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[quote=Anonymous]OP, just quickly adding up your expenses and considering your husband's income, it seems to me that you can afford to stay home. I see several things in your budget that could be trimmed. In particular the tv/phone/internet -- was that a typo or do you really pay $350 a month for those things? Your grocery bill will increase of course, but there are expenses associated with working that you won't have when you stay home -- new work clothes, lunches out, Starbucks, dry cleaning, commuting costs, and of course day care. Now, with a $90k salary, you will definitely be taking a hit to stay home because your income would cover child care, work expenses, and still leave with you with additional income.

As others have said, you should definitely consider your husband's job security, his future income potential (will his income increase over time?), and when/whether you plan to return to the workforce and in what position. I am a SAHM and for me it was a no-brainer because: (1) I have three kids (worked until I was almost due with the 3rd); (2) my husband's job is secure; (3) I was planning to leave the field I was working in anyway, and when I reenter the workforce it will be in a different field; (4) my income was not substantial after child care and commuting costs were deducted, plus I had a very long commute. It made sense for my husband to be able to focus on his career and work the hours he needed to to advance, and not to have to worry about sick days, snow days, etc. Financially things are tight and we don't have the DCUM prerequisites (6 months of expenses, 529s, huge retirement savings). But, I believe that there is value in SAH. It's not a must, kids were fine when I worked, but for my family there is value in having a SAH parent that can't be measured in dollars. So now that you know you *can* do it, the question is how much you value SAH and how much you would be willing to sacrifice financially in order to do it. There is no right answer, no matter what the DCUM majority says. It is about your values and priorities.[/quote]

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