- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Stay at Home Moms
Sept1799
member
Hello New Here and Could Use Some Advice
Sept1799
member
Hello Ladies,
I am pg with my first baby due in May...we are both very excited. I am thinking about staying at home for a little while after the birth but not sure about the whole money issue.
I calculated it and we would have over 600 a month after the bills are paid...mortgage, electric, water, etc....
Out of that 600 would come gas, food and other stuff you purchase on an weekly basis...
I am trying to figure out if that would be enough....We do have a large savings account with over 20k in it....so we do have something to fall back on. Although we do have an HELOC with over 23k avaliable in it...But again we don't want to go into debt either....
I do want to go back to work part time but thought maybe I could stay home for about a year or so after the baby is born considering that all our bills could be paid and we won't go into debt...
Would you be comfy with that amount to live with a month?
I guess I am just a nervous new mom....
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Hello New Here and Could Use Some Advice
That is a really subjective answer as to if it would be enough for you - it depends on way too many individual factors for anyone to be able to answer it for you (icluding how sparse you want your lifestyle to potentially be, etc.) Some people will say yes it is more than enough, some will say it woudn't be enough for them.
May is 6 months away - start now only living on your DH's salary. That way not only will you be able to save more $ in the meantime, but you will have a much better idea of how that leftover money works for your lifestyle, get used to budgeting with it, etc etc etc.
Good luck!
I agree it all depends on your family, and what you are willing to give up. To be honest there is no way that would be enough for us to cover groceries, diapers, gas and anything else we need. Neither DH nor I would be willing to live that lifestyle for me to SAH. I am sure if you are amazing at budgeting and watch every penny it can be done, but you also need to figure in drs visits, and other random stuff. I would also not be willing to dip into savings for this either. And I would NEVER go into debt to stay home.
Start living off of your husbands income now and put your money into a savings account that you do not touch. This will give you a reality check of how frugal you'll have to be when you really don't have your paycheck. It will also help in building up that savings account. You want that savings account to cover at least 6 months worth of bills in case something were to happen to your husband's job. Also create a spreadsheet and keep track of all your monthly bills where every single penny is spent. It will visually show you and your husband where the most of your money is going and where you need to make adjustments to your spending. If you have to dip into your savings for you to stay home then that is definitely not a good plan. You need that savings for emergencies, especially if something were to happen to your husbands income.
Welcome to the board!!!
Feeling nervous is totally normal, no one knows what they can or need to live on until after baby arrives, beyond the pretty basic diapers & wipes so, I'm with the previous posters who suggested living on just your DH's income now so that you can see how far that $600 goes on things like food, gas, toiletries, etc. Some other things to consider is travel, holiday gifts, haircuts & make up, car repairs & maintenance, co-pays for well-baby exams, clothing, birthday celebrations and retirement... will that $600 per month cover EVERYTHING for your family?!?
Having a 23K emergency fund is wonderful, you are really ahead of the game!
Like many have said in the past, SAH is what you make of it and not everyone has unlimited funds to join classes, activities and to go to museums and play places so, they have playdates at their home, go to story times at libraries, visit the park and just play around the house. But just for me, personally, I needed the money to get out and make new friends as we moved to CA from TX and left all our family & friends behind. I could NOT have survived being a SAHM, isolated and lonely and I'm so thankful we have had the money to enroll in Gymboree and Tumbling class, have a Zoo membership and memberships to all the local children's museums so that I could meet and be around other moms with similar aged kids. I spend over $400 per month (taking into account the annual memberships we have, divided by 12) on these things alone! Of course, this is just for MY FAMILY and it doesn't mean you will need that much but I wanted to be honest, since you asked.
Best of luck!!!
eclaire 9.10.06 diggy 6.2.11
It depends a lot on the cost of living in your area.
I think it's possible. We live on about that much (after bills) in one of the highest cost of living areas in the country. But it's VERY challenging, and we don't have any extras, at all! In fact, it weren't for my husband's job needs I wouldn't even have internet right now.
I know that we personally could not do $600 on everything after bills. We spend $200 in gas alone some months and usually $400 on groceries. Some people are much better at budgeting that than I am, though.
What line items are in your budget? Are you expecting all baby supplies to come out of that $600 too?
I think I'd try to make a very detailed budget, see what you are comfortable cutting and what you actually spend in a normal month. Include everything, from your set bills, to car repairs, gifts, hair cuts, you get the idea. I'm certain that if we tried to do it on $600, money would be coming out of that savings. That is fabulous that you have so much saved though! Good job. We don't. Our savings is pretty small, but we do manage to live on what he makes without going into any debt.
You also have to decide how important sah is for both you and your dh. GL with your decision.