SAHM/WAHM?

SciChick

I am looking for some advice on how stay at home moms and/or work at home moms have been able to make the choice to be home with their kiddos. It's a choice I would really like to make after the end of this school year but it terrifies me because currently I am making most of the money for our family while my husband finishes school. I am a teacher and could conceivably look into part time teaching to help supplement income but would ideally like to have something I can do at home as well that is consistent. I hate how much I have to leave DD at daycare and how much I feel like someone else is raising her. I know we'll have to tighten up but are there any tips or ideas you can share? TIA!

KikiCohen

I SAH. When DH and I first started talking about a family, we decided that's what we wanted to do. We both worked hard and saved for 3 years before I got pregnant.

Even with that, we still make sacrifices. DH is currently finishing his master's degree which takes a decent amount of money, but we know it will pay off. We have older vehicles, I shop sales and consignment, and we try not to eat out a lot. We also have very basic cable and internet services.

I know it's not for everyone. There are times where I wish we could splurge on stuff, but at the end of the day, that's all material stuff.

HorseLover11

I work at home and it's only been our 2nd week in daycare but what works for us is she goes 3 days a week and my mom is here one day and DH is here another. There's been some transition with DHs work so we might add another day at daycare, but o can say when I have to do both its really hard as I'm scared to get on a phone call as she might start crying or need me. I think finding the right daycare that makes you feel as its a great learning experience rather than someone else raising your baby is key to feeling ok about it. Hope that helps.

SciChick

Thank you so much everyone. I really appreciate any stories, advice, or information you can share as we start to think about this. I am just looking at how much of my paycheck I don't actually take home because of daycare and the automatic retirement deductions that are taken out by my state for the teacher pension program. We don't have a lot that we could cut back on. We don't go out often and we don't have cable already and we share a car. The only thing that would be easier would be if we didn't have the car payment. So I am going to have to keep working in some way, perhaps part time. I love S's daycare but I hardly see her on daycare days. We spend a lot of our time in the car driving everyone to school or work and picking everyone up again. We lose a lot of together time then and it's only 3 years until S is in school so I don't want to lose it. I just have to figure out how we can still make ends meet and will take a night job if I have to, but I want to do something that will make sense for us before making any drastic changes. I really just miss my kid and don't want to keep missing so much of her growing up. It's breaking my heart.

Wifey xo

My situation was a little different because our IF journey brought us to IVF. I made alot of sacrifices for my career, like no schedule, traveling at all hours, and up to 20 days a month in hotels. I was paid handsomely for it, and devoted 14 years, but having a baby meant more to me. People told me I would "go nuts" being at home all day after living a jet set lifestyle, but that just isn't the case. We lived just on DH's income, and I put my salary in savings for 6 months before I left ( for OOP IVF and beyond). It gave us a good look at how things would go each month with our current expenses, then we factored in baby. This truly is the happiest I have been, and feel blessed to be able to be here with Tate everyday. I have told DH that it is never worth the extra burden on him, and if at any point he feels stressed with finances, we would downsize, cut back more, or have me work again. When I resigned, it just seemed so overwhelming to give up everything I worked for, but it is amazing how some risks can bring such wonderful rewards. I love being a SAHM! I hope you can work something out that makes you happy. Good luck! (Ipad)

2redtulips

I WAH. I am a freelance business writer, and I work three days per week. R. is in daycare on those days. I started my own business about six months before getting pregnant, so I had some time to build business. 

My first thought for you is tutoring. I have a teacher friend who tutors on the side, and she makes about $30 per hour doing that. She's in high demand because she's a certified teacher. You could either work through a tutoring company or start your own solo business. 

Edited for clarity.

SciChick

Thanks so much everyone!