how can my wife stay at home with our new baby? she makes 36K now, daycare for our 2 kids is about 10K/yr.?

Question

we can't afford to have her quit outright. we still need about 20-25K coming in.

Answer 1

My husband and I used to think we couldn't afford for me to quit my job either. First, as another person mentioned in their answer you need to think about how much you actually need to have coming in because if she quits you can eliminate the following expenses:

daycare
lunches
business clothing/dry cleaning

You can also reduce a lot of expenses including the cost of transportation for her to go to work; whether it's fuel or public transportation as well as all those little costs that add up like eating out because she's too tired to cook or buying more expensive convenience items. Personally, we were able to shave about $1000 a month in expenses when I quit.

Now, with that said you will still need to think about some other expenses, such as health insurance if its her employer that provides that. Even adding that back in, though; we were still able to save quite a bit of money.

Still, we needed to have some additional money coming in to cover bills. I tried a lot of different things and found some that worked and some that didn't.

From what I understand medical transcription can be a good source of money but there is usually an initial investment for equipment involved, so that should be taken into consideration.

I personally know of a lot of people who do mystery shopping to make extra money. My sister-in-law does it quite frequently but as often as she does it (several times per week) that alone probably would not be enough to net the kind of money you mentioned.

Starting a home based daycare is a great idea if she really loves kids and doesn't mind taking care of other kids. Depending on where you live she will need to get a license, which doesn't usually involve a lot for a home based daycare. In most states, you can care for a maximum of 6 kids in your home. Infants sometimes count for 2 kids because they require more attention and care. So, she might be able to care for an additional 5 kids. If she decides to go this route be sure to check on whether your state provides a reimbursement program for the food she prepares for the kids. Some states do and it can tremendously offset her expenses.

I finally settled on freelance writing and make a very decent income. The amount of money I make varies but it is very possible to make at least $20K per year doing it. I made $24K my first year and didn't even really know what I was doing. You need to be very organized and of course, have excellent grammar and writing skills to do this but it sounds as though your wife is a professional so probably has those skills. There are a number of sites on the Internet where people who need content written go to hire writers. Jobs vary from magazine articles to web content to sales letters to advertising copy to ebooks. After you have built a solid reputation it's easy to have a client base that comes back to you for repeat business. I usually stay quite booked with work. Try these sites:

www.elance.com
www.rentacoder.com
www.getacoder.com

Best of luck!

Answer 2

I am in the same situation, except I am the working wife while my husband is a SAHD. It wasa last minute decision, his paycheck was less than half of what I earn, and I didn't want to leave our baby in daycare, so we decided to try this as a temporary solution. I do not feel he is a looser, nor do I think he is lessofa man because he is not taking care of things financially. All I need to know right now is the baby is getting our best by someone staying home, and thebills being paid. If this doesn't work, then we'll think of something else, but as of right now, it is the best for our child, and the best for our child means the best to us as well. It's only a few more months before you go back to school. These months are precious to your baby, and you will be experiencing many things that would be missed if the baby were in daycare. Just don't think in terms of forever. If being a provider means so much to you, then work towards that goal. Maybe not now, but in a few years, you guys will turn the roles, and things will be much better, But right now, your situation is probably the best one. Just be patient, work from home at least until you're back in school, and see how you feel in a few months. Hang in there.

Answer 3

Well, the only thing that I can suggest is if you want your wife to be able to stay at home with the new baby for a while longer, you could take a second job to help make the extra money.

The only other thing that I can suggest is does she have sick leave with her work, she can take FMLA time off and use her sick leave time and get paid from that money. She would need to apply before the baby comes, so that they can make arrangement at the work place.

Other wise get the second job and do that. Or do you have other family members live in your area who would be willing to baby sit for you ? Maybe give them some of the money that you would normally have paid to the daycare facility, they would be in a better care situation with family members any way. It would be a win, win situation, your children would be with family and your family member would benefit making some extra cash that they normally wouldn't have made.

I hope this helps you, good luck!

Answer 4

Me and my husband are in a similar situation. I make about 36,000 a year. We just had our 2nd child and I will be staying home with them for the next 7 months. First we cut down our bills to the bare necessities (no cable etc.)then we figured how much our monthly bills were. Then while I was pregnant we saved what we would need each month to cover all the bills. If she has already had the baby and its too late for all of this she could look into providing a home daycare or working from home. Or you could find a higher paying job or work two jobs.

Answer 5

She can: do day care in your home-well you understand if you pay 10K a year so do lots of others she would only need a few children to make up the 25K you need to replace her income. or she could sell something such as Avon or Mary Kay cosmetics, she could do data processing from home, sometimes employers will have an amount of work that can be done from home to reduce day care hours, or you can look for a cheaper way to get day care-a grandparent or relative may charge you much less, a in home day care person may be cheaper in the long run and/or a live in nanny or aupair to augment your wifes return to work even if on a part time basis for a while.

Answer 6

It is possible for your wife to stay at home, it just may not be worth it to you. If you think about how much you have that you don't need it is very possible. I know we did it.

*Do you need a car with a 300$ note attached to it

*Do you need 2 cell phone bills or for that matter do you even need one

*Do you need high speed Internet VS dial-up

*Do you need cable

Most Americans could afford to live on 1 income but have decided that their "needs" are more important. We only just got our first cell phone a few weeks ago, only because my sister and mother moved and phone to phone is free. We drive a beat-up van with no note because being at home with our kids is more important that heat-up seats. There are a lot of things if you look you can do without if it is important enough.

Answer 7

See if she can get a job at home. A friend of mine in Georgia got a job answering phones from home, she did it for 4 hours a day making $10 a hour. So while it's not going to make you rich you can supplement your income. Tell her to look into medical transcription or something.

Or tell her to get a part time job in the evenings after you get home from work if you really need the money

Answer 8

Can she work via telecommute (from home) with the same Co. and perhaps go to the office 1 or 2 times a week or every 2 weeks etc.

Can she work from her home perhaps selling something, either as a Rep for a company, an independent consultant for what she does now or by starting something of her own that she either enjoys (hobby into profit) or she sees a need for in the community/general public.

Depending on her position now, education, knowledge/skills, she can look on line Monster.com, Workopolis.com (that may be Canadian only), http://www.nextsteps.org/jobs/index.html (nextsteps.org) based Calgary Canada but global job bank, http://www.dice.com/ (for technically inclined job seekers), http://www.guru.com/ (freelance jobs), http://www.allfreelance.com/ (freelance board/home based business ideas)

Good luck

Answer 9

How much are you spending on career clothes, gas, eating out, etc. There are always ways to cut costs and make it work.
Always. Sit down and look at your spending. Every dollar. You'll be amazed at the places you can cut costs. Cable TV? Starbucks? Eating out? Vacations? Insurance(get new quotes)?
You get the idea. Don't look at needing 20-25K more coming in. Look at how you can adjust your spending.
Good Luck! Having a wife and mother in the home is a great way to strengthen your family. You will never regret the sacrifices.

Answer 10

Work part-time on the weekends?

Star a small daycare in her home. Just watching a few kids for family and friends.