Couple earning £200,000 per year forced to quit their jobs to be able to afford having second child

A couple who were earning over £200,000 per year have described their struggles of having 'nothing left' after welcoming their second child.

It points towards a flawed system when two senior employees within technology companies are still struggling to make ends meet but that was the reality for Nicole, 36, and Matthew Griffiths, 37, after they claimed that their childcare costs would rise to £40,000 when Nicole gave birth to her second daughter.

The couple from Brighton were already paying £1,600 per month for their first daughter's nursery, while their mortgage repayments had jumped up to £3,300 per month, which left them feeling like they had 'literally nothing left' at the end of each month.

Since they earn over £100k between them, the amount of free childcare they are entitled to also drops to just 15 hours per week, compared to the 30 hours that other parents are granted by the UK government.

At first, their plan was simply to try and earn more money to cover the extra costs, with even the income from Air BnB properties not enough to solve their financial woes.

Mat, who was earning £125,000 as chief product officer at an insurance tech firm, said: "It's like private school fees. That was not what I planned for at all to send a one-year-old to childcare.

"We obviously knew that we wanted to have another child, and so we were thrilled when we found out.

"Until the penny dropped that now it was going to be a few quid short of 40,000 pounds a year in childcare fees for two of them and I was like wow this is now getting completely out of control."

Mat and Nicole found themselves with practically nothing left at the end of each month (SWNS)

After months of researching the complex rules surrounding taxes, pensions and childcare costs, they realised that quitting their jobs might actually be their best option, as they opted to go down the entrepreneur route.

This immediately allowed them to reclaim their childcare support worth £16,281 for both of their daughters, saving them £21,495 in total.

After realising how many other families were facing the same struggle, the pair decided to turn their research into a business, and they launched the 'Wealthy Parent Guide', a tool which helps families earning six-figure salaries understand their options and save money on childcare.

Mat said: "A lot of parents tell us they're not going to have a second child because of the finances. They literally cannot afford it."

Their childcare costs shot up when they welcomed their second daughter (SWNS)

Nicole added: "As a society I would say we encourage women into senior leadership roles but the childcare system can financially incentivise them to step back.

"The higher earner in the household may trigger the loss of the childcare support but I think it's very often that if you've got one parent earning over £100,000 the lower earner may consider stepping back.

"Statistically, that's probably more likely the mum. That is often where the mother's career does pay the price for the way that the system is set up."

Mat concluded: "If people in the prime of their careers are going, you know what, I don't want a bonus. I don't want a promotion because it just screws up my childcare costs. It's not worth it.

"We need to get people incentivised to go out and work. But this whole system for the brightest and most ambitious minds in the prime of their careers is having the opposite effect."