How can you afford being a stay at home mom?

Stay at home, mamas- HOW do you afford it?! Especially wondering for those of you whose husbands don’t make that much money. I just don’t understand how it is possible with a mortgage, bills, etc, and I want in!

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In my case it would cost us more in childcare if I went back to work . I make a lot of sacrifices tho and pinch pennies like crazy.

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Once I was pregnant with our 2nd baby, we decided that it would be better for me to stay home than to pay for child care. Budgeting is key. Meal planning helps a lot, that way you don’t overspend on groceries while still not having everything you need. The hardest thing to adjust to imo, is not having “my own” money to just splurge on whatever I want.

I have 6 kids, so yeah, childcare would kill us. But, I flipped that to our favor…now I stay at home and babysit. My job pays the mortgage, my husband’s job covers the rest. I do what I have the most experience doing and I get paid for it too. It’s not a huge amount, but it covers a huge essential for us.
We are also very frugal. We save all we can. I shop at less expensive stores, we buy second hand whenever possible. We don’t do extras, like lessons, sports, classes very often, but when the money is there we let the kids who are interested do something they like. Oh! And we teach our kids about money as well. They work for an allowance so they can buy things that they want every now and then. Of course, we have the essentials covered, but this teaches them how to wait patiently for what they want. My kiddos are 16, 13, 12, 10, 8, and 6…obviously some are more patient than others, but they have time to work on it. All of this saves us money as a whole for our family

I do doordash but if not for that it would cost more for me to go back to work… plus I see a huge difference between my smaller children vs my older 2 when I was working full time and going to school …I wish I had that time with them

I’m a stay at home mom. I used to always babysit in my home. That way I made money and I was home with my kids. I no longer babysit. My husband does not make great money, unfortunately his dad passed away 8 years ago and we were deeded his property so we dont have a house payment. I’m blessed with a hard working man and we definitely know how to save money. I also homeschool my kiddos.

My hubby makes a decent amount and I only work part time. I get awesome Healthcare coverage for the family from my job so I have to stay no matter what lol

I am a sahm and have been for 10 years. My husband doesn’t make a lot of money. Most weeks it is around $500 a week. Considering we have four kids still at home, three 8 and under that isn’t alot. We cut corners every chance we can. We don’t go out to eat at all except for on special occasions. And then we always make sure it is a buffet type restaurant or $5 pizzas… Lol. We shop thrift stores for clothes for our kids. We just figure out our money, what we can afford and make it work. Daycare for my children would cost a fortune. You just have to squeeze old Abe until he chokes to make it work. There really isn’t any secret too it to be honest. You just pay what you can and work the rest out.

I work from home as a virtual assistant and am currently building my agency to be able to handle more client work. It’s hard to find balance but it makes it so worthwhile when your coworkers are so cute!

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Lots of budgeting, cut backs, and stress. When I became a sahm, we had 1 kid and he was making $2500 every 2 weeks. Now we have 4 kids and he makes between $500-2000 a week depending on jobs. We budget, do not eat out, have streaming services instead of cable, no car payments, etc.

My hubby works hard at his job and he gets paid a decent amount n we sort our bills on a calendar were if one of the bills due on one date or the other n he gets paid weekly so he pays whatever bills off each week n I do my grocery shopping n get whatever we need for the house n then towards the end of each month after all the bills are paid we have extra money to spend on whatever. But we have a mortgage n utilities and car insurance for 3 vehicles plus we do have all our vehicles we own paid off

You struggle, you make sacrifices, cut things that aren’t necessary. But just always remember you and you’re husband are with each other not against each other. It’s hard but it’s just not an option and to be honest I don’t want anyone else raising my kids.

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I’m single sahm due to all the effects of covid with absolutely ZERO help from anyone or anything. While also taking care of my sick elderly father, and 100% HANDS ON homeschooling my son, absolutely no virtual in my house hold. I put money aside (the extra 600 a week) and now were living off that, unfortunately it’s dwindling down but I’ll figure it out. I always do.

A very strict budget! Nothing is spent without us talking about it first. I also coupon as much as possible. I resell everything. Clothes, baby stuff, toys… I don’t buy anything that isn’t needed or won’t be used to the max. My husband works his ass off. Like this past weekend was his first days off in over 10 weeks and that time was only because the baby was born. He pulls in so much OT it’s ridiculous. He’s busting ass so we can get out of the crappy place we’re in now.

