Working for Lifestyle/Extras

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-22-2005
Working for Lifestyle/Extras
3621
Mon, 11-20-2006 - 11:13am

Hi Ladies :)

This is my first time on this debate board and I have been dying to jump into some of the topics, but I feel as though they are sooooo long (one in particular is over 1000 replies, yikes!) that starting my own specific one might work out better.

Anyhow, a recurring theme here seems to be what Moms should and shouldn't be going to work for. It seems some are of the opinion that is OK for Mom to work if she must to pay her bills but NOT if its to afford a nice car, house, good neighborhood. This is considered keeping up with the Johnses (who are they???) and thats bad.

Well, I want to know what in the heck is wrong with a women working to have nice things? I don't mean working and leaving baby in child care 16 hours a day, everyday...thats pretty extreme.

I enjoyed a certain lifestyle before having a child, should I have downsized that lifestyle once baby came so I didn't have to work? What about me *wanting* to maintain a certain lifestyle for myself, my husband, and my child makes me a (a) workaholic or (b) striving to keep up with the Joneses?

Don't some people (like myself) simply enjoy living in a nice place with nice things and want their children to have the same experience?

So please, anyone who thinks a women is wrong for WOH if she is not doing so to financially survive but does it to maintain a certain lifestyle...whats wrong with this?

Thanks all :)

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-27-2006
Sat, 12-16-2006 - 3:32pm
Actually, he does. As I already posted, he does a free call in radio show each day M-F. His website has free downloadable archives. People can buy products but it's not always necessary to purchase them from him as we have been discussing, you can get them used. People can take advantage of his products or simply get his free advice.

"Besides this we have our living prophet, for whom I am grateful, and I hope to follow after him all the days of my life.&

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-27-2006
Sat, 12-16-2006 - 3:36pm

So, according to your assessment, he does not provide any free advice at all? You don't know what you are talking about, seriously. I don't mean that as a slight either. He is a syndicated talk radio show host whose show runs daily M-F from 12-4 (if I'm not mistaken on the time factor) He also has his show on Sirius Satellite. I haven't seen him on XM and don't know if he's gotten on both...don't know if they do that for hosts.

His website is full of free advice as well. Besides, if someone does want to purchase his products they can't charge it. That says a lot more for his character than a lot of other authors who are trying to bilk the billions out of the consumer, imo.

"Besides this we have our living prophet, for whom I am grateful, and I hope to follow after him all the days of my life.&

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-27-2006
Sat, 12-16-2006 - 3:40pm

"Besides this we have our living prophet, for whom I am grateful, and I hope to follow after him all the days of my life.&

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-27-2006
Sat, 12-16-2006 - 3:43pm

School loans would be included in the debt snowball.

"Besides this we have our living prophet, for whom I am grateful, and I hope to follow after him all the days of my life.&

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-31-2005
Sat, 12-16-2006 - 3:44pm

I'm saying that the detrimental effects of an unstable economy or government might make it difficult to determine what impact, if any, SAH/WOH had on teenagers. For example, a country with few employment opportunities for men or women might also have high crime rates. So just because these countries have a higher "SAH" rate, you can't conclude that societal problems are a result of SAH.

Also, some countries dominated by a particular religious group might have laws that seriously inhibit crime: cutting off a hand for stealing, etc. Crime rates might be extremely low, but I don't think it would be fair to conclude that since only a tiny percentage of women were part of the work force that SAH had resulted in less crime.

I think at least you would have to look at two countries with similar economies and governments. It wouldn't be fair, for example, to compare China and Japan, as there are too many variable factors.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-31-2005
Sat, 12-16-2006 - 3:47pm
So I was wrong about the college funding and mortgage--I'd gotten a different impression from the radio show. How much does he recommend saving for college?
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-30-2006
Sat, 12-16-2006 - 3:47pm
If the philosophy has developed over time, you'd think by now it would have been decided whether or not mortgage debt is recommended. Yet it seems at least a few adherents of Mr. Ramsey are at odds with the man himself in that regard.

Sabina

Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-31-2005
Sat, 12-16-2006 - 3:58pm

So do you disagree with these recommendations, and if so, why?

<$1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
Three to six months of expenses in savings
Invest 15 percent of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
College funding for children
Pay off home early
Build wealth and give! (Invest in mutual funds and real estate)>

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-08-2006
Sat, 12-16-2006 - 3:58pm

childcare is "unnatural"???? HECK. why didn't anyone tell me this???? How in the world did I think that all these years "I" have been raising my children in an unnatural way??? OMG! I think I'll either have to quit working on Monday OR just give all of them up for adoption!

Do you think they'll forgive me for raising them in an "unnatural" way??? Ironically, though, I think that I've done one heck of a good job.

I've never heard anything quite so ridiculous. Oh, wait, yes,I've heard plenty to parallel that little bit of dreck.

Carole

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-27-2005
Sat, 12-16-2006 - 4:01pm
Fair enough. Try looking up the stats for Germany or Italy and compare those to any of the Scandinavian countries. Those countries have similar economies, religions (in the sense of mainly Christian non-fundamentalist), similar laws (all E.U. with the exception of Norway) and similar political systems. Italy and Germany have signficantly more SAHPs than, for example, Sweden.

Pages