okay, so right before i got pregnant my husband & i bought a small 850 sq ft house. if we sell it, we have to pay $10,000 back to the state immediately (low-income assistance–silent lien). We’ve just made one mortgage payment. Here’s my budget, help me to cut it!
Mortgage 1100
credit cards (min due, total of both cards) 200
car insurance (one car, no pmt, we commute to work) 70
electricity 75-100
gas heat 50
water & sewer 150
cell phone 75 we need A phone as we don’t know the neighbors & don’t have a pay phone nearby
medical bills (they want me to pay more, but i can’t) 100++
doc copays (baby visits) 25
prescriptions (i have asthma) 20
groceries (very low) 200
gas (<one tank a week, 28 mpg in our car) 100
we have no savings left.
i make $1770 a month at my job, +$2000 a year from home
husband makes $1100 a month
we’d need to go on welfare, WIC & food stamps.
also, my job provides insurance, his doesnt
what else can we do so i can be a sahm?
Well it looks like you might have to continue working, unless a family member could help you out. It’s better than going on welfare. Actually maybe your husband could stay home since your job is better. It would be better than daycare and he could work part time at night, perhaps. I’d say do what you have to do to avoid welfare. Too many people are living off the state as it is! Another option would be for you to go part time but then maybe you’d lose the benefits. Unfortunately not everyone gets to stay home with their kids nowadays. Good luck with everything!
I am not sure it can be done with the budget you have in place. More feasable would be a work at home mom. As someone mentioned you can do in home daycare. In some states you can have as many as 4 children in your care without being certified. If you only charge $75.00 a week that is $300.00 a week.
Cleaning houses is another way to earn money. While your little one is still very little you can take the baby with you.
You might even consider taking a different shift than your husband so you can save costs on childcare.
1st question~ Why MUST you be a stay at home mother??
2nd question~ Have you considered working part time??
Right now, esp. with insurance, it doesn’t look like it would make sense to stay home. There is no way on what your husband makes that you could stay home. Also, if you are paying $1100 a month on 850 sq ft you are getting screwed over.
Have you considered starting a home day care? A lot of women do that… my neighbor watches a few kids in her home an makes a couple thousand a month from it. I know your house is small, but if you watch an infant or two, it’s probably plenty.
Good luck.
based on what you make and your husband it doesnt seem possible to stay at home. You could always start an in home daycare, or if it isn’t already refinance your home to a 30 yr mortgage to lower pmts, start keeping lights and electroics shut off when not in use. I’m a sahm, but my husband makes enough to support my staying home.
why on that income did you buy a home?? you couldnt rent a home for less?? i am a stay at home mom right now but because we cant afford a home of our own we are renting it cost us 375 a month….why water and sewer so high?? no you cannot be a sahm!!! i’m still trying to figure out why or even how you were able to get a home that cost over a thousand dollars and you and your hubbys income only comes up to less than 3000 a month!! what were you thinking?? that wasnt a smart move..even before you knew you were pregnant!!!
Jeezs thats more money than we make by twice and we have more bills but survive without welfare assistance and survive fine at that.
I will be a sahm!
you may have to set your religious beliefs aside for now and continue working. there is no way that you can afford to lose your income. Its not fair to the other working people that you go on welfare and food stamps. you have to have insurance with children.
your mortgage is really expensive for a such a small house as well.
who said if you are a working mom you won’t be a good mom!!! I’m working since my daughter was 3 months old to hel provide for my family and I am the best mom I can be for my baby, you just don’t wanna work, and from the looks of it you really can’t afford that. Good luck
try working from home
my mother works at home taking phone orders (the ones where they advertise products on tv and give the 800 # to call)
its called liveops
just go to http://www.liveops.com and check it out
she supports her and my father (they are both retired but need extra money)
any way you look at it, you’re going to come up short. With your salary you’d still be behind over $400 and that doesnt account for any emergencies. I’m a part time stay at home mom. I work my husbands days off. It works well for us and the kids. I work 2 days a week and they think it’s a vacation because they get to spend 2 whole days with their father.
Tell your pastor to come up with the extra money! You make more money, you should stay working full time plus you have the insurance. You’re looking at $1500+ for out of pocket healthcare insurance with a family, and you have a pre-existing condition which can make it even harder for you. Have your husband get a part time job to make up the difference.
