Going from WM to SAHM ($ Question)

summer80 · November 2011

Was the transition financially difficult for your family due to losing one salary? What have you had to cut back on or give up? Did you feel sort of uncomfortable not working, like you lost some financial stability and how long did it take you to adapt?

CocoBrynne · November 2011

I wouldn't call it a difficulty, but an adjustment. The first thing we did was look at things that were totally unnecessary for example our Comcast bill was out of control, we cancelled all our premium channels, except for HBO bc we can't live without True Blood lol. That saved about $50 a month, and I also started to use more coupons and more store brand food items, it's just a little thing that really adds up, and I can't tell the difference between store brand and name brand. So overall we haven't made any huge changes, just slightly more thrifty so that we can still enjoy the things that are most important to us.

ETA: Also since I am at home everyday I also did not renew my cell phone contract and went to a pay as you go plan with AT&T. I was able to use my current phone on the plan so I didn't have to buy a new one and it is much more cost efficient for me, since I almost never use it. I spend maybe $50, if that, a month adding minutes. That might be something you could also look into.

littlemermaid · November 2011

Financially it was not difficult for us since we based all major purchases from the day we got married solely on my husband's income. We had discussed that I would most likely be a sahm when we had children so we planned for it in advance.

Just because I don't bring in a paycheck does not mean I don't contribute to the family, so no I don't feel uncomfortable not working for a paycheck. I handle all of the chores and errands during the week, which in turn frees up our weekends to spend time as a family. We have an "our" money attitude so there is no his money, my money issue when it comes to money in our household so I have never been made to feel that I can't go out and buy something. My husband is proud to be the sole breadwinner in the family and neither one of us has ever regretted the decision. I have been a sahm for 11 years.

MrsBalletStar05 · November 2011

You'll probably get a lot of replies form people stating that if they didn't feel financially stable, then they wouldn't be staying at home :-P

For us, when I first began to stay at home, we cut out a lot of website subscriptions....we paid for a chat board, netflix, music, a couple of games for my husband, ect. We never did have cable. I started to coupon and meal plan. It was definitely an adjustment! Eventually I found a part-time job though :-P I feel more comfortable now.

MJCF · November 2011

I wouldn't say its been difficult but we made sure we were finally ready before I quit my job. We also made sure we could live the way we wanted on only one income. With that said we have cut back on things. We don't eat out as much. When we do we use coupons as much as possible. I grocery shop at different stores than I used to. Im much more aware of my purchases now that when I was working. I've only been home 3 months and I do feel strange not working and having that extra income but it is totally worth it. Someone I used to work with said "saving money is making money' and so I try and save us as much as I can.

nekorayne · November 2011

Do you have time to live a few months on just DH's salary and put yours on savings? This will help you get cushion but also let you see where you need to cut back to make it work.

It was not really that hard for us, probably because I am a hard core budgeter (lol...I don't think that is a word..) and as long as i have my budget all set then we are fine. I am anal with that budget. We have never had cable since we got married, we just never got it since we had NetFlix, but that has always saved money. We did get very basic cell phones though and had to trim some fat but other then that it was not a big jump. Of course I'll be honest that I never made much money compared to DH s maybe that made it easier. Like pp said, not difficult, just an adjustment.

WhitePicketFence · November 2011

The financial transition to being a SAHM was fairly smooth for us. All of our finances were joint from the day we were married, we already were used to living on a budget, and we were used to working as a team toward our financial goals.

We did have to sit down together and take a good, long look at our budget though. We cut out any unnecessary expenses and shopped around for deals to to lower any expenses that we could. I started clipping coupons, shopping sales ads, and meal planning as well. In general, we scaled down our lifestle and simply live a bit more frugally than we had in the past.

kas80 · November 2011

It was a big adjustment in mentality for us since I made 50% of the household income. We are lucky in that my husband gets paid overtime so if we need a bit of extra money he can pick up extra shifts. The good side is that we always lived under our means so our monthly bills are manageable with just one salary, it's our thinking that needed to be changed. Like no, we cannot go out and buy a new whatever just because we want one today which we used to do all the time.

