Comments on: Staying Home with Baby

By: Crystal

Crystal — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:53:27 +0000

I am a SAHM of 3 going on 4.. working and childcare just didn’t work for me and my family. since my whole weekly paycheck was going strictly to child care and wasn’t even covering that..

Its hard at time and we do scrimp and save and have to plan ALOT but in the end its worth it and I’m home with my kids and i know thats better for them.

By: Mama Bear

Mama Bear — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:24:11 +0000

Another great article, thanks!! Am link loving it in a future post.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:34:28 +0000

Heather - doesn’t the fact that you’re in debt answer the issue?

By: Heather Cook

Heather Cook — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:07:03 +0000

Ok, so if I can calculate that to decide to GO BACK to work, can I just do a reverse of it to calculate if I can go back to STAYING AT HOME?

That’s our issue. Hubby and I work full time but we live on one wage and pay down debt with the other. I want to quit full time work and work part time from home doing something I’m already established at doing. But hubby doesn’t know if we can manage it. I think we can but I don’t have the numbers to back it up!

By: Frugal Trenches

Frugal Trenches — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:51:43 +0000

There are also a lot of things you can do from home, baby-sit other kids, do admin work for freelance accountants, etc. In England loads of power couples are both leaving the corporate world to be home with kids, buy property in the country and work part time, get out of debt and stop buying. Sounds pretty smart to me

Great post!

By: Geoff

Geoff — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:11:32 +0000

Gail, great and timely post. My wife and I have crunched similar numbers. However, one area you didn’t consider is that daycare and other childcare costs don’t last forever, but the gap in the resume does. In other words, if my wife is out of the workforce for 6 years, it would be very, very hard for her to get back in at the same level she is now. Alternatively, if she goes back to her old job, in 5 years she’ll be making a lot more money. Obviously this doesn’t apply for all jobs but for her corporate job it does.

By: Tracy J

Tracy J — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:56:04 +0000

that’s a tough one…. we resolved for me to stay home. And we had to cut and scrimp and “do-without” in a whole lot of areas to make that happen. That having been said, I still went back part time after baby #1, more for my sanity as an adult than anything (I am willing to admit that now). After baby #2 it was not economically reasonable to go back to work, and it realy was a non-option when I couldn’t find decent childcare, with the hours I needed, within a reasonable radius of our neighbourhood! Luckily I have a skill that ended up translating well for working from home. I “simply” contacted some clients that I had pre-kids and said I was freelancing, three of them said they missed me enough to follow me, and through those three I got more referrals. I now can contribute a small but important amount to the family income, be available to the kids at a moment’s notice, and feel like I’m not losing my skills at the same time! (There came a time when the freelancing ego took over and I lost sight of my family…. the math was great, but I had to pare back and settle down so that my family could remember what I looked like!) It was a hard road, but the effort is paying off.