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Stay at Home Moms
Big decision: SAHM w/ p/t job (long)
Hi everyone,
I went back to work about a month ago after being out on maternity leave, and I have been so unhappy. My current job is extremely stressful, busy, long hours...and my boss is so unsupportive and refuses to even hear about things like doctor's appointments for DD, needing to leave on time to get her from daycare, etc. It has been the worst five weeks of my life, I cry almost every morning when I leave her.
Because of this, my DH and I have made the decision that I will quit. I feel so excited but also scared to death. We can't afford for me to not work at all, but can get by if I get a little p/t job 3 days a week (I've been over the budget a zillion times).
I'd love any advice from moms who SAH and work part time about budgets, how to cut costs, etc. Any words of wisdom and encouragement are welcome!! I know that this is the right decision for us, but I know it is going to be hard to adjust our lifestyle. Thanks for listening!
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Re: Big decision: SAHM w/ p/t job (long)
Have you put together a budget yet? If so, you might want to try posting it on the moeny matters board, they can really help.
We've cut costs by watching what we spend, cutting coupons, eating at home except $50/month, turning our hot water heater down, using lights minimally (it helps that we have skylights), conserving gas by me not going many places, and not going out at all much.
First thing you have to do is account for every penny spent for a few months. Make a spreadsheet and track all bills and even fun money(cup of coffee, going out to lunch/dinner) that you spend. This will give you an idea where all the money goes.
You can cut costs by trimming down the cable/dish network to the cheapest program lineup they have. Cut down on cell phone usage and get a cheaper plan, meaning only use cell phones as an emergency device. Look at your car insurance plans, find out how much you will save if you increase your deductible amounts. If you have a line phone at home make sure the plan you are on suits only the basics of what you need, example if you have to pay for voicemail cancel it and just buy yourself an answering machine that connects to the phone. Cut coupons and only stick to the basics of what you need at the grocery store. If you go out to lunch, start bagging. Then you must evaluate all "extra" purchases as wants and needs. The wants will just have to wait until they can be purchased with cash that was specifically saved for that item.
Hello! I did the exact same thing. My work was not understanding at all either, so I quit and got a part-time job working retail 3 evenings a week. I LOVE being home with DS! We basically don't go out very often at all. We used to eat out a lot. We cook at home all the time now, and I cut coupons for groceries every week. We also have cut down on soda-that was costing us a lot!
I check out the follwoing websites daily:
www.babycheapskate.com and www.moneysavingmethods.blogspot.com
I sell a lot of my old stuff on Craig's List.
Good luck! I think it's totally worth it!
Awwww... congratulations on a very hard decision but the most important part is that the TWO of you agree this is best and are willing to do what it takes to make it work. Good for you!
I have SAH for 2 1/2 years and have LOVED it... just remember: nothing is permenant, you can always go back to work should you guys just not be able to swing it and that this is worth a try.
I don't have any real WAH advice as I don't do it but a lot of ladies here have had success with ChaCha (just scroll through - you'll see the posts!). It might not be ideal but, could you work evenings, after your DH gets home, for just a few hours and for a few hours on weekends? Starbucks is a great place to work part time b/c they offer FULL benefits for part time employees! Lots of my SAH friends work for them.
Best of luck!!!
eclaire 9.10.06 diggy 6.2.11
I was at that same point 4 months ago. I ended up not returning to my old manager level job because I too couldn't stand being away from my baby. For a little while I was able to work part-time from home for the company- I'm just winding up now and will still occasionally do part-time projects for them. You might want to keep in contact with your old company in case they'd be interested in using you part-time, even from home for a project or two. Besides that I've been looking at contract work. Sites like www.odesk.com post contract work that allows you to work while the baby's sleeping or when your husband is home. Another option is to start your own business. I just started www.mybabysays.com. I'm designing baby outfits. No idea if it'll work yet but I figure don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Cutting costs is a big help. First, now that you're home make sure you're eating at home and not eating out very often. Relook at your cable package, car insurance, cell phone plan, etc- now that you're home and have a baby priorities and needs might have changed.
Best of luck!
Kristin
I love microsoft money. You can do reports and see where money is going and compair them to other months in each catagory. Also the book " The complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn has helped me out tons over the years.
Cutting back insurance on cars (ours are older and having full coverage wasnt a good idea anymore), Using sale ads to base grocery list on can help too. Using cloth diapers since you home to do wash anyways can save tons along with hanging wash out to dry. It can be hard to cut when your used to the extra money but totally worth it in the long run.