I was definitely uncomfortable not working, I had worked since I was 15 and I'm having to adjust to the idea that it's not "his" money that I'm just spending without contributing any of it. I'm new at SAH (just been home for a month) so I'm still in the adjustment phase.

Dr.Loretta · November 2011

It took us about 2-4 months to get within our budget and fully adjust to one salary.

We cut back on some cable and phone service, and I don't buy as many clothes/shoes as I did before. Then again, I don't need a work wardrobe any more, and my commuting costs ($$$$) disappeared. So it was almost a wash.

I don't feel uncomfortable not working at all. Maybe because my mom was a SAHM my whole life, and I saw how my parents made it work, even in lean years. But I also freelance, which brings in some fun $ for me to do with as I please. There was about a week after I quit working that I thought, "OMG I'm home for good now, what did I do?" but it passed quickly.

goldenleaves · November 2011

I haven't been working for a while since I was finishing my degree. We had always planned on me going to work full time right after graduation and being the breadwinner while DH finished his degree (we were both major slackers, which is why it has taken me/us forever).

Well, now I SAH. It's a huge adjustment. I work once a week at a restaurant where I've worked on and off for 10 years. It gives me spending money and sometimes grocery money, depending on the week (I waitress, so the money is variable).

It's not hard for me to not be contributing financially because I already haven't been. But it has been and is hard for me to not be able to afford "extras". I have to be careful about spending, which can really be a bummer! But it's worth it for us to be able to afford to have me at home for a while.

hayleydeee · November 2011

Yes, to all of those questions.

But childcare would have eaten up my income, so it would have been a change either way. We adjusted quickly, and have always been able to live frugally. But, we do miss things like vacations and buying groceries based on what we like, not what we can afford.

wifeandmama · November 2011

It wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. But my husband got a new job prior to me staying home that paid 100% for our health insurance (we bought private insurance and paid a ridiculous amount of money for it) so that helped. We don't eat out a ton... but my husband works a lot and eating out with kids isn't tons of fun for us anyway (our 2nd is a wild child!) We have 1 car - DH takes it to work. He used to walk to work when we lived in the city and I had the car but now I don't. It's not bad at all for me!

Anyway, it's been almost 4 years and things work themselves out somehow. You adjust. Maybe you don't buy as many clothes or something. And I've never felt bad or guilty or anything for not bringing in a paycheck.

ETA: I've never been a working mom, just speaking from my pre-kids, working days!

MAMAxB · November 2011

I chose to work from home (with the company I was with - different position). We were incredibly blessed to have my salary and for DH to find a new/better pay job shortly after DD was born so we actually make more now.

My hope is to resign from my position before we have baby #3 (or sooner!) but I always plan to contribute financially in some way.

Que*Syrah · November 2011

CocoBrynne:
I wouldn't call it a difficulty, but an adjustment. The first thing we did was look at things that were totally unnecessary for example our Comcast bill was out of control, we cancelled all our premium channels, except for HBO bc we can't live without True Blood lol. That saved about $50 a month, and I also started to use more coupons and more store brand food items, it's just a little thing that really adds up, and I can't tell the difference between store brand and name brand. So overall we haven't made any huge changes, just slightly more thrifty so that we can still enjoy the things that are most important to us.

ETA: Also since I am at home everyday I also did not renew my cell phone contract and went to a pay as you go plan with AT&T. I was able to use my current phone on the plan so I didn't have to buy a new one and it is much more cost efficient for me, since I almost never use it. I spend maybe $50, if that, a month adding minutes. That might be something you could also look into.

Just a thought, but we have AT&T and my line is only $9.99 a month. I can't imagine spending $50 on a pay as you go phone!

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