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suggestions? i want to stay home...

mfgale09mfgale09 member
in Stay at Home Moms
not sure if this is the right place, but i thought you all might have some ideas/similar experiences. i had twin boys in january and was able to return to work part time after my leave. my husband is in grad school for another 2 years.  i am very greatful i can have good benefits for us and help support our family while working a small amount, but i would love to stay home all the time. i work night shift and it is not the easiest on our family, it is also a bit stressful trying to find childcare  so i can sleep before work. when my husband graduates i can stay home, so i should probably wait until then..but has anyone been able to make a similar situation work while staying home? the biggest thing is health insurance, i don't know how we could afford it if it didn't come with my job. i could work per diem and make more an hour, so work less, but to get benefits i need to stay at  20 hrs a week. thanks! maybe i just need someone to tell me how good we have it and be content for now :) 
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Re: suggestions? i want to stay home...

  • alli2672alli2672 member

    I also work 20 hours/wk, and I consider myself pretty fortunate to be able to have that schedule and make the kind of salary and benefits that I do. 

    That being said, did you check into your husband's student health insurance?  I know that where I went to graduate school, they would cover families.  However, I know a few grad students with SAH spouses and children on medicaid because the school didn't cover it. 

    Is the biggest problem really finding someone to watch your kids in the afternoon/evening?  Are there other things?  Maybe we can troubleshoot with you.  Working 20 hours/wk is not a lot.

     

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  • countrygrl5533countrygrl5533 member
    Well, I normally say that if you want to stay home, you can make it work, even if it means sacrifice. But in your case, because of the health insurance, I think you would be better off staying where you are for now.

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  • kcisthebombdotcomkcisthebombdotcom member
    Can you look into the cost of individual health plans in your area? Ehealthinsurance.com is a good source so you can get an idea of what the cost would be. If maybe DH got a part time job, you did some per diem work to get the higher wage, you might be able to swing it. Otherwise, you just have to stick to working.
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  • mfgale09mfgale09 member
    thank you for the thoughts and ideas! i will keep looking into things, but sounds like what we have been doing is probably best.  i hate leaving the boys but at night my husband is with them. i guess it has been difficult during the day when i need to rest before work because we are in an apartment and i hear what is going on and feel bad like i need to go help if the boys are crying..but babies do cry. i won't die without sleep either..just isn't very pleasant :) my schedule is also random so finding consistent child care is harder than i thought, but i will talk to work about possibly working the same days a week. life just doesn't always go as planned..when has it ever? haha but we are very blessed and i have a wonderful family!
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  • penguingrrlpenguingrrl member

    I know the sleep thing is really difficult, but otherwise it sounds like you have a really good deal going! My husband is a graduate student (defending his dissertation in a few weeks!!!!) and I wanted to work but couldn't find anything that would pay enough to even cover childcare and he travels frequently so I can't count on him to alternate with me for who was with the kids. If I could work 20 hours a week and pull in benefits I would in a heartbeat! We do have health insurance through the school and with DH's portion covered at 100% and his department kicking in 50% for the family portion of the plan it's still $500/month for a pretty bad plan (high copays, only 80% coverage and no out of pocket maximum). This is comparable in price to most University sponsored plans I've seen (we shopped around looking at that when he was looking at schools).

    I would definitely keep doing what you're doing until he finishes school. Financial stress as a SAHM is not fun.

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