Should one of you stay home, or should you both work?
A no-nonsense money check for Kiwi parents. Compare three real scenarios — see which one leaves your family with the most each month.
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Enter your income, childcare, commute, and work-related costs
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See the monthly difference and highest leftover option
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Toggle between scenarios you're considering
How do you want to enter income?
Pick one
Your take-home pay
After tax
We treat these as full-time take-home amounts, then you'll choose working days next.
Salary (before tax)
We estimate monthly take-home
Heads up: this is a rough estimate (PAYE + ACC + the inputs above). If you know your actual take-home, use "take-home pay" instead.
Enter at least one income (you or partner) to continue.
Core costs
Rough totals are fine
Working days per week
0–5
Plenty of couples do a mix: one person drops to 3–4 days, both do 4 days, or someone does a few days just to stay connected to work. Choose each option below, set the days, then move on.
Option A
You work, partner stays home
Option B
Partner works, you stay home
Option C
You both work
Option A: You work, partner stays home
0–5 days
You: 5 day(s)/week
We scale income + work-only costs roughly by days/5.
Partner: 0 day(s)/week
Defaults set to 0 days for the person not working.
Childcare
Per day
New Zealand families typically spend between $60 and $120 per day per child on full-time childcare.
Days/week of childcare for each option:
Costs that only happen when someone works
Daily / weekly / monthly
Commute can be entered as daily (per workday), weekly, or monthly. Work expenses are things like lunches, coffees, snacks, parking.
Results
Click an option for detail
Summary
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Option A: You work
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Option B: Partner works
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Option C: Both work
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Monthly income$0
Core costs$0
Childcare$0
Work-only costs$0
Savings goal$0
Monthly result$0
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This is a rough guide only and not financial advice. It does not account for every tax, benefit, entitlement, or personal circumstance. Please use it as a starting point, then get professional advice if you need help making a financial decision.