Benefits, people on Benefits here and usually better off than those if us that work, I choose to work and struggle but I know someone on benefits who gets everything paid for and gets a free holiday every year too and we barly afford our bills x

I’ve been a stay at home Mom for the last almost 14 years. When my oldest was younger I had jobs here and there. Mostly got hired for christmas staff. Now we have 2yr old twins and we figured it out that if I went to work part time, we wouldn’t be getting ahead. My wages would go to daycare for the twins. We struggle financially. My hubby works at a lobster pound and right now there’s no work. We live in canada and have employment insurance which is also called ei. He gets money every 2 weeks but its not nearly enough to live off of. I would much rather be working but I dont have anyone to watch my children for us everyday

Single mom, own my home, receive no child support, have raised 2 kids on my own since they were 2 and 3, they are now teenagers… both went to daycare when they were little… if you want something to happen you figure out how to make it happen. Set goals, budget, if you set your mind to something anything is possible.

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I am fortunate my husband is a flat bed truck driver and I homeschool our son, so we are able to go out on the road with him when we want to or stay home. But before he became a driver I stayed home and he worked for a traffic control company and money was very tight you have to budget, budget and budget some more but it can be done

I have been the one working full-time since my boyfriend lost his job back in February. He thankfully was able to work concrete jobs over the summer and moving onto painting jobs now. I am very grateful to work for an employer that has daycare at no cost to their employers.

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My husband makes good money so we are fortunate but you can make it happen on any income if you budget.

We are only able to do it because I stay home, with 3 childcare would cost a fortune. My husband has a ok paying job but it has been better so we’re struggling but not to pay bills just to be able to do extra things. Pretty much we chalk it up to I stay home now and we kind of just get by but I get to make tons of memories with the kids I’m thankful to be home. Of course with 3 kids it’ll get financially harder as they get older but once the littlest is in school I plan to go back to work and have a career which we hope in turn will boost us to the point we can do more leisurely things and update our van and buy a house. We rent also because where we are it’s actually cheaper than having the mortgage and all the extras that come with home owning. I coupon even if it’s just at family dollar with the app for laundry stuff and odds and ends. It can be tricky but for the most part it’s ok the hardest part was me leaving my job and getting used to the decrease in money and becoming a one income household. It’s been 2 full years now and overall I’m happy. :slightly_smiling_face:

I actually work from home thankfully or I wouldn’t be able to

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Well first off my hubby made gd money. And i was very gd w it. U know like not living like the jones kinda thing. Js…

My husband. All my husband lol. Plus saving almost $2000 a month on day care costs cuz we have 3 almost 4 kids lol

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Sacrifices and budgeting! Overtime and a great job for my husband too.

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We don’t have a mortgage payment . We just pay the utilities for our house

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It’s HARD!! It’s so hard!! BUT with the rates of daycare (especially with two kids) it’s much cheaper for me to just stay home with my girls.
Look at it this way, you go to work right? Your paycheck will basically covering daycare, gas and any extra for said daycare and essentially you’re not with your kid when it’s all said and done. You’re just giving up your time with your kids Just to pay for daycare and have almost to no money after it’s all said and done.
It’s tough though having only one income, not a whole lot of wiggle room to do anything or put money away.
If I was you I’d choose to stay home everytime regardless of struggling financially. You only have small/young kids for such a short time before you have to relinquish them to full time school. Choose your kids. Everytime. You won’t regret it

I couldn’t afford daycare. I’d make enough or not quite enough to pay someone else to raise my 3 kids. Couldn’t afford to stay home either but lesser of two evils

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We are making it work. Mainly just because covid. My Husband works at a factory and only makes enough money really to cover bills, diapers, and food. Its all about deciding what you can afford to live without.

My other half makes a very good income, I’m studying for my degree 2 days a week and the other days looking after the children x

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When I was a stay at home mom it was better for me to be home. My husband didn’t make alot of money back then and if I worked it wasn’t much but we would lose every bit of help we were getting plus child care cost. We would of been in a worse financial issues. But once my kids started school and had no more kids to watch in my home I got a job. It was worth it at that point since no child care expense and my husband was making more money.

We can’t afford daycare. And I dont trust people I dont know and we just moved to a new city. I work from home and he works in a garage making shit… its very hard but you learn how to make everything work

My husband doesn’t want me to work for long times I’m full mom stay home for 10 years and my family & my family law are supportive me&4kids we can afford we ain’t rich we are strong mexican.

