It’s the age old question for moms. At least since working outside the home has been more standard for women. Do you go back to work after having a baby? Do you make more working or staying home? There is no “one size fits all” answer to this question. To find this answer, you must ask yourself two questions.
How much does it cost you to work?
Yes, working costs you money. It isn’t all about earning money. You will have travel expenses (even if this is just gas, bus fare, etc), clothing expenses, and even food expenses. Even if you pack your own lunch, you must likely aren’t home to make a lot of things so you will buy some convenience foods and items. Then you need to add in child care expenses. Unless you are blessed with a grandparent who will do child care for cheap or you and your spouse have opposite work schedules, child care will most likely take a large chunk of your income.
Do you have health care options?
This is another big thing to consider. If you aren’t going to work, do you have affordable health care options? Will you be able to be added to your spouse’s health insurance without it being too expensive? It might be much cheaper for you to work just to get health insurance.
Do you make more working or staying home? To find this answer, you must ask yourself two questions. Click To TweetLet me use my own example. This is how we decided that I would be staying home instead of going back to work after our daughter was born. I had to travel 45 minutes to get to work or about 36 miles. This was twice per day as that was just one way. Child care around here, back in 2012, averaged around $200 for an infant. By the time I took my weekly income and subtracted my gas expense and then daycare, I would have been making about $100 per week. After I subtracted things such as having to use the dryer as I couldn’t plan my laundry around the sunshine, buying convenience foods as I wouldn’t have time to bake, etc. I was down to about $50 per week, less if I had to take a day off for an illness, doctor appointments, etc. That was not worth it to me. I could make more than $50 per week by being at home, doing different frugal things like using my clothes line, making most of our own food, using Swagbucks, etc.
For you, you might have a situation where you make more than $50 per week working outside the home. You need to decide what the “worth it” number for you. For me, if I could have made $100 after all expenses, I would have continued working.
If you like your job and want to stay at your job, then worth it or not financially, it might be worth it for you personally. If you are only “eh” about your job or really do want to stay home, breaking down what you actual take home pay would be would be a great idea to know if you can afford to stay home or not. If you can’t find a way to make at home what you would make at work after expenses, it might still be worth it financially for you to work.
However, if you feel called to be home with your kids, if you feel that is where you belong, you need to put some more effort into frugal living ideas to be able to make the same amount at home. Making $300-400 a week at home can seem like a big undertaking. Remember that after gas, child care, etc. that isn’t what you would be actually making. It’s a lot easier to find ways to make $50-100 per week at home than it is $400.
Frugal living (using the clothesline, planting a garden, cooking from scratch, etc) has been a good way for us to save. I’ve also earned money from home by doing childcare.
Rose @ Walnut Acre recently posted…An Evening in the Mountains, Green Beans and Kittens
You are so right – this is a very individual decision and one that each family must consider for themselves.
I just went back to work after being at home with my kids until they have reached the teen years. There are several reasons we are comfortable with this at this point in our lives: my job is teaching so it is not just a financial benefit, but a ministry, our boys are older and more independent, dad works from home so they still have a parent around at all times, and my youngest comes to school with me.
When they were younger, it was important to our family to have me home so I worked very diligently to live frugally in an attempt to make up for the 2nd income. Staying home and doing the tasks you mentioned went a long way towards making my hub’s paycheck stretch. It can be done.
It is important, however, to ask these questions and crunch the numbers just in case you are a working mom desiring to be a stay at home mom and you think you can’t afford it. Really considering the costs can be a very eye-opening experience. I only work part-time and I see myself making concessions all the time especially in the area of purchasing more expensive convenience foods.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this important topic!
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup recently posted…19 Ways to Cut Back an Already Bare Bones Grocery Budget
It is amazing the little things that working costs us. Convenience foods was always a big one for me too.
What a great post! We are expecting our first, and I plan to stay at home with her. I’ve actually been working from home almost primarily for almost 2 years now, though, so it’s not a big trade off at this time. We were just having this conversation, though, as I obviously could make slightly more if I worked outside the home. When you figure in all those added costs, though, it wouldn’t end up being any additional “take home” pay.
Leesha @ Living Contently recently posted…Finding Peace Amidst the Chaos
It’s crazy how much we sometimes pay to work. Working from home often ends up being a much better deal because of that.
I’m currently considering going back to work seriously, i.e., I have sent out my resume after 13 years as a mostly SAHM with experience in part-time work, working at home and lots of volunteer work and writing, of course. This post does bring up a point I need to consider — is the pay worth the cost of travel? My kids are teen and tween, and, I think, I have a willing relative to watch them, but the one point before is something I need to think about in detail. Thanks! Visiting from SHINE Blog Hop.
MB recently posted…Summer Reading Book Reviews
Absolutely. Consider all angles. People often don’t consider the cost of their commute. With the price of gas, it’s something important to consider.
Visiting from the Shine Hop
It is definitely a question that has a different answer for all. We couldn’t afford for one to stay at home and one to work, so both of us work opposite schedules so that our daughter doesn’t have to be in daycare, but it also means we never see each other, which is tough on our marriage. I miss him but we’re doing what’s best for our daughter for right now.
liz @ sundays with sophie
It is very different for every family. That sounds like a tough situation. Thankfully it is just for a season. (((hug)))
Good points! We were a two-income family until my second child was 6 mo old. For about a year my husband and I worked opposite shifts to avoid daycare and only saw each other when we traded the (then only) baby between our cars in my work parking lot! Not much fun. I wanted to stay at home but we were under the false assumption that to live we needed two full incomes. Turns out, we didn’t. The place I worked for closed so I ended up at home and starting doing childcare from my house. I make about 100.00 a week and we are very comfortable! I might add that my husband doesn’t have a professional 50,000 a year job so we’re not rich but we live in an area with a low cost of living so it all works out.
Amanda recently posted…You Are So Very Loved Nursery Prints
Low cost of living does help! It’s awesome that you can do some childcare in your home. $100 doesn’t seem like much but it can make a world of difference. 🙂
These are great tips! My hubby and I are expecting our first little on next year and the question of how we’ll fare financially is big on our hearts right now. Thanks for sharing some of the things you’ve learned!
Lauren English recently posted…What To Do After An Argument With Your Spouse
We did something similar when considering the ‘value’ of me going back to work after Baby Boy was born. We weighed our desires for our family, our goals, and our intentions vs. my being at work. We still weigh those things when we discuss whether it’s a good idea for me to work or not. At the end of the day, we both feel that my being a working mother and finding any fulfillment in it would be a bigger struggle for us as a family than my being at home. I imagine this will be one of those topics for us, that we’ll revisit occasionally as our family grows and changes 🙂
Life Breath Present recently posted…Hiking & Waterfalls
We revisit things every so often as well. There might be a day where I should work outside the home but that isn’t right now.