DaycareDebt | Sara Kean: $47K a year for daycare

Life is hectic and fun in Sara Kean's household, but the fun stops when it comes to the subject of daycare.

Sara and her husband Rod have a son, Max, who is almost 5, and one-year-old twins, Nathan and Beth.

Theyalready had experience trying a number of different daycare arrangementsfor Max, but when the twins camealong, things became even more complex, and incredibly expensive.

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"When we called in thebeginning and put the kids on thewaitlistand stuff, you're not even thinking financially at thatpoint either'Well, we need to put them somewhere.' So we getthem on thewaitlist and then you start looking intothe cost, and you realize what the cost forwhat you're waiting for is, and 'Oh my gosh,'" Kean said.

The 'oh my gosh' amountsto $47,000 a year for all three children, if they all get into the same facility.The thought of having to spend that amountcaused an emotional reaction when Keanfound out what the bill would be.

"Oh my goodness. Tears.Looking at alternative types of care. We looked at possibly having a nanny come in, but when you look at all thelogistics tothat, it just didn'twork for us," she said.

"Essentially, [the $47,000 is]more than half our income. So without family help, which we have been offered to help subsidize that, we would not be able to afford that care," she said.

Keanis a recordsadministratorat the Public Utilities Board, while her husbandis aGPStechnician with a high-tech company in St. John's.

"We wouldn't be able to eat the way we're used to eating, andalthough we're still going to have to take a cut in that area, I can't imagine not being able to feed my children the typesof healthy food that I have been feedingthem andthat Max was able to grow up on, that breaks my heart," she said.

"We have bills we've already cut back over the years, like cable and things like that. You need to have a phone, you need to have heat, electricity, we need to have our house to live in. So there's not a lot of places where we can cut back."

Kean acknowledges that this will be the worst year for costs, becausethe fees will be at their highestlevel for the two infants and an older child whostill needs full time care. Butshe says it's a matter ofbalancingfuture needs withcurrent needs.

"We just can't leave our jobs, it's just not an option. We have to find some way to pay for care for our children. And that's when family stepped up and offered to help us out, which again broughttears," she said.

"We make good money;we have greatjobs. It blows my mind actually the whole situation blows my mind."

Kean's father-in-law has offered to give the family money each month, and her mother willcome in and help with the kids.

The extra helpmeansthey won't have to sacrifice quite so much, but even with "that amazing amount of help,"she said it's still quite a lot of money that they're going to have to do without.