trying to decide
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trying to decide
| Fri, 09-04-2009 - 2:50pm |
help...my son is 18 mnoths and we're starting to talk about more kids. I currently work full time and thought this is what i wanted. well recently i've began to change my mind...and I think now I'm for sure that I want to quit and stay home.
Does anyone know of a good "calculator" to help you analyze your finances. I need to look over our finances and be sure that DH's salary can work for our family (with some modificantions - obviously).
thanks
Diane - proud momma to Niko
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Before you quit start living on your DH's salary now. Save your post tax salary for *at least six months*. That will give you an idea if you can live on one salary and it gives you a nice start to a rainy day fund.
Investigate if there is a part time option for you.
Think about how easily you can re-enter the workforce after a 1, 5 year or a ten year gap.
What support structure do you have in place? Do you have friends/relatives that can help out in a pinch?
What are your and your DH's expectations of home "duties" now? What does your DH do now that he will think you will pick up if you are at home?
What are your goals for retirement and college and how will those be affected by your sah?
How much does your DH travel for work?
How flexible is your DH's job? Would he be able to sah for the days when you are sick?
How much does preschool cost?
What is your neighborhood like? Are there other sahps with children your child's age?
Will you have transportation to be able to go to the library, grocery store, park........?
Do you have 6 months of your monthly spending saved?
That is what I can come up with of the top of my head.
I don't know of any accurate online calculator. There are a couple of questions I would ask before considering a major move like that, besides the obvious one of whether you can pay for all necessitites on one salary:
1) What's your debt situation like? It will be a lot easier to live on one income if you have no or very little outstanding debt, particularly consumer debt.
2) If you quit, how easy would it be to find a comparable job if you needed to return to work in a year or two?
3) Do you have savings to cover the time it would take you to find another job if something happened to your husband or your husband's job?
My husband and I decided to try living on one of our salaries alone for awhile. It was eye-opening.
There's nothing I can add to Tryingtoquit's excellent list (above), but I do want to encourage you to think beyond the baby years. Most people, when they're trying to figure out the whole WOH/SAH/WAH thing, tend to think in terms of the baby and toddler years, but those go by so quickly, and children only get more expensive as they grow. At least mine have!
So definitely think not only in terms of what you can afford for the next 4 or 5 years, but also consider the cost of certain things like sports, music or dance lessons, and of course, college savings. Long-term forecasts can help you decide whether you should SAH for a few years and then return to work when your kids start kindy, or whether you can decide year by year.