Can I be a SAHM on about 100k per year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:State college is cheaper than that, community college is even more affordable. There's scholarships, loans, work studies, and whats wrong with making your special snowflake get a job and start saving up towards school?

Because my grandparents paid for my parents to go to school; my parents paid for 80% of my school; and if I can afford it, I want to pay it forward to my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:State college is cheaper than that, community college is even more affordable. There's scholarships, loans, work studies, and whats wrong with making your special snowflake get a job and start saving up towards school?

Because my grandparents paid for my parents to go to school; my parents paid for 80% of my school; and if I can afford it, I want to pay it forward to my kids.

new poster:
I have the same idea, but $200K for school is ridiculous. I hope that bubble bursts and soon. The everyday middle class family cannot afford that, and their kids can't afford to be in that much debt after college.

We're putting aside what we can, but honestly, we will be steering our child towards state school. I don't forsee us having anywhere close to enough for that kind of bill, unless someone dies and leaves us a ton of money.

we are saving more for retirement, but I also think THAT isn't going to be enough. In the several years we have been saving, we've made very little forward progress and also haven't gotten raises to keep up with the COL. I'm glad we're both employed, but I it is frustrating to not be seeing any gains.

[Anonymous]

11:35 here. Of course all you can do is save what's reasonable, but we are doing our best. State schools are very competitive these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11:35 here. Of course all you can do is save what's reasonable, but we are doing our best. State schools are very competitive these days.

Because people who might have been able to afford private schools several years ago can't...plus there are just more people going to college. I personally just fear for this generation and the crippling college loan debt a lot of them are getting themselves into. When most of us went to school (which really wasn't all that long ago), college was half the price it is today, for so many reasons.

My husband just finished up his degree not too long ago (he was on the 10-year plan after joining the military right out of HS), and he did as many of the classes as possible at NVCC before transferring to Mason. It really is a smart way to do things financially. Of course, I got to have the "normal" experience going away to school and being done in 4 years, so I want that for our child if it is possible. But a lot of people are going to have to think very hard about the cost burden on both the parents AND the child before deciding which path AND school is right for them.

Anyway, this is a bit off topic and probably more suited for a college savings thread, but an interesting discussion all the same.

[Anonymous]

That's why I WOH full time, so my kids have the option to graduate college debt free. It's important to us, even if we spend $250,000 per kid on a four year degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:State college is cheaper than that, community college is even more affordable. There's scholarships, loans, work studies, and whats wrong with making your special snowflake get a job and start saving up towards school?

My kids will work for pay before going to college, but the notion that anything they are capable of earning will make even the tiniest dent in paying for college is laughable. We intend to pay as much as we possibly can.

My parents put my siblings and me through private colleges and universities student loans-free. We worked our tails off to help pay, as well. Graduating without debt was the best gift they could have given me - I had interesting jobs and experiences in my 20's that would have been impossible had I been saddled with student loan payments.

What's wrong with wanting to give our children the best that we can, financially and otherwise?

[Anonymous]

I would recommend quitting your 30 hour a week job and getting a day or two of childcare a week to allow to continue to keep your business going well. It seems like you're financially stable and that your business has strong growth potential. It's not really a question of whether you are going to SAH, it's whether you can afford to work at home part-time with only $100,000 of stable income from you husband. Most of the concerns about you being out of the workforce for too long and not being able to save for retirement were probably based on assumptions that you were trying to get a new business off the ground and would spend very little time on it.

[Anonymous]

It's obviously doable. But depending on how much you spend/outsource/etc now only you can decide if you'd be comfortable or not. Budget and do the math and figure out if you both would be comfortable with it or not.

[Anonymous]

New poster here. OP, let me ask you a different question. Is this decision to be a SAH partly an investment into your business? You mentioned that your business can generate as much as your 30 hour job but with way less hours, and that is because you didn't have time to take it further. So, are you really wanting to be SAHM to be there with your kid or are you doing this as a side thing with the goal to take your business off the ground?

If you look at it this way, then your decision to stay home is not just to save on daycare (which with your salary of 45K I agree makes little sense). You are trying to built a lucrative business that has upside potential and can propell your family's financial future above and beyond what you would be saving on a regular paying job. Thinking in these terms and considering that you are only 27, I think you should go for it and give your business a try. HOWEVER... when you give birth your world will turn upside down, your expectations of what you will be able to do for your business may be crushed if you don't prepare. do you have any family in the area to help babysitting, because if you want to really grow your business you will need more than just a few hours a week. Otherwise, you will need to budget for some babysitting.

The good thing is your business is already money generating, so it’s just a matter to arrange the babysitter for those hours that you require to keep it going at least at the same level and keep gradually bringing it to a new level. The more you start making the more you will be able to afford paying a babysitter and eventually you may be able to build to the number of hours with appropriate family balance to really grow it. I don’t know what business you have of course and how plausible this is, but if you think there is an upside, then go for it. If in 2 years you won’t be able to grow your business then you can maybe fall back on the job you used to have, don’t know if they are related, but working for yourself is in no way something you cannot put on your resume, it’s a great experience too.

The reason I am saying all this is I myself considered the similar arrangement, my circumstances are different and I am in my late 30s, with 1 kid. But you are still young and your business already is bringing cash, so don’t get hung up on sacrificing a couple of years of saving for college/retirement etc, and it’s not like your 45K a year will take you far in these two years. You can make the numbers work as long as you cover your expenses and make sure to have extra left for emergencies. The thing you need to think about is what happens after the baby is born, as you may be overwhelmed. It’s very hard to take care of the baby and the house by yourself when they are so little, so don’t build your expectations on the number of hours of quiet uninterrupted work you can manage now. Think about how to get some hours of daycare and count this into your calculations.

[Anonymous]

OP -- the PP has great advice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:State college is cheaper than that, community college is even more affordable. There's scholarships, loans, work studies, and whats wrong with making your special snowflake get a job and start saving up towards school?

Thank you! Private university, just like private school, is not an entitlement. For most professions, especially in 20 years, where you attended school is not all that important anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:State college is cheaper than that, community college is even more affordable. There's scholarships, loans, work studies, and whats wrong with making your special snowflake get a job and start saving up towards school?

Thank you! Private university, just like private school, is not an entitlement. For most professions, especially in 20 years, where you attended school is not all that important anymore.

Yes, those are for the ruling class. My kid deserves that spot