Good luck with what ever you decide to do!
Being a sahm requires alot of sacrifice, but there are advantages that you are unable to translate into dollars and cents. It is like an unplanned pregnancy, it is scary and unfamiliar, yet somehow things work out.
Have you considered working from home to make the transition smoother? You didn’t say what your husband thought of this. His opinion is the other one that matters most in this issue. It is hard to advise without knowing how he feels about this.
For us, we had a preemie and we couldn’t justify care cost vs wages. Then it just made sense to stay home and put energy and effort into raising them right. We have had to sacrifice alot of luxuries to get here. It was worth it though, as the kids have grown and make us proud with good decisions they make. They aren’t perfect, but they have everything they need to know to do well where/what ever they go/do in life.
the only government benefit i think you should be considering is assistance paying for daycare hun.. Sorry i know alot of women want to stay home with their babies, but most can only do it if their budget allows.. and it doesn’t look like yours does..
It isn’t biblical to be a working mom??? It isn’t biblical for the father to be a stay at home dad??? Yet its perfectly fine by the bible to collect welfare or declare bankruptcy just so you can stay home? total rubbish. How about “it takes a village to raise a child”??
I don’t see how you can cut your budget further. It sounds like you live pretty frugally. It sounds like you’re not making ends meet now, how can you expect to then without your income?
You need to be realistic here. And I agree wtih the other posters, why should I have to pay for you to be a SAHM, when many many others in your situation go to work? Are you trying to say all working mothers are sinners? that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I think the only thing you need to cut out is your insane pastor that puts these thoughts in your head.
EDIT: YOU DIDN”T MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE TO BE A STAY AT HOME MOM so buckle down, fix it, then start making the right decisions. And consider moving to a cheaper city. Remember: It’s all about making the right decisions. ; -)
This is going to take HARD work and commitment.
You and your husband make plenty of money.
You need the job for as long as you can keep it to make a big dent in your problem. You didn’t list TV, internet, or oil changes. For a while you need to give up entertainment that costs $$$. Bring friends over to play cards. Fish, camp, Walk places. Do yard work.
FIRST: You need to talk to your mortgage co. about your house payment. Why is it that high? $1100/mo would mean you paid appx. $150,000 for a 30 yr. note. How much is this house???
SECOND: Sewage and water are way high. Mine averages $40. Call the water dept. to check for a leak and ask them if it has always been this much water usage at this address.
THIRD: call each credit card co. and ask for a lower rate. The worst that could happen is they say no. THEN concentrate on 1 card at a time. Pay minimum on all cards then put all extra money that month on this card until it’s paid off. Start with the highest interest rate one. OH – AND CUT UP YOUR CARDS! You should only need 1 card – if any. (I haven’t had one for 6 years when I cut up all 3 of mine.)
FOURTH: The state should offer an insurance program that would take care of pregancy related visits. Check with your local county’s health unit. WIC is good. Use it. Don’t use Food Stamps or Welfare. Those programs are for people who don’t have your resources. Besides, you don’t qualify. You own a car.
I’m glad you’re doing the right thing. Hope you can commit to fixing it for the long run of being able to stay home with your child.
If you are having trouble paying your bills now, than frankly you aren’t going to be able to be a stay at home mom. The first poster is right that it isn’t fair for you to take welfare just so you can live the life you think is ideal. If you don’t want to put your baby in daycare than maybe consider working opposite shifts. If your husband works days and you work evenings you could take turns watching the child while you are off work.
If your pastor says he needs to go to work and you need to stay home, ask your pastor how much of his own money he wants to give you to supplement for your necessary job.
If your husband is making 1100 a month, that means he’s getting paid less than seven dollars an hour, or he’s not working full-time. There are jobs out there with better pay and better hours, even for the uneducated. Tell him to get with some placement agencies, and take whatever decent paying job they can help him get.
I have a very part-time job as a portrait photographer and make more than that a month.
QUIT USING THE CREDIT CARDS! 200 a month for the minimum payment is killing you!
Whether you think it’s “biblical” or not, it does not make good sense for you to stay at home when you bring in the most money and you bring in insurance. Your husband will HAVE to get a much better job if you quit yours. He’d have to be making up for the extra 500 you make, PLUS the cost of insurance.
Don’t do bankruptcy. Take responsibility for your actions.
