Any SAHMs?

lamo1210 · September 2013

Just found out today that the daycare I work for cannot give me the full discount for LO due to so many ppl looking for care at the same time. Makes sense and our handbook says that may happen. After seeing what I would be making every paycheck it almost seems not worth it.

So I have been thinking about being a SAHM for a while or becoming part time so no care would be nessesary.

Sooo any advice from SAHMs about how to make it work? TIA

JaysonandKristin · September 2013

Make it work financially or make it work and keep your sanity?

)

lamo1210 · September 2013

JaysonandKristin said:

Make it work financially or make it work and keep your sanity? )

More financially, if there is any advice for sanity as well I'd take it.

JaysonandKristin · September 2013

Financially, start living on ONLY DH's paycheck today. See how that works for the next month.

If you don't have a budget, definitely start one now. If you don't know Dave Ramsey, maybe just start familiarizing yourself with his principles. They're really easy, and they make simple sense. Your budget will not be perfect right away -- big changes like a loss of income AND a baby will certainly cause some dysfunction in the numbers for the first 60-90 days or so.

Sanity... well, that's subjective. But, I've been doing this since January 2010, and I've had a ton of fun!!

Since you have childcare experience, you might consider bringing in another kid for extra income. I know this sounds counter intuitive, but once my oldest was about a year old, having him and a 2 year old nanny boy together was awesome. They were always interested in entertaining each other. This interaction helped DS1 a ton, AND I could do laundry, clean a bathroom, vacuum, etc.

I hope that you enjoy your choice whether you RTW or SAH.

[Deleted User] · September 2013

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hollowway · September 2013

I stay home now and plan on staying home when LO is born... Some things I plan on doing to save money:

- cloth diaper
- breastfeed
- make my own baby food
- coupon
- meal plan

I sold my horse to save on expenses. I also plan on finding a way to workfrom home, just not sure what yet.

As far as sanity, I plan on joining some local mommy groups and making playdates (probably more for me than LO)

Kfran84 · September 2013

I'm a total broken record on this, and will continue to be, but term life insurance on your DH is a must if not already in place if he becomes your family's sole income source.

I think it's a basic financial necessity for everyone, but becomes especially important when one spouse is leaving the workforce and relying on the other for all financial needs.

JamieCallow · September 2013

The plan is for me to stay home for the next couple of years also. We have worked it out and know that DH's salary is sufficent. We plan on doing everything pp's have mentioned (ie meal planning, making his baby food,
Coupons etc). It does help that we
are military and we are moving to a new duty station in just 4 weeks and I
Will be able to collect unemployment for a short period of time! We also have access to the commissary which is a HUGE money saver and the NEX which again is a big help! So between that and the money we have saved we will be set!

I hope you guys can work it out because like you I do not see the point in working to pay daycare! Best of luck!'

Barbercharm · September 2013

Budget, start living on Hs income and sock away yours into savings while you can.. And enjoy every moment you get with LO

. I've stayed at home for the last 8 years (made lots of financial sacrifices) and now homeschool my 3 children and while some days are so difficult, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Chargersgrl33 · September 2013

Even with the financial aspect, prepare yourself mentally. I didn't stay home with DS until he was 1 till he was about 19 months. While I didn't hate the experience at all, I really did miss working. Set yourself up so you leave the house often just to get out. Maybe find some mommy groups you can become apart of.

artistlife · September 2013

Kfran84 said:

I'm a total broken record on this, and will continue to be, but term life insurance on your DH is a must if not already in place if he becomes your family's sole income source. I think it's a basic financial necessity for everyone, but becomes especially important when one spouse is leaving the workforce and relying on the other for all financial needs.

I can't help but add to this. As an insurance agent at a neighborhood insurer, I saw many times that the working spouse would be insured and not the SAH spouse. Unfortunately, three different times the SAH spouse passed away with no insurance. People don't think about it but SAH spouses do provide income. If they pass the living parent now has to find and usually pay for child care. One in daycare is tough for us. Two would be impossible on one income. What about cleaning the house? I couldn't imagine my DH having to take care of two children under five, continue his responsibilities, continue to work, and clean the house and do laundry all while dealing with grief. So please make sure you insure yourself, too, if you SAH.

sands42 · September 2013

I am a stay at home mom. You need to write out a budget and make sure you can stick to it. That's a good way to figure out if it is doable for you. I recommend checking out Dave Ramsey- I think his method is great and works really well. Your husband must be on board as well- won't work if only one person is doing it

As for sanity sake... I think you might enjoy getting a part time job doing ANYTHING to get out of the house- at least when your little one gets a little bit older. My husband works overseas so I have this overwhelming guilt from him being away from our daughter all the time which has kept me from getting a part time job- even though I want one. I feel extremely lucky to have to option to not work and be home though. I know so many moms would kill to stay home with their babies!!

savannahd87 · September 2013

I totally understand your situation! I too worked for a daycare (in the infant room) and figured with the cost of daycare, gas, long hours, and having to change classrooms once LO arrives (my daycare won't let you work in the same room as your child) it just wasn't worth it on my low salary. The school I worked for also had a problem with certain parents dropping off very sick and contagious children and trying to pass them off as healthy (my director was pretty lax on sick child rules) ...we had a few infants hospitalized last spring from catching some of the things going around. I really don't want my baby girl in that environment especially at 8 weeks old, so that was a big deciding factor for us.

I had some health issues in my second trimester that made working in daycare difficult so I am now a SAHW

I'm so thankful that my husband makes enough to cover our expenses. Some things that have helped us are to

budget out weekly expenses and stick to it

I've been getting into couponing and it has saved us quite a bit, I really recommend the Krazy Coupon lady website/facebook page for tips...also using the ibotta app to make money on things we already buy.

we've consolidated all of our random credit cards to a lower interest rate and have been putting as much cash as possible to paying it down before baby arrives.

I sell things on ebay and etsy to make some extra cash

Hope that helps a little, I can't wait to be home with our little girl when she comes.

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