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We pay rent and its a struggle I use to work and he paid rent and I paid bills our pay checks was every 2 weeks 1 each week and we got by til I got pregnant and had to stay home but we use food stamps pantries and his mother helps us if we really need it

Pay off debt, make a budget. I follow Dave Ramsey check him out on youtube or fb

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Before my daughter’s dad and I split we managed since she had health problems, we had 2 of 3 roommates who didn’t work. Two of which were her dads friends. The one who did paid the majority of the bills, we just paid him a little of the rent, he paid for car insurance and he paid his phone bill. I had WIC and was on state insurance along with our daughter. Our neighbors bought a house and her dad became friends with them so we moved in with them. We still managed because we paid them rent (more than what we paid his friend), we bought our own food, he paid his phone bill, he paid car insurance and I was still getting WIC. Him and his friends wanted me to get a job but we didn’t have another vehicle and I didn’t have anybody to watch her, I couldn’t work anyways because she still had health problems. They all couldn’t accept anything I said so they kicked me out. When I split from her dad and moved out I was living in my uncle’s my mom and step dad were also living there and they paid my uncle a bit more plus all the phone we all ate. I was still getting WIC though. I went for child support so I paid for diapers and wipes, if I needed anything for me or her they got it. When I moved out and in with my daughter’s grandparents I didn’t have to pay them anything. I was buying diapers and wipes but if I didn’t have any money left from child support I asked if they could and they got it. I still got WIC and my car insurance was being paid by my grandma. When I lived on my own I was paying rent (low income housing), diapers, wipes, I was receiving food stamps, still had state insurance for my daughter and I. When I met my then boyfriend in 2014 I moved in with him. We got a dog and he paid the rent and I paid electric, garbage, gas, water, gas for his truck along with dog food, diapers and wipes. He didn’t contribute much if you can’t tell because I didn’t have much for child support every month so I had to pick and choose what got paid and what had to go without paying. He wanted me to work and I told him I couldn’t because my daughter’s health was somewhat better but I didn’t have my own car and he wouldn’t let me use his truck unless I was going to go grocery shopping, plus I didn’t have anybody. When he was in jail for a second time (almost 10 months) I had to go find a job but decided to apply for a welfare program where they help you find a job and still get paid by the state while doing activities while in the program. I was doing well for being paid almost $650 by the state. I had relied on a few expensive cab rides (I live half an hour away from the welfare building that’s in a different city), then somebody I met while walking to go volunteer at the school that I lived a mile from (half hour walk about). They were willing to help me get to where I needed. My ex’s oldest sister lives across from us and she helped me out with clothes because she had kids. She also took me to go grocery shopping when she took her youngest for dance classes. The majority of the state money I paid rent, the rest was saved. I used child support to get dog food for 2 dogs, vetting for the dogs, electric, gas, stuff for my daughter and I. I was just getting food stamps and got heating assistance. I did get a job after a year of being in the program, my mom and step dad and grandma were willing to watch my daughter on weekends so I drove 2 hours there and 2 hours back the day before and the day I finished work. The other days I had to put her in daycare and even with assistance I really couldn’t pay for it. I stayed in the program with my job but my job only lasted 3 months because my car didn’t want to start and the engine was done. I started getting disability for my daughter awhile after that happened. Two years ago before my ex and I split for good I started volunteering at the humane society and I met my current boyfriend who works there. My ex got a puppy and said all 3 of the dogs were his, but one died of cancer and my ex moved out 5 months after he died. The program time ran out, he took all of my daughter’s disability money and all of the child support money. I was flat broke because of him. My boyfriend who is much older than I moved in with me and got everything back on track. I have now worked at the humane society for a year, he watches my daughter when I work. Even though we both work part time, he gets disability and my daughter also got disability (she hasn’t received it in 6 months now though), I’m still getting child support; plus we hace 4 dogs and 2 cats we still are able to manage and pay everything. My boyfriend has 2 loans through the bank plus he has a credit card that he’s paying off. He also pays for electric, gas, gas for 2 cars, internet and netflix. I pay $90 a month for our phones ($45 a phone), rent, back rent (since my ex put us over 3k behind since he had put most of his pay towards his horses), food (I still get food stamps but when there is nothing left then I have to pay from my own pocket) and anything we need like meds. All of our dog and cat food we can get from work because there’s so much of it that our boss won’t use. My daughter’s health is better than what it was a few years ago but she will always have health problems no matter what. The main thing is to budget and shop low prices. If you have friends or family that would be willing to watch the kids for free go for it. Even if it’s part time at least its something.