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Working Moms: If you were to lose your job, could you....
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Anonymous
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....stay at home with the kids?
Just curious where others stand on this issue. I'm in one of the very popular financial institutions of late in the news and just thinking ahead to worst case scenarios.....where to cut back, loss of salary negating need (not to mention expense) of daycare group for my 1 and 3 yo children, etc. Could I do it? Could you do it? Where in your budget would you specifically cut back if going from a double to single salary? |
Anonymous
| We'd have to move b/c we wouldn't be able to pay our mortgage on one salary. We'd also have to never eat out and cut back on kid's activities. But my hubbie makes less than 6 figures so maybe you'd be in a different boat? |
Anonymous
| OP: My husband is right around $140K. I'm at $115 so this would be a big reduction for us. We also just built a house so are in the height of new mortgage payments. A move could be a possibility but would mean selling this house we just worked so hard to build...amongst other changes of course. |
Anonymous
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We would have to move to a more moderately priced house.
My salary is equal to DH's- it would cut us in half. |
Anonymous
| I could do it and have. But it's a lifestyle adjustment that you really have to want. I decided to go back to work full time after a month of relaxation and a few months of boredom. My new job pays less, but it's still nice to have that $ for vacations and halloween costumes, etc. |
Anonymous
| A part-time job would be ideal but I've never had luck finding them. Has anyone else? They seem so far and few in between. |
Anonymous
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i could do it. DH makes in the 90s. i make in the 70s. we have been good savers and we bought our house in DC in 2002, when housing wasn't yet totally insane. we could live off one salary, but there would be little left to save (glad we have a nest egg). i probably wouldn't try to stay home for more than a couple of years, though. i'm 40 and would need to contribute into a 401K.
right now, we already live without eating in fancy restaurants (we have an infant so it's not a big sacrifice); own just one car; do not have a maid (dangit!); cook almost all meals at home and take our lunches to work. not sure where else we could save, except maybe cutting out alcohol (ha!). |
Anonymous
| I found a part-time job. In a field that essentially never does part-time. Basically, if there's enough demand for your niche or specific expertise and your CV looks good, some employers (not all) will meet pretty much any demand you make. Theoretically, I am the equivalent of a contractor or a temp, but I've been there for years. |
Anonymous
These are good suggestions...I'm just adding up all those things you said you cut and it would equate to roughly $1,500-$2,000 per month for us (if not more!)....amazing where all the money goes. |
Anonymous
| On the part time thing--- yeah it's amazing, I never knew this. I know some women who just apply for full time jobs, and in the final salary negotiation suggest they only work 30 hours. Or 25. Works like a charm! Key is looking for a job where you're not responsible for managing others, where face time really matters. |
Anonymous
| No. I'm stuck here. Unless I want to move to Alaska or something. |
Anonymous
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Yes, and it wouldn't affect our lifestyle. In fact, my husband was laid off in April (Freddie Mac) and is enjoying his time off. I've fully supported his decision to take a break from work-he does though have a side real estate business that he enjoys. I'm still able to work part-time, although I do have a good salary.
When we purchased our current home, we made sure that the mortgage was affordable by either of us if one of us were laid off. So, we bought a small home in an affluent area and have slowly renovated when we're comfortable in spending the cash. My husband is firm believer in not living above your means, and that's how we live. After we had our son, he bought me a new car in cash so we were strapped with a car payment. I do think we're in the minority in that we believe that it's not the size of your home that matters, it's what's inside that matters-so no big house for us, unless we could practically pay cash. Now if I were to be laid off, we'd have to start dipping into our savings/investments, and my husband would be completely freaked. He wouldn't be fun to live with  I'd have to divorce him.
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Anonymous
Interesting! I hadn't thought of that...guess if you have the time it doesn't hurt to try. |
Anonymous
| OP: This is turning largely financial (which was half the question) but am still curious as to whether Moms (or Dads) could SAH with kids if need be (vs. having someone else care for them during day while you work). Could you make that specific lifestyle change? |
Anonymous
I have. I work for a large global DoD government contractor and requested part-time when I was 15 weeks pregnant. I felt that they needed that much time to think and I needed that much time to investigate the policies at work. I was granted part-time, 30 hours a week, but my job responsibility hasn't changed, I just work harder and faster and somtimes after my son is in bed. I usually spend about 5-5.5 hours a day in the office. I did take a pay cut but the additional time off is worth so much more than the $$$. I love my job but I feel stuck. Will I be able to find this again if I wanted to move on? |