How do SAHMs deal with $ emergencies?
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| Fri, 01-04-2008 - 11:30pm |
I tried staying home a few years back, but had to go back to work because our insurance never covered it all (I'm a teacher with insurance, Dh's job doesn't offer any), among other un-forseen emergencies that demanded a lot of money from our savings. We were going broke and fast!
Now that I'm back to work (only took that one year off when dd was in first grade and ds was 3) we are having major $ issues again (truck is in the shop, leak in ds's room, shower leak is causing major mold problem in back bathroom, emergency U.S. when a lump showed up in mammogram, ect.) and I don't know how we could have handled all this if dh and I didn't work full time. We would be in major debt, not by overspending, but on actual emergencies unforseen and unavoidable.
I'm wondering how SAHM's deal with this, especially the ones who struggle financially month after month and don't have a huge savings account.
Heidi
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It all has to do with how a couple plans and spends in general. I do not work FT but we have a huge nest egg we acquired when we were w/o kids. We live below our means and have emergency funds availiable. My dh has great insurance that covers both medical and dental. Before I was married - I had saved a lot of money that is compounding. I laugh because our money now makes more money than I
Many families w/sahms plan ahead and have a nest egg, maybe not much debt.
Didn't your insurance cover the emergency u/s?
Here's how my family does it:
We planned ahead: we paid off all our debt (including the mortgage on our small (1500 sq foot) home before DS was born and saved up about a year's salary for emergencies. We have had to dip into that savings in the 2 1/2 years since, but planning ahead ensured that we'll all be properly provided for (and insured) on one income for at least 10 years, although I do plan to rtw part-time within the next couple of years.
We're pretty frugal. We don't plan to move into a bigger home for a few more years. We drive our cars as long as they are reliable and the repair costs don't exceed the cost of a new vehicle--well, that's the goal
>>>What you are talking about is an income issue not a work status issue.
I am currently a stay at home mom. We do struggle from time to time but mostly we plan ahead for things we want and wait and save. There are always emergencies that you can't plan for but that can and does happen whether there are one or two incomes coming into the house. I don't see your question as a woh or sah issue. IT is a life issue. Emergencies happen to everyone, not just us stay at home moms. I have friends who both work full time and if they had thier pipes break and had a major plumbing problem tomorrow, they would be financially stuck just as anyone else who was living week to week!
My dh has insurance at his job that is pretty decent. We sometimes have extra bills from medical expenses that aren't covered. for Ex. My oldest son has a heart condition that he sees a cardiologist once a year for, was more often but as he gets older it is spread out more, but we usually end up paying about 300-800 dollars out of pocket, depending on what test the Dr. does. We try to save as much as we can before hand but what we can't cover, we pay payments on over the next few months.
I have worked part time from time to time to make extra cash as needed over the years but for the most part have been home while they were younger. My kids are ages 17, 15, 10 and 2. I had gone back to work full time when my 10 yr old entered kindergarten but then we were blessed with our baby after being told that having more kids was going to be impossible, but not with God. So I am now home again and loving it. IT is harder this time with having older kids who seem to get much more expensive as they get older but I wouldn't trade being home for anything.
Lori
Very few nest eggs can deal with a major medical event.
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