I am a SAHM. Actually, I’m technically a WAHM, but I don’t have a full-time work load. After the birth of our first child, I did for many years, work as an after school director while my husband was teaching. This meant that our children were never in day care–something that was important to both me and my spouse. We were fortunate, in that I was allowed to bring my babies to work to nurse them and I had the help of my spouse in my program. I must add that it was a stressful job, and that eventually, the stress was not worth the extra money.
However, the decision to go back to work is not quite as easy for some women. Sometimes, it’s a matter of keeping your foot in the door. My sister-in-law is a nurse and felt that she needed to keep up her clinical skills and so she drastically reduced her full-time nursing load–but she had to go back to work after only 12 weeks of maternity leave. Had she not, she would not be able to get a nursing job as easily in her chosen field: labor & delivery.
Sometimes the issue is just plain financial. Let’s face it, it is not easy to make it on one income. Or at least that’s what we thought. But then we did something that completely changed our outlook: we saved our receipts. All of them. Every single last penny that we spent was accounted for. And we discovered something a little shocking: it would cost our family money for me to go back to work full time!
So if you’re in the dilemma of struggling over whether or not to go back to work, let me share with you this scenario:
Let’s say your job pays $50,000. After taxes, you bring home about $32,000/year.
Now let’s begin to add up your expenses:
Clothing: $100/mo. $1200/year
(You think you don’t spend that much? Think again, because your post-pregnancy body is not likely to fit into your old clothes. There’s also things like panty-hose, shoes, etc. that add up.)
Child Care: $2100/mo. $25,000/year
I looked up day care near where we live and this seems to be a good average. I have 3 children that would require day care so that would add up to $2100/mo. (I could put my older two in school.)
Transportation: $80/mo. $960/year
How do I get it so cheap? Public transportation is great in New York City and so actually transportation is not a big expense. However, for many families it would be. . .my sister-in-law’s family for example, has to own two cars (a rarity here), and then of course pay for gas for both cars, etc.
Eating Out $200/mo. $2400/year
This is a necessary budget item since you will likely be too tired to cook many nights. Your grocery bill would be higher too than if you were cooking all your meals because you’ll likely buy pre-made meals to make your life easier.
Sick Days $100/mo $1200/year
This is of course, just an estimate. But you will likely have to take several sick days during the year if your children are in day care.
So let’s add it up:
$32,000 Net Income
Expenses
$ 1,200 Clothing
$25,000 Child Care
$ 960 Transportation
$ 2,400 Eating Out
$ 1,200 Sick Days
$1240
A whopping $1240 a year I would be making after all these expenses! Many moms find that it does actually cost them more to go back to work. While I realize that figures may vary, regarding expenses and income earned. . .my point is that going back to work is an expense and one that might not be worth it. I certainly wouldn’t give my time, energy, and talent for that little money.
I’m certainly not judging any mom who wants to go back to work. No, my point here is that if you don’t want to go back to work–you might not have to. Would it really be that hard to cut out $1200/year from your budget? It is easier than you might think!