stay at home moms...?

Question

Have you thought about the future? Do you plan to start work when the kids get to a certain age? Do you worry about not earning money and paying into social security and medicare for when you get old?

I am a working mom, and just wondered if you worry about that?

I work with senior citizens and they make so very little . most women make 200- 600. for a full month, and have to pay 100.00 for their medicare premium, and then 20% of their bills........... Men make a few hundred more.

If you are married for 10 years or morei think it is you can draw off your husband once he dies and draw a little more....

I just just wondering since i deal with this issue at work

Im not saying anything bad about stay at home moms.... I am lucky enough to have flexible hours so I dont hav to put my kids in daycare.

************************************ have

When i said 20% of their bills i was refering for health care..... and they have a co pay for all of their medications too that is seperate.

I asked because i see alot seniors starving themself because they cant afford the bills and food. They have to chose between medicine , seeing a dr. , and food.

I have invested in my future and have insurance to boot. I see so many that the children never come see..... I hope my kids come see me when im old and cranky lol

EVE in no way am i saying you are putting your family at risk. I was asking if you worry about the retirement years. Alot of moms do not plan to work, even after the kis aregrown, and that is afamily decission. No right or wrong. I work with the elderly, and see how they are forced to live because they dont have the funds to cover al the expense.

I am not planning on social security, but alot of americans are. And if was a question targeted to women because they get less money as a rule then men do from socia security. Mostley because women are usually paid less when working.

Answer 1

Hey Tammer, how's it goin'? I knew there was a reason I had you on my "favorites" list and it was that 'You Are Wise Beyond Your Years"!!!!!You have been privilaged (blessed) to have your eyes opened to the future and what it has in store for so many others as well as yourself by working with seniors who are in the age group known as 'The Greatest Generation Ever Born". They saw the effects of the stock market crash, the "Great Depression', World War 2 and Korea and The Cold War". Every chance you get, ASK, LISTEN, and LEARN , OK? (Of course I see you already have with your question) I was fortunate enough to be born in the middle of The Baby Boom Generation and land a good job with great benefits and a retirement plan. And for the last 9 yrs though, the ones hiring in after me aren't so fortunate as well as those who are seeing their SSI and savings being eaten up inflation and medical bills . What you are seeing now is, way back when $600-$1000 was a lot of money and could be relied on for a "comfortable living" will barely pay for the bare essentials. You are wise to consider the future as Gen Patton put it "Youth is fleeting, with the passage of time like the ticking of the minute hand on a clock will pass you by".I am 51 yrs old and was fortunate enough to have my Mother stay at home till my little sister started school. Then she went back to work full time and with both her paycheck and my Father's they kept a decent roof over our heads(there were 3 of us kids) and food on the table living in a good neighborhood and in a great school system to get our education. After 7 yrs of both working we / they bought our first home. My parents' favorite phrase was "Make sure you save some money from each paycheck so yo have something someday down the road". How right they were. Along with IRA's and their ability to buy a couple rental properties and my Mother's retirement with health insurance they were able to live comfortably up til a couple yrs ago when within a yr and a 1/2 both had passed away. Oh well, I guess what I am trying to say is by both parents working they secured their future by saving and investing in a little bit of real estate to supplement thir incomes. Did I ,or my sisters end up with personality complexes or mental disorders cause they did choose to work, NO!!! Did having "summer baby sitters cause us to suffer from 'Missing Mom's Disorder, No!!!Even back in the 70's and 80's and 90's when paychecks were pretty good with only one it was hard to ever have anything without both parents working. And in "The Golden yrs of your life" don't expect your kids to take care of you cause you "took care of them" by staying home as all I have seen from yrs of observing my friends and aqaintances who had a parent at home all the time just resulted in their way of thinking "Mom will keep on taking care of them(or Dad) ". So Tammer, what you are seeing is yours and others from your generation's future and it will be here sooner than ya think. You are right not to depend on your husband's pension,401K plan, or SSI cause I have also seen "Guys skip out on their wife for another woman'. ( Gals, ever think about that)? And their ya are left alone and without a job or a decent credit score when you're 40 it's like starting over again at 20. And if your husband not "skipping out" with a younger woman and suddenly he dies or is disabled some company's "Survivor benefits will only last a year at the most,What withjobs being 'outsourced to foreign countries, cutbacks and downsizing an even the old "Tried and True Military" has been known to force out both Officers and Enlisted men to avoid paying pension benefits until age 67 and since whoever didn't complete the whole time for benefits being "Vested In" YOU ARE SUNK!!!! Now when it comes to daycare / baby sitters etc., etc., I can see where a Mother's paycheck is eaten up by additional expenditures and it just so happens that the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper has an article on more "Mom's want part time / more flexible hrs so they can avoid these expenditures of returning to work" and to read this article type in Cincinnati.com keyword is Careers for what 2 women have done to accomplish this and arrange help for other "Stay at home Mom's who also want to work. Yea Tammer, I can't see where what you posted should offend anyone. All you were asking is "Has anyone ever considered what happens when your age group gets old and what will happen to them also by not "paying into th system" or having a system of paying the way if tragedy strikes, as you have seen in your line of work. Oh, yea, I think I understand how "shark attack" got her name.( GEEZ, must be that time of the month) You have provided a "glimpse into the future and your insight hopefully has opened few eyes

