Financial Value of SAHM Services

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no monetary equivalent for raising your own children. The pay is not in dollars.

Agree. The other posters have no idea how valuable it is. The highest calling and job a woman can have is wife and mother. Obviously many here dishonor that.

Poor Mother Teresa. Who knew her calling was so low.

Bad example. She was an odious and horrible individual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From an economic POV, you are worth the cost of daycare or nanny, plus the cost of a cleaning lady and perhaps the cost savings of not ordering in periodically, all of which should be trued up for taxes.

So say about $36,000 for the nanny, maybe $2,000 for the cleaning lady and $2,000 for the not eating out as often (since presumably as a SAHM you'd cook more frequently than if you worked). Call it $40,000 post tax or worth about $60,000 post tax.

That value goes down as the kids get older and can clean for themselves and don't require full time 50 hour a week childcare.

Economically speaking I'd say $60k for the first 7 years, $40k thereafter.

And what, may I ask, is the monetary value that you place on sex? Top vs. bottom? Does that rate change with frequency or freakyness?
Does the rate change if the "nanny" is also a "wet nurse"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From an economic POV, you are worth the cost of daycare or nanny, plus the cost of a cleaning lady and perhaps the cost savings of not ordering in periodically, all of which should be trued up for taxes.

So say about $36,000 for the nanny, maybe $2,000 for the cleaning lady and $2,000 for the not eating out as often (since presumably as a SAHM you'd cook more frequently than if you worked). Call it $40,000 post tax or worth about $60,000 post tax.

That value goes down as the kids get older and can clean for themselves and don't require full time 50 hour a week childcare.

Economically speaking I'd say $60k for the first 7 years, $40k thereafter.

And what, may I ask, is the monetary value that you place on sex? Top vs. bottom? Does that rate change with frequency or freakyness?
Does the rate change if the "nanny" is also a "wet nurse"?

That's ridiculous. The point is to value the services a SAHM provides that a WOHM wouldn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From an economic POV, you are worth the cost of daycare or nanny, plus the cost of a cleaning lady and perhaps the cost savings of not ordering in periodically, all of which should be trued up for taxes.

So say about $36,000 for the nanny, maybe $2,000 for the cleaning lady and $2,000 for the not eating out as often (since presumably as a SAHM you'd cook more frequently than if you worked). Call it $40,000 post tax or worth about $60,000 post tax.

That value goes down as the kids get older and can clean for themselves and don't require full time 50 hour a week childcare.

Economically speaking I'd say $60k for the first 7 years, $40k thereafter.

And what, may I ask, is the monetary value that you place on sex? Top vs. bottom? Does that rate change with frequency or freakyness?
Does the rate change if the "nanny" is also a "wet nurse"?

That's ridiculous. The point is to value the services a SAHM provides that a WOHM wouldn't.

Ohhh. Why did you not say it was a SAHM vs. WOHM thing.

I thought that an a****** DH was wondering.

So, to answer your question, dear OP (who happens to be a WOHM?) - you are providing much more monetary value + other value + stuff etc, to your family. So, the question to ask is - why are you not being appreciated at home more? Why the need to compare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no monetary equivalent for raising your own children. The pay is not in dollars.

Agree. The other posters have no idea how valuable it is. The highest calling and job a woman can have is wife and mother. Obviously many here dishonor that.

I don't get it. I'm a wife and mother and I have a paying job. Didn't think these were mutually exclusive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no monetary equivalent for raising your own children. The pay is not in dollars.

Agree. The other posters have no idea how valuable it is. The highest calling and job a woman can have is wife and mother. Obviously many here dishonor that.

I don't get it. I'm a wife and mother and I have a paying job. Didn't think these were mutually exclusive.

+1. There are clearly a few insecure SAHMs on here who feel the need to justify their decision to SAH by acting as if it is a higher calling and they are superior to working moms. Most SAHMs I know aren't obnoxious like this and understand that everyone should do what works best for their family, but a few have no internal self worth and have to put others down/make up ridiculous math equations about their financial value to make themselves feel better.

I imagine moms who WOH and SAH both add immeasurable value to their families beyond just their paycheck or providing childcare.
This thread seems like a stupid troll thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From an economic POV, you are worth the cost of daycare or nanny, plus the cost of a cleaning lady and perhaps the cost savings of not ordering in periodically, all of which should be trued up for taxes.

So say about $36,000 for the nanny, maybe $2,000 for the cleaning lady and $2,000 for the not eating out as often (since presumably as a SAHM you'd cook more frequently than if you worked). Call it $40,000 post tax or worth about $60,000 post tax.

That value goes down as the kids get older and can clean for themselves and don't require full time 50 hour a week childcare.

Economically speaking I'd say $60k for the first 7 years, $40k thereafter.

We never paid more than $24,000 a year when we had both kids in full time care. I was making about $150K a year then, so the economic value of me staying at home with the kids when they were small was in the negative six figures.

I don't see why you can add in the cost of the "services" a SAHM provides if she stays home without subtracting out the opportunity cost of what she would earn if she had a paying job. Which is why this is a super dumb exercise. If your take home income is (or would be) more than the cost of day care, you are staying home for non-economic reasons, and those can't be priced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no monetary equivalent for raising your own children. The pay is not in dollars.

Agree. The other posters have no idea how valuable it is. The highest calling and job a woman can have is wife and mother. Obviously many here dishonor that.

