musings on becoming a SAHM (stay at home mom)
i was just talking to jon about this last night, so i've been thinking about it a lot today. before i quit my job, i was pretty fearful about how we were going to manage (mostly financially, somewhat mentally) with just one income/one of us working. now that we're a few months in, i've found that it's actually a more enjoyable state of existance for us (i won't speak for jon, but i think he's feeling the same way). i've even noticed that, although we're not socking away savings like we used to, we're not doing that horribly financially -- probably breaking just about even or a tad above, in fact.
there are two big things i don't think i realized before we switched to this way of living. the first is that there are ways of saving money by me being at home that weren't happening before, like these:
*things that i normally would have said "screw it, not worth my time" to and just paid while we were both working (for example, copays that insurance really should have covered -- while not huge, add up over time) i now take the time to work with the insurance or other places to get them to pay instead, meaning savings for us.
*i have time to do "fun" work, like focus groups (which actually pay pretty decently) and taking online surveys. not a huge source of income, but they definitely help
*instead of just throwing a bunch of money at presents, cards, etc. (because i had no time to do otherwise), i have time to *make* more meaningful things for people -- which saves money and actually means a lot more to me (and hopefully the recipients as well!)
*once the baby is born (and even now), we're saving money by not having to pay for the following: childcare (around 15-20k per year), disposable diapers (we're saving a ton by using cloth, which i would *not* have been able/willing to deal with if i'd been working, breakfasts/lunches out every day for me (i ate out a lot while working), work clothes for me AND a ton of maternity clothes (i was able to avoid having to buy fancy maternity work clothes but am also able to get away with not buying much stuff for home either because thus far my wardrobe's been able to stretch to fit me. i think i've bought maybe about $50-75 of maternity clothes total thus far, and i'm at the start of month 8), commuting costs for me (around $35/month)
*i fix and reuse things that previously i would have just chucked and bought new versions of (due to time restrictions). i wash out and reuse ziplock bags, i sew up holes in clothes, i mend broken things.
*couponing/being aware of sales and deals. i used to do this before, but not nearly as much as i do now. now i actually wait for things to go on sale instead of impulse buying because i have the time to track them.
*i actually have time to sell stuff on ebay i've been meaning to sell for an age and a day. i just made $130 yesterday on a used Zune, for example! this stuff would have sat in boxes until doomsday had i still been working.
*i don't feel the need to splurge on expensive treats for myself to make me feel better about my horrible job and the fact that i had no free time. huge savings.
*i don't think we feel the need for eating out as much, or to do destressing activities that cost lots of money, because i am able to take care of household stuff and chores, etc. during the day.
the last one was the other BIG revelation....because i get so much of the "chore" stuff done while home every day, we actually have a LOT more free time to just hang out and enjoy each other when jon gets home because we're not running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get stuff done after work. this has been the nicest of the changes...i feel like we have a better quality of life because of this, and i suspect it's going to benefit our son in big ways, too.
once mr. baby's about 3 mos. old, we're also going to try me doing a modified version of in-home day care (one to two babies/kids tops), hopefully for babies of friends only. i love kids and this seems like a good way to offer really quality day care to kids of friends while also bringing in a bit of income. let me know if you or anyone you know is interested...i suspect those slots are going to end up filling up quickly.
i feel so lucky that we're able to try to do this. i love my hubby and am so glad that he's supportive of me/this arrangement...he really is the best hubs in the whole wide world.
there are two big things i don't think i realized before we switched to this way of living. the first is that there are ways of saving money by me being at home that weren't happening before, like these:
*things that i normally would have said "screw it, not worth my time" to and just paid while we were both working (for example, copays that insurance really should have covered -- while not huge, add up over time) i now take the time to work with the insurance or other places to get them to pay instead, meaning savings for us.
*i have time to do "fun" work, like focus groups (which actually pay pretty decently) and taking online surveys. not a huge source of income, but they definitely help
*instead of just throwing a bunch of money at presents, cards, etc. (because i had no time to do otherwise), i have time to *make* more meaningful things for people -- which saves money and actually means a lot more to me (and hopefully the recipients as well!)
*once the baby is born (and even now), we're saving money by not having to pay for the following: childcare (around 15-20k per year), disposable diapers (we're saving a ton by using cloth, which i would *not* have been able/willing to deal with if i'd been working, breakfasts/lunches out every day for me (i ate out a lot while working), work clothes for me AND a ton of maternity clothes (i was able to avoid having to buy fancy maternity work clothes but am also able to get away with not buying much stuff for home either because thus far my wardrobe's been able to stretch to fit me. i think i've bought maybe about $50-75 of maternity clothes total thus far, and i'm at the start of month 8), commuting costs for me (around $35/month)
*i fix and reuse things that previously i would have just chucked and bought new versions of (due to time restrictions). i wash out and reuse ziplock bags, i sew up holes in clothes, i mend broken things.
*couponing/being aware of sales and deals. i used to do this before, but not nearly as much as i do now. now i actually wait for things to go on sale instead of impulse buying because i have the time to track them.
*i actually have time to sell stuff on ebay i've been meaning to sell for an age and a day. i just made $130 yesterday on a used Zune, for example! this stuff would have sat in boxes until doomsday had i still been working.
*i don't feel the need to splurge on expensive treats for myself to make me feel better about my horrible job and the fact that i had no free time. huge savings.
*i don't think we feel the need for eating out as much, or to do destressing activities that cost lots of money, because i am able to take care of household stuff and chores, etc. during the day.
the last one was the other BIG revelation....because i get so much of the "chore" stuff done while home every day, we actually have a LOT more free time to just hang out and enjoy each other when jon gets home because we're not running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get stuff done after work. this has been the nicest of the changes...i feel like we have a better quality of life because of this, and i suspect it's going to benefit our son in big ways, too.
once mr. baby's about 3 mos. old, we're also going to try me doing a modified version of in-home day care (one to two babies/kids tops), hopefully for babies of friends only. i love kids and this seems like a good way to offer really quality day care to kids of friends while also bringing in a bit of income. let me know if you or anyone you know is interested...i suspect those slots are going to end up filling up quickly.
i feel so lucky that we're able to try to do this. i love my hubby and am so glad that he's supportive of me/this arrangement...he really is the best hubs in the whole wide world.