Going Back To Work After Childbirth: Can You Afford to Be a Single-Income Family?
Do the math. Does your job really bring in that much extra income once all the expenses are figured in? Before you say yes, add up the numbers; you may be very surprised at the results. Make a list of every single financial disbursement, no matter how small or trivial it may seem, resulting from your job. First, consider your bigger-ticket expenses:
Child care. There are many day care centers available, but even the most affordable ones can run you close to $5000 per year. The more pricey ones can cost up to $15,000. The price of day care varies greatly depending on where you live, and the quality of the center itself – and since you don’t want to leave your most precious possession with just anyone, chances are you’ll end up paying more than the minimum. Hiring a private babysitter or nanny to come to your home can be even more expensive than day care. It may be cheaper f it’s up to you to transport your child to the babysitter’s home each day, but then you have to figure in the extra cost of gas and mileage.
Commuting. Speaking of gas and mileage, there’s your other major work expense, especially if you have a long commute to work. With gas prices skyrocketing, the total can add up fast. Add in car insurance premiums and maintenance, and bam – you’ve got several hundred bucks a month or more. Even taking the bus or some other form of mass transit requires money, although it’s not as much. There are other options, such as carpooling, but they may not be feasible when you have kids or a spouse to drop off at various places before going to work.
Those are most likely the two biggest expenses you’ll encounter when working outside the home, but they’re by no means the only expenses. There are other things, smaller things that can really add up âÂ?¦ and you may not even realize how much you’re paying, in total, for some of them. These include:
Convenience foods. A good portion of the time, you’re probably way too tired at the end of a work day to even consider cooking a meal. So you buy frozen dinners and other convenient, easy-fix foods, or you go out to eat. Not only is this style of eating unhealthy for your family, it’s expensive! Measure the cost of “convenience eating” next to the cost of cooking most of your meals from scratch – you’ll be amazed at how much money can be saved by doing a few things yourself.
Work wardrobe. If you can go in to work wearing your blue jeans and a t-shirt, great âÂ?¦ but you’re among the minority. Most people have to dress nicely, not casually, for their job. Even if you wear a uniform of some sort, you’re responsible for purchasing and maintaining them. So this means you’ll have to fork over some dough for wardrobe necessities, no matter what you wear. Consider things you have to keep replacing, such as shoes and pantyhose, and the cost of dry-cleaning.
Lunches. This, of course, goes along the lines of convenience foods. You probably eat out, or order in, quite a bit during the work week. Ten dollars a day can add up very quickly. That’s fifty bucks a week. That’s two hundred dollars a month! Even if you take your own, you’re still buying pre-packaged foods to put into your lunch sack because you don’t have time to prepare everything.
Parking. Do you have to pay to park at your job? If so, don’t forget add it to the list of expenses!
Cell phones. We live in an age where virtually every family has at least one. With a two-income family, both working parents usually carry a cell phone. Dual cell phone plans can be more expensive than single, but if you’re at home most of the time, a mobile phone isn’t a necessity any more, thus cutting your monthly cell expenditures.
Healthcare costs. Children in daycare or at a babysitter’s house day are exposed to other children day after day and, at least for a while, it will seem that they’re always sick with various ailments. Consider the costs of doctor visits and medicine, plus someone having to take off work while your child is at home sick.
Household help. Do you hire someone to do the things that your work schedule doesn’t permit time for? Then that’s another thing to include on the list âÂ?¦ the costs of your gardener, your housekeeper, the guy that washes your windows, etc.
Taxes. Factor in taxes on the second salary. Taxes can take a surprisingly sizeable chunk out of your second income. Don’t forget to include the payroll tax, or FICA, on top of the regular federal income tax.
Now that you’ve made your list âÂ?¦ make another. To see if it makes sense financially for one partner to stay at home, make a “wants and needs” based budget. In the “needs” column, for example, include any rent or mortgage payments, car payments, insurance, food, savings, and so on. In the “wants” column go your luxuries, such as evenings out, the occasional babysitter, magazine subscriptions, health club memberships, etc. When you’re done, you should have a bottom-dollar amount that you need to meet your expenses. Now take a good hard look at the two lists: can you afford to live comfortably without that second income?
Crunch the numbers. If you decide that quitting your job to stay home is a feasible option, there are many ways of cutting costs:
Learn to cook! This is the perfect time to start if you haven’t done it much before – cooking your own meals from scratch, rather than relying solely on those easy “convenience foods” we talked about earlier, can save you a bundle.
Clip coupons and buy in bulk. For items that you use on a daily basis, such as toilet paper, diapers, paper towels, dish detergent, and the like, it may be well worth it to pay the small fee and join a warehouse store such as Sam’s Club or Costco. If you have a deep freezer, make good use of it by buying meat in bulk when it’s on sale. Keep track of specials and discounts at your favorite stores on things you frequently use. And now that you’ll have a little more time, you can do a little more comparison shopping: you may find another store whose prices are much lower than your “regular” store’s prices.
D.I.Y.�¯�¿�½ Perhaps rather obvious, but mentionable nonetheless: do cleaning and household maintenance yourself, rather than hiring someone to do it.
Consider buying your kids’ clothes used. Since children tend to outgrow their clothing before they wear it out, used kids’ clothing is often in really good condition. Find a children’s thrift store for some excellent bargains. Or shop the end-of-season racks, where you’ll pay less.
Reconsider your entertainment choices. Learn how to entertain your family with little or no money. Rent videos rather than buying them or going to the theater. Challenge each other to find the best free – or very cheap – family activity; you’ll be amazed at what you can come up with.
Cut back and scale down. Look at everything you have two of: cars and cell phones, for example. You can probably live very easily with only one.
Buy generic rather than name brands. Examine every product you use, from your peanut butter to your shampoo, and determine where you’re willing to experiment with other, cheaper brands.
Learn to trade. Your family, friends, and neighbors can be a valuable money-saving resource! Try organizing a babysitting co-op with them, for example, and you won’t have to pay a sitter for those occasional outings. It can actually be fun to see what other services you and your friends have to trade.
These are just a few examples of ways you can save money and afford to be a one-income family. There is a wealth of information available for people in the same situation – the Internet and the library are two great sources.
Remember, staying at home is work too. Even if you’re not sticking to your old work schedule, you are most likely not going to have the time to sleep in, lounge around in your pajamas, eat bonbons and watch soaps all day. Being a stay at home parent is a full-time job in itself, one where you’re perpetually on-call and days off are nonexistent. If you’re going to save any substantial amount of money at all, you’re going to have to take on tasks that you normally would have someone else do. You’re going to have to spend more time cooking âÂ?¦ and doing yard work âÂ?¦ and cleaning âÂ?¦ and maintaining âÂ?¦ and that’s not even factoring in the time you’re going to be spending to meet your kids’ needs.
When all is said and done, is staying at home for you? Just because you can stay at home doesn’t always mean that you should. Some people dream of giving up their careers, others are reluctant to do so. If you hate your job, despise your boss, dread your workday, then there’s no question about what choice is right for you: you’ll be much happier, for yourself and your family, by staying at home. But if you’re a person whose job provides a creative outlet, if you enjoy going to work and feel fulfilled by what you do, then quitting your job to stay at home may not be the best idea. While you’re doing all this financial figuring, don’t forget to figure in the emotional costs as well.
