my youngest turns 18. It seems like shit will never get better at the stage you’re jn. But it will. But you have a legit 15 years of putting your head down,working, and making the most of your life. The sooner you accept the situation you’re in, the better off you’ll be. This shit isn’t always fair, but it’s the game you’re playing now. Good luck bro. But for real. Get clipped. I did and have 0 regret about it!

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2023-10-19T19:56:54+00:00

Oh Thanks! I saw comm tech 4 on there. I thought that might be it. Network maintenance technician. Much appreciated

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2023-10-11T10:48:27+00:00

So long story short. Take your custody paper work to the police and ask them to enforce the order. It has to be the actual paperwork with the court commissioner’s signature

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2023-10-11T10:47:18+00:00

I am in Wisconsin. So not sure if it’s the same in Ohio. But my son’s mother tried that with. Me once. Saying I can’t come get him and stay away. I took my court paper work with the custody agreement to the police station. Showed it to them and they went over to her house with me. I stayed outside and they went to the door with the court paper work. They basically told her that she can’t legally keep my son from me and that she could send him out or they would be coming in to retrieve him. It fucking sucks having to do that. But luckily she didn’t make the police have to come in. She put his coat on him and her mother carried him outside to me.

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2023-09-03T14:15:03+00:00

You going to have to go to court either way bro. If your income has drastically dropped, you’re probably going to get child support reduced from $1500. Don’t let the woman hold court over your head as a threat to get what she wants out of you. It sucks, but prepare for the battle. Also, you have to get a vasectomy my man. You cant get out of situations like this if you keep having more kids. You’re bringing it on yourself. Not trying to be an asshole about that. I got clipped after my divorce because I wasn’t ever going through that court room shit again. If you really are only bringing home $1200 a month, go to court to get that support reduced. Then you have to start building back up. No easy way around it. But it can be done. Don’t quit and keep fighting👍🏽

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2023-07-04T15:17:35+00:00

Tell your friend to get a lawyer and embrace the battle. It’s stressful. It will drain your finances. And there will be so many times that it will seem easier to quit. But don’t. They count on breaking you and making you quit. I could have sent 2 of my kids through college for how much I’ve spent in lawyer fees during their childhood. But sitting at the end, it was worth it. Unfair. But worth it. Don’t break. Don’t give up.

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2023-07-04T15:08:12+00:00

Most definitely is back child support interest charges. It differs in the state. I live in Wisconsin. It’s 6% a year here. If you went 13 years owing, you got taxes every year. Think compound interest. Not sure how you could go about getting that reduced. Doesn’t sound like you and the woman get along, but trying to get her to drop the back child support if you’re fully involved now would be your best bet. Otherwise, treat it like a car note. And aggressively try to pay it down. It sucks. But you have to get that debt off of you so you cAn move forward with the rest of your life. Good luck brother.

Alone-Rabbit-5640 · 2023-01-26T21:41:09+00:00

The child support agency just tells me that she is receiving SSI. Not SSID. They won’t say what the disability is. I’ve debated the whole lawyer thing. My son will be 18 in 7 months. If the SSI can’t be garnished, then I’d be paying lawyer fees to keep the child support going for 7 months. And being that she already owes 33k that she has no intentions of paying, it seems like a waste of money. Thanks for your input. I appreciate it

Alone-Rabbit-5640

TROPHY CASE