Hoping to SAH

JRsquared · February 2009

Currently I work full time but DH & I are discussing the idea of me staying home when we have DC #2. We don't plan on trying until spring of 2010 so I'm trying to think of ways now to prepare to make it easier for us financially at that point. Was there anything you did to help ease financial burden before staying home? We don't have any CC debt, we only have one car payment which we plan on putting more money towards. It won't be paid off by then but it'll be close. No student loans to pay. Really it's just our mortgage, car insurance and things like Utilities.We're cutting back to one cell phone between the two of us and we don't have cable or anything. I think we're at bare minimum but I wondered if there was something else I could be doing.

rolltidebaby · February 2009

try putting the majority, or all, of your salary in savings and live off of just DH's salary. if you can live off of his salary, you know you can do it. plus, you'll have the bonus of having a lot of savings which will make you feel better about SAH. we started this the month i got pregnant and i wish we'd started earlier.

brill2b · February 2009

We're starting to prepare for #1 this way. Do you track your expenses closely? I use Microsoft Money and track every penny we spend so it's super easy to see where our money is going. We've been able to figure out exactly what DH needs make or where we need to cut back in order for us to live on one income.

It's a really powerful thing to be able to track your spending. Now we just need to get a better understanding of exactly how much a baby costs...that's the part we're struggling with! Any suggestions? I know that's a tough question to answer b/c it depends on so many things but we're starting with $1000/month (without childcare). I know that's probably really high but I'd rather be way over than way under

spaceytracy · February 2009

SAVINGS, SAVINGS, SAVINGS. You have to start getting a hefty savings account going. You MUST have that emergency fund there for all those things that pop up you can't budget in. (car repairs, house repairs, your washer breaks or medical emergencies) You seem to be in a great position bill wise with no debt besides your car & home. (for me it would be so much easier if our cars were paid off). Plan a budget and stick to it. Set a goal for your weekly grocery bill. Plan your meals and go to the grocery once per week and get everything you need for that week's meals in one trip. That cuts down on unnecessary spending just browsing in walmart while there to pick up dinner for the night. Buy in large quantities to save money when you can. (price it and make sure it is a bargain) Like at Cosco/ Sams club places. Buying rice is cheaper buying the extra large bag at Sams then buying a small pack every week at the grocery to cook as a side. Same goes for noodles. We use alot of shredded cheese so instead of buying a pack almost every week for $2-$3 a pop, I'll buy the big bag at sams for $10 and then divide it up and freeze them and take them out as needed. That lasts me months. Don't wait until you start staying home to start saving and budgeting, tightening the belt. Do it now and get into that mind set.

ncsubride · February 2009

You can save lots of money with food shopping. Clip coupons both through the newspaper and online. Shop the flyers and stock up good deals to build up a pantry that way you don't have to buy things that aren't on sale when you need them. Cook whatever is on sale that week, if chicken is on sale that is what you eat and stock up on meat when it is on sale and freeze it (we use the hand held vacuum thing). Plan meals ahead of time and buy everything you need for them that way you don't make extra stops at the food store because that always leads to spending more money than you wanted/needed to.

Kerri

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