Another "Can I Stay at Home" Thread

[greenmom4]

<sigh>

I'm burnt out and grumpy.

My husband and I both work FT - I work a normal office schedule, he works as a journeyman meat cutter and right now his hours are from 1:30-9:30, with a couple of days off during the week. I'm also a full time student. We have 3 kids, DS #1 is 6, DD is 4 and DS #2 will be 2 in August. This summer my mom is watching them in the afternoons but she is a teacher, so in the fall we will have to find childcare. Oldest DS will go to the YMCA after school program ($300/month). My dd will be in full day preschool ($700/month). A wonderful MDC mama has kindly offered to watch my youngest DS ($320/month).

I don't think I want to work anymore, at least not FT. It doesn't seem like we are getting any further ahead w/ both of us working as when we just had less money. And w/ our schedules, I don't get to see DH that much, which stinks. The problem is that right now, I hold the benefits and I make the major contribution to our retirement account. Is it worth working, and having all 3 kids in childcare for that? My h could add us to his insurance in a few months when he is eligible (his benefits thru the union are really good). What would you do? We rent, own our cars (and could sell one if I wasn't working), no credit cards, only debt is a small amount left over from my h's knee surgery a few months ago.

There is an opportunity at the ballet studio nearby (I'm on the board) for a PT admin, and I'd really like to apply for that.

[Usually Curious]

do you make significantly more than $1320/mo? that's just childcare?! yikes!

what about work clothes? dry cleaning? convenience foods? commuting?

pt work might be an answer but will you still have to pay child care?

when i worked OTH(a looong time ago) it actually cost us money. it took awhile for us to be honest w/ourselves and admit that, tho'.

[greenmom4]

My net pay per month is about $2k. Gross is $3,300. Commute to and from work is about 7 miles, but more if I'm picking up kids from school/daycare. Clothing isn't really an issue, it's super casual here. I'm pretty good about bringing food, maybe spend $5-10 a week on average over the month. Now, if I was to stay home, we could sell one of our cars and put that into savings, and there are a lot of areas we could cut back pretty significantly on.

I don't think I would need to find childcare for PT work at the dance studio, maybe the odd hour here and there. They could come with me at times (the older two are dancers there) and I can also work from home at times.

[doubledutch]

exactly when is your dh eligible for benefits? what would it do to his paycheck? obviously the premiums will be withheld, but he will have less withheld for taxes too, so his check might stay around the same amount.

i think you need to make a budget. there's really no other way to tell.

[Emmeline II]

If your net is $2000
and your child care is $1320
and you spend at least $20 a month on snacks
and your retirement account is after tax contributions
then you would be getting about $660 a month from your job.

I would consider leaving once your dh's benefits start.

Also, you may be able to have your ds in your class if you are teaching the young ones. Two is a bit young (most of the under 3s in dd's class dropped out), but "my" dance studio still admits them. Even the 3s still have issues with licking the mirror and butt polishing the floors.

I use the Monthly Budget Template from Living on a Dime, that does the calculations for you. My template has all our bills listed first then I just add on from there.

Budget Forms for Download

Monthly Budget Excel File (performs calculations if you use Excel or Appleworks.)

Monthly Budget - Word Document (You can enter Data into fields, but must do the calculations yourself)

Monthly Budget - PDF File (A Form you can print to help you budget manually)

[greenmom4]

Yeah, my next step is to redo our budget. Benefits for my h are $11/week for the family which is next to nothing. He's eligible at 10 months (still a little while away). I'm not as worried about retirement because I do plan on going back to work once all the kids are in school and should be able to catch up pretty easily at that point. 401k is taken out before tax.

Ugh. Budgets.

Thanks so much for your input, it helps a lot.

[Davonia]

Being cynical to insurance, how much are you using your benefits now?

Are they just medical benefits? Is anyone sick?

How much will this insurance cost you per month? $100, $200, more?

If you pay cash at the dr's office and tell them that you have no insurance, they will usually cut the price, sometimes by alot! At the medical office I work at, insurance will be charged anywhere from $100- $200. Some people have copays of $30 - $40. If you have no insurance, we will charge you $75 for the 1st and $33 thereafter.

Sometimes, it's cheaper to have no insurance. Every medical bill out there is negotiable. If you take the $200/ month you would spend to have insurance and put it in a savings account, then if someone needs to go to the dr or ER, even, you can negotiate the bills right there before you leave and then pay them up front.

This is just an idea. You need to look at the health of your family and what makes sense for you.

[greenmom4]

I've thought about that before, but I'm scared to go without any kind of insurance.

Right now I'm paying over $260 a month for the 5 of us just for medical, . My husband did have knee surgery a little bit ago, but other than that, it's just been normal annual physical stuff and a couple of sick visits for the kids. Nothing major.

It is definitely something to consider...

[Davonia]

$260 month for 5 people is really good. Do you have a high deductible or copays?

I've seen people upset that they pay a high monthly amount and then I have to tell them that they have a high copay as well.

[greenmom4]

I actually have no copays - it's an HRA account, so deductibles are high, but my employer contributes 2500 per person (I think) and that rolls over year to year. It's a pretty good deal if you don't have major issues.