Should I take the SAHM plunge? Money v. Sanity? - Page 2

[savithny]

Is the half-tiem half days?

I went back half-days after my first was born and I'm still about half time. It was a bit tricky, but in retrospect I don't regret it. Half days meant I only had to pump 1x and my supply didn't suffer badly, and he only got one bottle a day. Half days meant that with morning nap, I only missed about 2 hours of wakefulness a day.

On the other hand, your'e right, childcare is expensive. With my first, DH and I split shifts so he worked noon-9pm while I worked mornings. That was hard on him, though, and bad for his career (not enough of his time was "face time" in front of his boss. We put DS in a home daycare at 15 mos.

The second year of DD's life, when DS had gone to preschool (more expensive than the family daycare) and DD was in daycare -- I pretty much worked for nothing but insurance. BUT: during that year I worked on projects that gave me skills that got me significant raises and ensured my continuing employment with my program. It was a very important year, career-development-wise, and if I'd given it up because the costs of daycare were so high compared to my earnings, I'd STILL be struggling to find something that flexible that pays as well. We'd be significantly worse off today in a number of ways, not all of them financial.

So that's something to consider, too.

[gkb2215]

It might also be a good idea to see what other options you have, regarding both work and childcare, so that you don't have to quit your job or lose absurd amounts of money to daycare. Is there a childcare co-op in your area? Could your husband adjust his schedule so he could look after your child some days?

My husband is a stay-at-home dad while I work M-F, and he works Sat. and Sun. It sucks that we never have a day together and we can't go out of town much, but it means our daughter is always with one of us and our bills get just barely paid.

While the previous posts about the difficulty of re-entering the workforce are correct, there may be ways to keep building your resume while not working full or even part time. Some places hire short-term event planners on a consulting basis to plan conferences. You could do one gig and take a break for a while...but of course, that would be unstable income. Anyway, just a thought.

[nina_yyc]

You don't sound like you have a solid budget or long-term numbers in the picture. You definitely need to crunch those, and if you don't know how I'd stop by Frugality & Finances. I'd check out "All Your Worth" by Elizabeth Warren if you can squeeze in a book.

My SAH/WOH decision has always been made with 2-3 yrs of financial planning in mind.