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Finances

tryinforbabytryinforbaby
in Stay at Home Moms

We are going to start TTC soon and we both want me to be a SAHM.  I've done a budget and it seems like we could make it work, but I still worry about putting enough into savings.  After 401K and stock purchase plans etc how much do you still put into saving % wise?

 Thanks!

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Re: Finances

  • axr8111axr8111 member
    It varies depending on how much expenses we have that monht. For you, I highly recommend you start TODAY living off of one income. I don't mean, quit your job, I mean, start living like you don't have your income. Put every penny, yes every single penny that you make into savings right now. This will do 2 great things for you. It will get you both used to living and budgeting on 1 income instead of 2 and it will get you a nice savings account. Think about it, you could have almost a years worth of your income or more in savings by the time the baby arrives. Wouldn't that be nice. That is my recommendation. I think It's more important than worrying about how much you can save. That really depends on how much you pay for your mortgage or rent, car payments, cable etc compared to your income. If you feel like you are not saving enough once you stay home then you start limiting expenses and putting that money towards savings. It's all on how you want to live your life, how much you want to budget and how much you want to save. You can do it! Good luck!
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  • Mrs.AllisonMrs.Allison
    Ditto PP! ?That is very great advice! ?I have a financial management degree and create budgets, etc. and you really do have to track all your income, expenses and living off one income while you have 2 jobs will pay off huge when baby arrives. ?And when you're living on one income, still try and put a percentage into savings. ?A great thing to do is set up an automatic withdraw once or twice per month with your bank and maybe do 3 to 5% to start with and work your way up, if you want to save more and know the one income really works for your family. ?Good luck! =)
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  • mandymackmandymack member

    Excellent advice to start living off just your DH's salary for this next year or more to see if you can truly swing it.  Having your paychecks for this time period in savings will be a perfect "emergency fund/nest egg" for when your baby does arrive in the event that something goes wrong.

    I'm not much help with your exact question because our decision for me to SAH had nothing to do with finances, my salary had always gone to luxury items or savings so, we knew we could live off one income.  But, to particpate in this post, we put $150 per week in Emily's savings account and $150 per week into our joint ING account.   DH contributes the max to his 401(k) and we put $4K last year into my IRA, which was the max. 

     

    Best of luck figuring out what works best for your family!

    eclaire 9.10.06  diggy 6.2.11

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  • teach2183teach2183 member

    imageaxr8111:
    It varies depending on how much expenses we have that monht. For you, I highly recommend you start TODAY living off of one income. I don't mean, quit your job, I mean, start living like you don't have your income. Put every penny, yes every single penny that you make into savings right now. This will do 2 great things for you. It will get you both used to living and budgeting on 1 income instead of 2 and it will get you a nice savings account. Think about it, you could have almost a years worth of your income or more in savings by the time the baby arrives. Wouldn't that be nice. That is my recommendation. I think It's more important than worrying about how much you can save. That really depends on how much you pay for your mortgage or rent, car payments, cable etc compared to your income. If you feel like you are not saving enough once you stay home then you start limiting expenses and putting that money towards savings. It's all on how you want to live your life, how much you want to budget and how much you want to save. You can do it! Good luck!

    I agree with this, unless you have debt.  If you have any debt, split your income between savings and debt, especially if you can pay off some of the debt.  Paying off debt will allow you to have even more disposable income once you are staying home.

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