Poor Mother Teresa. Who knew her calling was so low.

Bad example. She was an odious and horrible individual.

Well obviously she was not a mother or wife so she had no business even being alive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From an economic POV, you are worth the cost of daycare or nanny, plus the cost of a cleaning lady and perhaps the cost savings of not ordering in periodically, all of which should be trued up for taxes.

So say about $36,000 for the nanny, maybe $2,000 for the cleaning lady and $2,000 for the not eating out as often (since presumably as a SAHM you'd cook more frequently than if you worked). Call it $40,000 post tax or worth about $60,000 post tax.

That value goes down as the kids get older and can clean for themselves and don't require full time 50 hour a week childcare.

Economically speaking I'd say $60k for the first 7 years, $40k thereafter.

We never paid more than $24,000 a year when we had both kids in full time care. I was making about $150K a year then, so the economic value of me staying at home with the kids when they were small was in the negative six figures.

I don't see why you can add in the cost of the "services" a SAHM provides if she stays home without subtracting out the opportunity cost of what she would earn if she had a paying job. Which is why this is a super dumb exercise. If your take home income is (or would be) more than the cost of day care, you are staying home for non-economic reasons, and those can't be priced.

If you are a lawyer who quits to teach you are obviously a more valuable teacher because you "could have made more money". NOT!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From an economic POV, you are worth the cost of daycare or nanny, plus the cost of a cleaning lady and perhaps the cost savings of not ordering in periodically, all of which should be trued up for taxes.

So say about $36,000 for the nanny, maybe $2,000 for the cleaning lady and $2,000 for the not eating out as often (since presumably as a SAHM you'd cook more frequently than if you worked). Call it $40,000 post tax or worth about $60,000 post tax.

That value goes down as the kids get older and can clean for themselves and don't require full time 50 hour a week childcare.

Economically speaking I'd say $60k for the first 7 years, $40k thereafter.

And what, may I ask, is the monetary value that you place on sex? Top vs. bottom? Does that rate change with frequency or freakyness?
Does the rate change if the "nanny" is also a "wet nurse"?

That's ridiculous. The point is to value the services a SAHM provides that a WOHM wouldn't.

But there are very few services SAHM provide that WOHM provide, especially once the kids are in school. The SAHM want to feel they provide "other" value for some odd reason... but they don't. They are just given the opportunity and time to do nothing (or get their nails done/play tennis/go to the gym) with their day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think $2000 per year for a cleaning lady is really low. A SAHM does more than the cleaning lady does twice a month. Also, you would somehow have to put a value on the husband not having to do anything home/kid related. If the SAHM worked the husband would have to help with chores, food prep, bath, night wakings, staying home when kid is sick, dealing with transportation, etc.

I would subtract value if the father did nothing kid related. I would put that in the extremely sad and pathetic category.

Of course most fathers do kid related things. That's called being a good father. However, if dad has a work trip, business dinner, happy hour event, etc. there is no hectic rearranging of work schedules or worrying about being fired for taking too many snow or sick days bc of kids.

[Anonymous]

After a certain age, the value is more in the quality of life versus monetary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think $2000 per year for a cleaning lady is really low. A SAHM does more than the cleaning lady does twice a month. Also, you would somehow have to put a value on the husband not having to do anything home/kid related. If the SAHM worked the husband would have to help with chores, food prep, bath, night wakings, staying home when kid is sick, dealing with transportation, etc.

I would subtract value if the father did nothing kid related. I would put that in the extremely sad and pathetic category.

Of course most fathers do kid related things. That's called being a good father. However, if dad has a work trip, business dinner, happy hour event, etc. there is no hectic rearranging of work schedules or worrying about being fired for taking too many snow or sick days bc of kids.

or maybe he could spend more time with his kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


I left my profession as a geriatrician more than a decade ago to support a household in which my significant other/spouse had a career which demanded many hours, travel, and eventually moves.

Shortly after I left my full-time practice, my SO received a job offer within the company, but in Europe. My spouse hesitated because - though they wanted to pursue the opportunity and the promotion - she or he worried about uprooting the children, finding new schools, selling our house, coordinating the move. I said "don't worry, take the job", and took that on myself.

We have since lived in Europe, Asia, San Francisco, and now New York, and each time my significant other has moved on to bigger and better jobs, and is now a well compensated, very Sr. Person in his or her field. The children, my spouse, and I have lived a life full of adjustments and the rewards of different experiences. And I have been there to help every step of the way.

Every time a friend asks my SO, "how did you know which moves to make?", my spouse offers this, "I didn't know which moves would help my career, or even how they would pan out, but I always knew that I had a supportive partner and family willing to make that move, and take that chance and adventure with me."

In the end, I do not think that you can place a value on the contributions to our family.

I have known many families like the previous poster where the family moves often for the military, the foreign service, international work, or foreign business. In that case, one spouse almost has to give up working by default -- since it is so difficult to transfer jobs so often.

Agreed, every family I knew where one spouse's job required lots of moves, particularly internationally, had the other spouse focused on logistics and adjustments. It is also difficult to keep moving jobs internationally if you cannot arrange work visas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so crass that I am shocked.

Not crass at all. Two uses off the bat

- this is the money-math most folk do after having a kid and repeat several times when their kids are young.
- women's advocates have been asking this question since ages because the common misconception is that women's work is not worth much.