Reply to Low Earning SAHP and Middle Class Households

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[quote=Anonymous]OP, I'm with you. I became a SAHP for the same reason when our DC was born even though DH "only" made around 90k. We already owned our home at the time and our mortgage was around 2800/mo. So it was very tight that first year. We never went out to eat, no babysitters basically ever, we got most baby stuff second hand for cheap or free.

But it got much, much better around 18 months. First, we were able to find very low cost (like practically free) part-time childcare by joining a play group co-op. I had volunteer days at the co-op, but most weeks would get 6-9 hours of childcare out of it. That enabled me earn some money doing freelance-type work for my former employer. It wasn't much money, about an extra 10k a year. But it was an extra 10k without having to pay for formal childcare, so all that money could go into savings or to pay for necessities (and the occasional date night). At 2.5, DC went into half day, 5 day a week PK. That obviously cost more, but since I was already established with freelance work I was able to dial that up to really take advantage of the time when DC was not home. So it was well worth the cost.

DH's income also went up about 10k/yr over this time. By the time DC was 3, I was making about 30k/year. So our income went up 40k over the course of about 3 years, all without ever having to shell out the 20k+ per year that we would have had to pay for full time childcare over the course of that same period in time. The most we have ever spent on childcare in a year is 10k, and was for part-time PK plus a full-time summer camp program.

Now DC is in public school and going to after-care 3 days a week. I am getting about 25 hrs/week of freelance work and have been able to boost my rate because I've been at it for 5 years and have a number of longtime clients. My job is incredibly flexible -- far more accommodating of having a young kid than what I was doing before. We definitely had some tricky months financially, but we never seriously worried about making our mortgage. We drive a 12 year old car and need to upgrade it soon, but we have the money now that I'm working so much more and DC is in school. We still have to pay for childcare in the summers, but it's manageable. We are not rich by DCUM standards but we live a nice, comfortable life in DC -- we take vacations, go out to eat, our kid has plenty of clothes and shoes, we save for retirement. And I can honestly say I don't think we'd be in a better financial situation if I'd stayed in my old job when DC was born. The cost of childcare around here for infants and toddler is just so high.

I would think that with twins, the economics work out even more in your favor, even though your DH's income is lower than mine's was. You just need to figure out how to get through the next couple years. Depending on where you are, you might even qualify for universal PK at 3 or 4. You can do it![/quote]

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