How much is enough in the bank to stay at home?

[Anonymous]

I really want to stay at home but my spouse earns only 1/3 of our HHI and it is not enough to cover expenses (and I mean "frugal" expenses by DCUM standards). We have a significant amount in the bank (mid seven figures from inheritance). How much would you need in the bank to stay home? (BTW, I thought there was another thread on this but could not find it)

[Anonymous]

You shouldn't eat into your savings and if he is only making 1/3 I would say no.

HOWEVER, if you still want to do it,

You need to make sure you have adequate health and home, car insurance.

How long are you planning on staying home?
Calculate your monthly bill (including insurance, taxes everything.) and see how much you will be LOSING (spending from your savings).

Also include extras like having to buy a new car or if an emergency should come up.

[Anonymous]

And remember, cost of living (especially Gas and food) goes up a LOT each year.

[Anonymous]

What exactly is mid seven figures? 5 million? If so, I think you can afford to stay home for a while with the understanding that you will dip into the savings. If you are OK with that, then do it.

Would your DH salary and withdrawing the interest only on you inheritance be enough to survive while you stay home? If so, then do it.

[Anonymous]

If your income isn't enough to cover your cost of living, AND you have mid 7 figure in the bank (millions?) then just pay yourself a salary out of that to close the gap. If it helps, transfer a year of closing the gap into an accessible savings account and literally pay yourself what amounts to your lost checks bi-weekly. That's what I'd do. No, I take that back. If I have 5 million I'd stop working and let my money work for me.

[Anonymous]

That $5M throws off $250k a year on average. You can do it.

[Anonymous]

Hells yeah I'd stay home!!!!

[Anonymous]

OP here: No question I would be dipping into principal and that is my problem. Let's say the amount is $5 million as a round number. It actually "throws off" "only" $100k a year in cash, the rest is a fairly complicated reinvestment strategy that I won't touch. Again, my spouse's salary is pretty minimal but pays for insurance and allows retirement savings. So not only am I dipping into principal, but also forgoing hundreds of thousands in retirement savings.

[Anonymous]

Only 100K a year plus whatever your spouse makes? Ummm, why are you asking anonymous strangers for advice? You should have a financial planner who can talk you through your expenses and how to achieve your goal of staying home based on your current investments.

[Anonymous]

Why do you want to stay at home? By time time you get to 5 million your kids would be in college and then what?

[Anonymous]

Seriously. I am all for saving, but money is meant to be used to live the life you want. You are living for retirement, and tossing time with your child to the wind just to be incredibly wealthy decades from now.

[Anonymous]

You can afford to do it based on your 7 figures, which I hope is invested and giving you a decent return. Simply setup a monthly or bi-weekly paycheck to cover the uncovered expenses.

[Anonymous]

My husband makes 125k and we live very comfortably- SAHM, arl, 1 kid.
You'll be fine

Our mort is cheap because we put a lot down from when DH was in private sector. Can you put some of your principle into a refi and lower your mortgage? Depending on where you love your money will be safe and may still pick up earnings.

[Anonymous]

How long do you want to stay home? I make 2/3 of our HHI and we're running the numbers to see if I can come back from maternity leave 4 days a week and take a 20% pay cut. My plan is to do it for 1 year max, but probably 6 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long do you want to stay home? I make 2/3 of our HHI and we're running the numbers to see if I can come back from maternity leave 4 days a week and take a 20% pay cut. My plan is to do it for 1 year max, but probably 6 months.

I had no idea this was even an option until I started asking other women at my company how they structured their maternity leave and what advice they had for some of the scenarios I was considering. I am an executive on partner track in an industry not exactly known for flexible, reasonable hours. No one on my account has gone part time, but I was able to get put in touch with people on other accounts who have.