How hard was it to go from working full-time to becoming a stay at home mommy - financially?

Kelly - posted on 01/18/2010

My transition to stay at home mom came about gradually; I worked full-time until #2 went to kindergarten, then cut back to about 30 hours/week, then switched to a couple of more flexible part-time jobs (worked in after-school care, cleaned houses, substitute teacher, one-on-one assistant for special needs kids, taught preschool, etc, you name it, over the years). Right now I have two in high school, one in elementary school, and one still at home. When #4 was born, I stayed home completely for about two years, and now I work one day a week (for about 6 hours) as a book keeper (my daughter has a "grandma day" when I work). So anyway, I had to find ways to gradually cut back on spending, and it has worked out. I don't spend much on my clothes and shoes (that was never a big deal to me). We always drive used cars (my husband is a mechanic, so he keeps them going). I babysit for free scrapbooking supplies. I make my own laundry detergent (costs about $1 for 2 gallons), I hang clothes out on the line to dry in nice weather. I consolidate trips for errands to save on gas, and in nice weather we walk to church on Sundays. We pack leftovers from home instead of buying lunch out. We cut each others' hair (no one in our house has paid for a haircut in probably at least 12 years). I also have to be creative with meal planning (no steaks for us!). However, I find it all to be worth it, when I know that I am the one raising my kids, and I am always there when they need me. You really just have to ask yourself if you can live with the type of sacrifices you will have to make. For me it was a no-brainer, but if it's not for you, that's ok too. I love that I can volunteer in the school (room-mother pro!), go on field trips, make it to almost all the sporting events, get to know my kids' friends, help with homework, meet the bus every afternoon, etc. Those years look far away to you right now, but they will be here in almost the blink of an eye! I also don't have to make special arrangements for doctor's appointments. I think most moms would love it, if they can look at it with a positive attitude. Good luck to you with your decision. One con to this decision is that if you spend a few years out of the work force, it is a lot harder to get back in to a well-paying job. I know that I would not be able to get back into anything like what I used to have now, if I needed to go back to working full-time, so that is always a consideration.

Lisa - posted on 01/18/2010

I would like to just say good luck, I have been a stay at home mom on and off for 6 1/2 years, at some points we needed me to work part time, other times my husband worked 2-3 jobs becasue paying for daycare is not worth it, it costs too much. My whole check would pay for daycare, and I dont see the point of being away from the house for 40+ hours and bringing olny 20-50 dollars home. If you have a good handle on your money situation then you should do ok, it would be wise to do what the other poster said and start living on one income now and save your checks. It will be hard. I am heading back to work again for weekend and nights now because we just cant make it on one income, and I dont want my husband to get over worked again like he did a few months ago working 2 jobs. Good luck hope this helped

Rebecca - posted on 01/18/2010

Buy diapers now while you can. You can also buy formula and if by chance your baby can't keep it down you can exchange any unopened cans you have in your home. This is also the case for diapers. If you baby outgrows the newborns and you have an unopened pkg take them back and get the next size. We found that it was better for us if i satyed home now that we have 2 kids. It is way too expensive where i am fro childcare adn we don't get help from the government like some places do. We get 100$ a month per child to help...and childcare for 2 kids where i am is 1000$ a month so it's not worth it. I owned a business right after our first was born and when iw as 5 months pregnant with our second i sold it becuase i decided it wasn't worth the late night phone calls, the going to work for 60+ hours a week and missing out on so much from our children's childhood. I can go back to work later:) I missed our first born baby life. He was 6 weeks when i went to work fulltime again at my business and i hated doing ti but my husband was able to take all the parental leave and it made since to do it this way as he got more money on ei then i did. He get's 97% i get 55%. We are fine for money and even have extra every month to do things we would normally do. The money i made was just extra and it was never a need. It paid for childcare and the rest was spent on stupid things. Even owning my own business the money wasn't wirth it for me to go to work and pay for childcare for 2 kids. I would only bring home 600$ after taxes and after paying for a sitter. I payed myself the minimum i wanted and whatever was in the bank account at the end of the year was mine yes but i still didn't feel me working 60+ hours a week to miss my kids life was worth it. Start saving now for unexpected things and if you are truly concerned, after your EI is done you can do childcare. It'll be great for your child to have friends the same age, but only take in 1 or 2. I had 7 in my home and man oh man...3 of them were 2yr olds and it was nuts! I have none at the moment but a 10 month old will be coming soon and a 7 month old. My kids are 2yrs and 6 months. My son who is 2 is going to be lonely as i don't want anymore kids in but he plays well with others and he loves having his baby sister here so i have no worries. I did childcare when i sold my business and i took 1.5 months after she was born and the families came back to me. Do what you feel is comfortable. Sit down now and go through your finances and your bills and see if you can cut things out. Remember you wont be able to go to dinner every week now you wont be able to go to a movie every week, so cut back on your "date night" spending in your budget. This will tell you if you need to work after your EI or if you can stay home. Take also in account that formula is only for the first year, so after your ei is up your baby will be on milk which is cheaper but they still drink a a lot of it. Our son went through a 2lt every 2 days or so...we were spending about the same on milk every week as we were formula. When you do your buget for after your EI is up make sure you call sitters to see what they charge and get an average rate. You might also want to consider goingt o work outside of the house when your husband is home from work. Just part-time. I know lots of women who do this and they do it for the most part to have a little extra money and for some adult communication lol. It can get lonely during the days with just you and baby so make sure you get lots of YOU time after the baby arrives.

Good luck!!

Nikole - posted on 01/18/2010

I would just write down all the bills you have and also write down how much intake money wise that you and your husband will have monthly. I wuold make sure that you have at LEAST $500 extra a month. It's doable... you just have to cut costs and keep track of all your funds. Also, I would save as much as possible. It's always good to have back up money just in case something happens (water leak, car issues, etc...). The experts say that you should have 3 months pay in a savings account at all times!

You may want to try it out now and do a little test. Maybe put all the money you make in the savings account and try just living on his money for a couple months and see if this is manageable! :)

Good luck to you!!!

Nikole - posted on 01/18/2010

I would just write down all the bills you have and also write down how much intake money wise that you and your husband will have monthly. I wuold make sure that you have at LEAST $500 extra a month. It's doable... you just have to cut costs and keep track of all your funds. Also, I would save as much as possible. It's always good to have back up money just in case something happens (water leak, car issues, etc...). The experts say that you should have 3 months pay in a savings account at all times!

You may want to try it out now and do a little test. Maybe put all the money you make in the savings account and try just living on his money for a couple months and see if this is manageable! :)

Good luck to you!!!