Plus, I doubt the government would let you file for bankruptcy AND keep the money from government assistance for the house. Not to mention, recent restrictions of bankruptcy may not save you the way you think.
IT IS POSSIBLE!!!!
Ok here’s how I see it:
Monthly Income: $2870
Monthly Debt: $2190
That means you should have $680 left over at the end of every month.
If this is true, that’s great!
If it’s not you need to see where this money is going and stop it.
Here’s what my husband and I are doing.
Our monthly income: $3624
Our monthly debt: $3046
Which means we have at least $578 left over every month.
Now mind you our monthly debt includes movie rental money, clothing money, tithing and other items.
I’m currently 3.5 months pregnant. When we found out that we are pregnant we knew the only right thing was for me to stay at home with the baby. When I quit we will lose half of our income. However, we are planning ahead now. (And yes, we didn’t make the smartest choices throughout our lives when it came to money but now we are and we will make it work and so can you.) Right now, my husband is working overtime as much as possible and bringing in even more money that way. So we will definitely be saving anywhere from $500-$1000 a month for the next 5.5 months. We are also going to pay off the second car before the baby comes and try to sell it and get anywhere from $2000-$4000 for it. By the time I quit work we will have dropped our monthly debt down by $1882!!! That still will leave us about $386 short a month on bills. However, by saving the money and selling the car we will have saved anywhere from $4500-$9000 that we can use as a cushion while I try to get my cake business up and running. If it doesn’t succeed quick enough, my husband will take on a second job (his choice).
Here’s what I suggest for you:
First of all, I’m concerned about your husband’s job. That is quite low of an income with no benefits. He should probably look for a better job. What is his specialty? What is he good at? My husband used to work for blockbuster making nothing. I sent his resume to a staffing agency (temp agency) and they found him a nice desk job in a call center. He started out at $9/hr (with awesome benefits). He has now been there about 3 years and makes about $6 more an hour. If he can’t or doesn’t want to find another job then he should look into getting a second job, hopefully one with medical benefits.
Next thing is to start saving that extra $680/month. Then really start attacking some of the credit card debt and the medical bills. That would free up $300 more right there. So then you would have an extra $980/month.
You said you make $2000/year from home. What is that from? Could you expand it and turn into a monthly income? If so, get to it!
Set goals. Realize that right now your husband needs to make at least $2190/ month. That’s about $26,000 a year. I’m sure you can find a way to make that happen. Decide whether you want to pay off the debt first or start saving and focus solely on that! Set a date. Such as on August 1st, 2008 I will be a stay at home mom. Make sure to write everything down and keep on your selves to keep up with the plan.
Also, if you are having trouble keeping track of your monthly expenses, get the program Quicken. That’s what my husband and I did. It’s very user friendly and puts you in check when you over spend. It really is a wonderful tool. You can log all your bills in and income in and it will give you a bar chart of where you money is for the month and what your lowest point will be so you can plan accordingly. However, after you purchase this program buy NOTHING ELSE that is not needed.
Sorry I wrote so much. I’m very passionate about women being able to stay at home. I think everyone can do it if they are willing. If you have any questions PLEASE feel free to email me at julie.contreras@yahoo.com.
Also don’t dwell on choices in the past. Just move forward and keep your heart on God and it will all work out!
God Bless!
Sorry the days of being a stay at home mom are gone.
has your husband thought about staying at home? You do make more money and you do have insurance.
I would keep your job. I am able to be a part time stay at home mom, but that is because my husband makes more than I do or did. we talked if I made more that he would be the one to stay at home.
The only way that it could work is if you husband could get a job tht pays better and has the insurance.
good luck
Just curious- why should the rest of us pay for you to be a SAHM? If you dump your job and hop on wellfare and the like, that’s what would happen.
lol… trying to make a point, are you, friend? (i know you don’t buy that “biblical role” stuff! made me crack up!)
simple answer: you CAN’T be a sahm right now. sorry, babe! your situation doesn’t warrant it. you went ahead & stretched your income a bit further to actually purchase a home instead of rent for almost as much. now you have to struggle to keep your home, pay your bills, and care for an infant.
you & i both know, in such a situation you really a have no choice but to work. sure, being a sahm would be great, but you can be a great working mom, too.
we all gotta do our best. looks like you’re already doing that!