Financial Advise Needed!!?

Question

I have 3 children under 16 months old and my wife stays at home to care for them. Daycare would cost over $16,000 a year and we feel it is best to have the children raised by their mother. Since I am the sole breadwinner, our income is less than our expenses which I have trimmed as much as possible. So the anwer is not in the expenses and debt but in the income. I make right at $60,000 a year but am still going in the "red" every month. Is there anything I can do to make another $500 or so a month from home or that my wife can do without having to leave the kids?

My expenses cannot be reduced. A short list would include a mortgage (for a house already too small), one car loan (one paid), two student loans, and a monster diaper and formula expense. My pre tax income is $60 but I bring home about $3600 a month. We have NO lavish expenses whatsoever. As a matter of fact, we seldom have anything left over for a night out, etc.

Answer 1

I must agree that 60K is likely enough for expenses (unless you have a huge mortgage/debt load, in which case you should seriously consider downsizing into a cheaper house). But since you don't give details about expenses/debt, it's difficult to analyze where you could cut financial fat.

It's always better and more efficient to cost-cut rather than expend more work-hours gaining extra revenue. You don't want to overwork, overpressure, overextend yourself or your wife - both you and your family will suffer for it.

Try to go communal. If you have 2 cars, get rid of 1 and have your wife come to a carsharing arrangement with a neighbor. Your wife doesn't need a car except for emergencies; shopping/outings can be arranged at night/weekend/with neighbors. Eliminate all children's expenses except for food (don't even use expensive baby food). Use secondhand/hand me downs for everything. Having the wife take on another kid or 2 for daycare is also a good idea. (However, I'm against your wife taking on other part-time jobs unrelated to her current work/interests, because she sounds quite overworked as it is.)

Another alternative option would be for your wife to go back to the work force, and have a retired parent-in-law(s) move in to help take care of the kids. The parent-in-laws could even rotate seasonally. It really takes a community to raise kids these days.

You sound like a very responsible father. Best of luck to you & your family.

Answer 2

You could consolidate your student loans so that you can make lower payments per month. Use your tax return to make a huge dent in your loans so that you can lower your monthly payments.
Do you have the WIC program in your area? They pay for formula and lots of other food items. There is no income requirements.
Also they have a program called CCRC-child care resourse center, that will help pay for child care costs if not all. In case your wife wants to work part time at least.
What is your wife good at? She could do a freelance job like photography, decorating cakes, writing, etc. Depending on what she's good at.
Also, you could try selling stuff on ebay to make some extra money. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 3

I'm in a very similar situation, with two small children ages 1 and 3, so I can totally understand. This may not help at all, but I actually spent more to improve my situation. I bought a couple of investment properties, making sure that they would have at least slightly positive cash flow or worst case breakeven cash flow. The upside is that because of a write-off mostly attributable to depreciation, I've got offsetting losses on a tax basis (but positive actual cash flow). This reduces my taxes to zero, so the amount I get to keep after taxes increases. I had to go to another state to find property to make it work, but it was worth it.

Our situation is still a bit tight, and my wife will be going back to work in about 3-4 years, but we're going to be able to make it until then. Good luck to you in finding a way to make it work.

Answer 4

At 60K a year the problem IS in your expenses. Many familys of 5 make it on less than half of that.

Live someplace cheaper, sell that expensive SUV, give up the cable, shop at discount grocery stores, whatever it takes.

Or your wife could take in another child for day care and get 500 a month from that.

Answer 5

talk to your wife about looking into jobs she can do at home, or a job that supplies a free daycare on site. for example, some medical records companies allow their employees to work from home on their schedule. maybe your wife could find a job where she could work a few hours at night parttime. is there a hobby she has where there is a store she could work at, like scrap booking?

maybe your wife could also get into those home party craze things. women everywhere are making money by hosting scrapbooking, makeup, cookingware and even adult gift parties from their own homes. i think your wife should definetely look into doing this, because its another thing you can do at your own pace on your own schedule. during parties, you can take your kids to the mall or the park or something :)

i don't know how much your wife loves having kids around, but she could also get training and run her own, in home daycare. these are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to regular daycares.

best of luck with your situation

Answer 6

you'd be extra appropriate off to get a consolidation mortgage or own mortgage for the credit playing cards. in case you refinance you're more suitable than tripling your month-to-month funds. Watch what you do and the position you pass. If I were you i'd pass to my monetary agency and search for suggestion from from someone there. they grant you with the acceptable suggestion. Refinancing isn't the acceptable portion of do. bear in thoughts, those different issues would nicely be paid off and also you would have the titles, yet that $1500.00 loan price is going to very last you 30 years. A consolidation mortgage or own mortgage will in effortless words very last 4 to 5 years. imagine genuine confusing and weigh out all of your recommendations earlier leaping right into a refi. inspect all costs of interest and be careful of the numerous points. best of success to you.

Answer 7

If you have an internet connection at home, your wife can work as a Chacha.com guide. I saw them on Good Morning America. Many stay at home mom's are signing on as search advisors and get from $5 to $10/hour.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2516129&page=1

Answer 8

deliver pizza's at night

Answer 9

Just pray!!!