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Getting ready to become a SAHM, and getting scared! Advice?

Kayla - posted on 05/15/2012 ( 1 mom has responded )

11

0

So I am 1 week shy of 8 months pregnant. My fiance and I know that I will be staying home at least for a few months after having the baby. I will not be going back to my full time job seeing as it is an hour away from our house, having to find a sitter, etc.

We haven't figured out the rest yet. We are unsure if I am going back to work eventually or not. He is a police officer that works 2pm- to sometimes 3am! So we know if I want to go back to work I would have to find a job where I could be home by 1 PM latest. Plus I want to finish my degree at a nearby campus.

The breakdown; When we wrote down all of our expenses and just based them on his income we were exceeding his monthly income by 300 dollars. Granted we did estimate our expenses a little higher than normal but we don't have much to cut out unless we sell one of our cars.

We are scared to sell one of the cars in case I do need to go back to work, or especially if and when I can start school again. My thinking is that if I do go back to work (Which would only be part time) I would just be making enough to pay for one of the car and insurance. Plus it would be so difficult to be home by 1pm and arrange for my spouse to watch or find a cheap sitter.

Basically I am freaking out just a little bit since I have always had a full time job and been able to pay the bills. I am nervous things will be so tight! any advice?..Also...I coupon clip, plan meals, plan to make own baby food, breastfeed, and am a frugal person as is!

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Kimberly - posted on 05/15/2012

785

23

It will take some adjusting to get used to being a stay at home mom as this is something you have never done before so its like starting a new job without detail on what you have to do but dont freak out!!! You will learn and for the first few weeks you will be busy getting to know your new baby and balance feeds, sleep, washing, and basic skills. Money is usually tight when you go from two to one income but that doesnt have to be the end of the world. Its just a matter of making some changes to the lifestyle you have now to afford things. Buy a cheaper brand when you can, buy only things that you know you will use for meals, look for the sales, get second hand things when people offer them. I freaked out when I went on mat leave as I was so used to buying things as I needed I really had to work out our budget. I have a list of every single bill we have in one year and have work it out so that now we have a bills account and I put money in there every months that will cover the bills for the year ( added all up divided by 12), then I set the money aside that we need for food and fuel and what ever if left over after that is what we call our spending for the month. We save for things we want and make sure that we really will use them. If you can for baby things hit garage sales or second hand shops and look for baby clothes, you will get outfits as presents as well and baby goes through clothes that fast there is no point buying all things brand new, also what for the clearnce sales that the have at the end of a season and pick up cheap things for the following year.
Its a big decision going back to work cause you do have to weigh your wages against your outward costs of working. I have gone back to work and was really lucky that my husband work shift work so on his days off he looked after our daughter or his mom did but now we had to put her into daycare and that takes a huge amount of what I earn. I am exspecting our second now and I know that unless I get a job where I work days that my husband is off I wont be able to afford two kids in daycare it costs too much. My big advise would be to plan ahead as much as possible with bills, now when the big ones are coming and as hard as it is try to have a little savings just for the emer things that can pop up. good luck with it all

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