I am a SAHM to three kids ages 4mo, 22mo, and 4yr. I only worked part-time jobs for a short time as a teenager. I was with my husband almost 11 years and married almost 6 years. It's a long story with many bad years but basically he's bipolar and can't stand to be around his kids and blames us for a lot. The kids and I are living in the house that we bought together and he pays the bills. So basically he pops in and out as he pleases and talks to us like we're crap. He told me just to stay here and he'd pay for it like we had always planned, but he's constantly complaining about having to pay. I wanted to get a job and possibly an apartment, but it was hard enough trying to get a job before kids when I was certified in something. We can't move back in with my mom because she and my brother share a 2 bedroom apartment. My mom's schedule changes so much that she can't babysit. Minimum wage is $8.75 here and daycare is $20 per kid per day. I'm just wondering how other moms have made it work?
Google "subsidized child care + [your state]" and sign up for government assistance. You will have to pay a co-pay for the daycare you choose, but government assistance would cover a lot of the cost of child care. Then sign up for WIC, which will help cover the cost of some, if not all, your groceries. Also, if you need insurance for your children, go to www.allkidscovered.com and sign up for insurance (could be as little as $25/mo, I believe, for 3 kids). That's all I can think of off the top of my head...
And good luck with job hunting, I would say look for a part time retail job first just to get a little bit of money coming in to start, and look for a job in the field in which you are certified while you are working the part time job. That's how I started out too.
We have wic and medical card. The reason I hadn't checked into the government daycare was because the local one is at the mental health hospital, where they house some sexual offenders and other very dangerous people that the normal mental health facilities can't handle.
The government has a list of approved daycare centers. They wouldn't house children in a facility with pedophiles. That is the absolute worst idea ever. My daughter goes to KinderCare, and its pretty cheap for me. When you sign up, you have to have a daycare center already picked out so when you go to the government website, find a DHS center in your area and either call or walk-in and ask about the list of approved centers.
Re: Anyone go from being a SAHM with very little work experience to working?