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From the moment I learned I was pregnant, I knew I
wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. That feeling only
strengthened when my beautiful son was born. I took one
look at him and wondered how I could ever give up the
opportunity to spend each and every day with him,
watching him grow and learn, and exploring the world for
the first time through his eyes. But there was a
problem. We were a two-income family. How could we
possibly afford to eliminate one of those incomes? Well,
there are a lot of answers to that question and I’d like
to share the ones I found with you.
The first thing I looked at when determining “what we
can afford” is how much money we made. I was wrong. What
I really needed to examine was our expenses. So, the
first step I took in my quest to stay home was to list
the expenses I would incur in order to work, versus
staying home. This is what I came up with: professional
clothing (your kids don’t mind that you wear sweats!);
transportation costs: fuel, tolls, public transit,
parking, etc.; those “must-have” coffee and/or donut
stops each morning; lunches with coworkers; gifts for
coworkers (holidays and special occasions); CHILDCARE –
it’s in bold print for a reason. If you haven’t priced
this one out yet, do it now. This will easily be your
greatest expense. And, it only goes up with each child.
Go ahead and add up all these expenses. Don’t be too
depressed, because there’s good news: these expenses
represent your “instant rebate” for staying home. You’ve
essentially just eliminated the need for a good portion
(if not all) of your income. Need more savings? Keep
reading!
How many times per week are you dining out at
restaurants, getting take out, ordering in, etc? By
staying at home, you have the time to go to the grocery
store and prepare a wholesome and much more economical
meal for your family.
Eliminate (or at least cut back) on your little
luxuries. Manicures, pedicures, massages, hair
highlights, 300 television channels, 2000 cell phone
minutes. You get the picture.
Clip coupons. I actually started buying the Sunday
paper each week just for the coupons! You may have never
seen the need to do this while you were working, but if
you take the time, it will save you money. There are
also plenty of online sites that provide coupons.
Examine your bills carefully. When we had 2 fulltime
incomes, I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I rarely
looked at any bill in detail. If there was an amount
due, I paid it. I never looked at it, never questioned
it. Now I go over every health insurance summary,
utility statement, etc. with a magnifying glass. And, I
can honestly say in the past 2 years I have caught
almost $1000 in billing errors. That’s $1000 more for my
family.
Make this a team effort. If staying home only appeals
to you and not your partner, your chances of success are
greatly diminished. Making adjustments to the family
budget will affect the lifestyle of all those involved.
This transition will be much smoother with the support
of your significant other.
And last, but certainly not least, follow your heart!
If you feel called to stay home with your children, then
do it! All it takes is the determination to succeed and
the willingness to reduce expenses. Best of luck to you!
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