How to Turn Your Stay-at-Home Mom Dream into a Reality
By Dawne Brooks
In February of this year, a dream became a reality for me when I quit my
job to stay at home full time with my baby girl.
Until recently, being a stay-at-home mom for me was just one of those
things I thought I’d be sitting at my desk fantasizing about for the
rest of my working life, like winning the lottery. At around month two
of maternity leave, I knew I didn't want to go back. The urge I thought
would never be an issue for me suddenly became so strong it drove me to
tears. I realized, sadly, that this was a situation my husband and I
hadn’t planned for, since I was ever so sure I would still want to work
after the baby (oh, how seeing that darling little face changes your
mind!).
I couldn't fathom leaving my baby with a stranger. I realized in an
instant that my "super working mom" visions I'd imagined all my
childless years were merely inexperienced flights of fancy. That was not
the person I wanted to be anymore. Rather, I was ready to throw myself
fully into the role of mommy, rent and car payments waiting to be paid
or not.
Denial and illogic followed, with weeks of me chanting decidedly to my
husband that I wasn't leaving the baby. His thoroughly nervous face
muttered a pensive "OK" each time, undoubtedly thinking about the stack
of bills that my paycheck helped cover each month. But then my wheels
started turning. I would find a way.
I scoured the Web for any and every way I could to help our family save
money and allow me to be an at-home mom. I became a coupon cutter and
cut our monthly grocery bill in half. I changed to a cheaper auto
insurance company. I checked into refinancing a high-interest auto loan.
I started getting credit cards paid off and paid cash for our purchases.
I contacted utilities companies to make sure we weren't getting
overcharged or if we were eligible for discount plans, or paying for
features we didn't really need. I down-sized to basic cable. And
finally, after five months back at work, an affordable housing
opportunity came our way and the dream finally became financially
feasible.
Some would say my life is too scaled down for them now, I'm sure. Our
new place is much smaller and I gave up a washer and dryer for the
community laundry room in the move, but now that I am home with baby,
I’ve got more time to get the laundry done. And I’m washing dishes by
hand again instead of with the help of a dishwasher. So there were a few
trade-offs, but all of them worth my ultimate goal – to be present for
my child. In time, we still buy the new furniture we want or piece of
computer equipment or dinner out, just like we use to, really. Now,
we’re just more responsible with our money, a trait I’ll be glad to
instill in my daughter.
I chose to share my experience because I know other women out there run
into this same situation and it’s painful. Not prepared for me to stay
at home past maternity leave, we had only saved enough money to carry us
through those first few months of my daughter’s life. If I had it to do
again, I truly would have investigated my feelings on being an at-home
mom more intensely and saved more to prepare for such an undertaking.
Instead, I had to return to work for five months, setting a goal for
myself to be at home again for good by my daughter’s first birthday. I
beat the goal by three months – not an easy feat when you consider that
my paycheck was exactly half of our income AND my job held our family’s
medical benefits.
Here’s a rundown of the steps that helped get me, and other stay-at-home
moms I know, home with our children:
Coupon cutting
It takes about an hour each week to cut those things out and file, and
once you match up your coupons with the grocery store sales (and make
sure you go to a place that doubles the coupons), you can save big! My
bill dropped from $300 to $160 a month.
Here are
printable grocery coupons and
here are online
coupons
for even more savings.
Auto insurance
We had been with a high-priced insurance company for years, but after
checking around, we’re saving more than $300 every six months. Good,
inexpensive companies to check include: Geico at
http://www.geico.com and Progressive at
http://www.progressive.com. And once you become a SAHM, call up your
insurance company and let them know you're no longer using your car to
drive to work every day, but just for pleasure, and that you need to
reduce the number of miles you drive it per year (to say 1,000 or 2,000
or whatever works for your family). This could trim off some of your
premium by $40 to $160 per year, depending on the company.
Other debt
A consolidation loan is not always the smartest way, nor is a second
mortgage, both of which often end up just being more debt for a person
in the end. Instead, try refinancing auto loans with high interest
rates. Local credit unions usually have great rates. Also, for credit
card debt, try a nonprofit agency like Consumer Credit Counseling
Service at http://www.credit.org.
They’ll help you negotiate low- or no- interest while paying those cards
off. Then cut them up and try paying with only cash for awhile – it
really is liberating, especially when you buy, say, a new computer, and
know it’s paid for when you bring it home.
Utilities
Our local phone company had a reduced-cost plan based on income which I
was able to take advantage of, as did the gas and electric company, so
it never hurts to ask (they, of course, don’t advertise them).
Cable is often a service full of overcharges -- the special TV guides
and premium channels are just a few ways they get more of your money.
Take a look at your recent bill and see where you can trim the fat.
Internet service may be a hefty fee, too, depending who you’re with. Try
getting online free with NetZero at
http://www.netzero.com and wipe out that cost all together.
Waste not, want not
One of our house’s big expenses was eating out. Our busy lives (and my
lack of cooking skill) led us to restaurants or delivery about three
times a week, equaling more than what I now spend on a week’s worth of
groceries. Being at home has allowed me to learn a little more about
cooking, and I’ve also saved by making more from scratch or semi-scratch
(getting a plain bag of rice, for instance, rather than a tiny box of
rice mix). Growing your own vegetables is also an excellent way to save
money on food costs and have nice, fresh produce for months and months
(even just in big pots on a balcony or patio will work).
Entertainment didn’t need too much scaling down in our house (hey, who
needs entertainment when you have a little one to amuse you?). However,
obvious ways include renting movies instead of going to the theater,
renting computer games or getting shareware free online, or simply
taking advantage of free outings more, like discount days at museums, a
picnic in the park or a day at the beach.
Shopping is still a challenge, but paying in cash really compels you to
weigh whether you MUST have something or not. Of course, sale racks are
the at-home mom’s friend, as are resale stores (both for mom and for
kids). Shopping with coupons isn’t just limited to the grocery, either.
I do a lot of bargain shopping online using coupon codes, most the time
for way lower of a price than I could have got in a store.
Living within your means
Housing, because of its permanence, is a tough debt to reduce very
quickly. If you have a hefty mortgage payment and decide moving to a
smaller place or renting will be helpful in allowing you to be home, you
must first sell your house. If you’re renting somewhere expensive,
getting out of the lease is usually the issue. In high-priced Southern
California, our rent was one factor we felt we couldn’t change. We
couldn’t get much lower of a rate, or so we thought, until some
affordable family housing at the college my husband attends became
available. So before you say never, check every option when it comes to
housing. You may sacrifice by living in a smaller place for a while, but
if being at home is what you really want, it will be a minor issue
compared to the joy of spending the days with your child. Just remember,
a small place may require renting a storage unit for your excess
belongings, or paying to do laundry in a laundry room, like for me. Add
those costs to your new rent to figure out what you’ll really be saving
in the long run.
No more child care/working costs
Don’t forget to figure in the money you’ll save when you’re at home.
Child care expenses are a biggie, as is the cost for lunches at work,
gas to and from the office, dress clothes for the job, drycleaning those
clothes, etc. Add this back into your budget since you’ll be saving it
by staying home.
Finally, don’t rule out part-time work from home if you still need to
bring in some income to help the family out. There’s a variety of jobs
you can do from home, including graphic design, desktop publishing, Web
design, writing, editing, running your own Web site.
However you make your dream of becoming a stay-at-home parent a reality,
I wish you much luck and success!
Momscape Reader Rachel says:
"This page
http://library.businesschairs.com/entrepreneurship-education-resource.html
has some great resources on entrepreneurships."
Thanks Rachel!