Answer 2

I have been a stay at home Mom for 2 years and 15 days. My future is my children. I will work at their school once that day comes. No, I do not worry about earning enough money to fulfill all their needs. Social Security and Medicare will still come out of my earnings once I return, however I can not predict politics. Congrats to you on working with geriatrics.

Answer 3

I work very little about 15 hours a week when my husbands home. I plan on working more when my son is in school. We put money a side for retirement not alot just what we can afford. I want to live comfortably when I old and not worry about how I'm going to pay for things. By the time we retire there be no social security left

Answer 4

i also work with seniors and my wife is a stay at home mom. She and i have talked about it. She will go back to work when our kids get to school age. and you are right you can use your husbands social security if it is higher than yours and get that as your monthly. I also see so many women who did not work or worked as maids or other things under the table so they don't have Medicare. It is heart breaking. My male clients generally have higher social security a pension and some have ventrans benifits they make more than i do a month retired. I guess that is a choice you have to make and decide when you decide to stay home

Answer 5

I worry about it, and yes, I plan to work once my kids are grown... but right now I have enormous value within the home. It took me a long time to appreciate that, despite not bringing in any money, I still contribute significantly. The cost of transport, daycare, and the like would actually be more than I could be making right now... hopefully I'll manage to get my degree before returning to a place where I *have* to work just to keep food on the table....

Answer 6

I am planning on staying home as long as I can. Fortunately, I think I will be able to stay home indefinitely or at least be able to drop off the kids and school and pick them up and be home with them after school (when they are old enough to go to school). I worked for 20 plus years before coming home to be a stay at home mom. I really planned for my children so I could stay home with them. I think that being home with them is the best thing I can do for them and so I will do whatever I can for them-even if that means that they do not get all the new designer clothes, fancy vacations or expensive toys they may want.

Answer 7

I worked until two days before I had my child and 1 month after. I spend ALOT of quality time with her and still don't make enough money to even begin thinking about retirement. Drop out of the workforce for what??? To helpmy husband struggle or to vacuum? I do all I can which is quite a bit, and I am proud of myself. My child and I will be happy with the outcome of this. That makes me happy.

Answer 8

Staying home with my kids is the ONLY choice. Being there for them is more important than anything else. Besides in about 23 years by the time I will need it, social security won't even exist anyway. Stay home with your kids, live within your means, invest for the future. Investing in your kids well being is more important than any paycheck.

Answer 9

I have been home for 4 years this month. No plans to return to work anytime soon- we are working on having another child.

I feel very strongly about staying home with my kids- where there is a will, there will always be a way.

Answer 10

I have been a stay at home mom for about 3 years, and I have no plans on returning to work when my kids get a little older. I like the idea of being home when they get out of school so I can monitor they are actually coming straight home, who they are hanging out with, etc. I feel that it is unnecessary to worry about the future, God will work it all out for us. I know the reality of lesser money and bills when you get older, but you can invest when you are younger to boost your income when you get older. I don't think the majority of older people invested when they were younger and that is why you see so many that have financial problems when they are older. I might be wrong, but I have no worries about it because is there ever really "enough" money? It seems like no matter how much money you make it is never really enough because you adjust your lifestyle to your income.

Answer 11

Yes I have thought about the future. I will not go back to school(hate college) or work when my kids are in school. I will be a stay at home mother/housewife/author until I die. No I don't worry about social security. I don't need that stuff since I'll be in my husband's country and the Government pays for your education and health care. There's no health insurance or social security because everything is free. It's my husband's duty and job to take care of me and our future children.