I plan on being a SAHM until my son is 18...

[Lovenest]

Anyone else doing this or planning on being SAHM until there kiddos are 18? I am 24 and my son is 4.

I am thinking when my son (or if we have more) is 18 I will go back. I would work to save for retirement and also help with college for my children. I guess when they are teens I could work part time if my hubby would be home with them.

We are low-med income right now, we have our own small business that pays the rent and we can save about 300-400 a month, but we cant save large amounts for retirement or college for our children. We no longer have debt! We hope to own a home in the future, but we are happy renting and living frugal to raise/homeschool our son together.

Is anyone else thinking of planning like this?

[bwylde]

If I can help it, I am planning not to go back to paid employment (or at least out of home work). We have been living frugally since being married for this purpose. We're well below the poverty limit but we manage, planning to buy a house in the next few years

[lil'mama]

I plan to stay at home with my children as long as I can and certainly until they are teenagers.

[woodchick]

I plan to stay with my kid(s) as well.

We work hard at being frugal and living happy, if not indulgent, lives.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

I'm a WAHM now and plan to be that for the forseeable future. When they are teens I anticipate that they will be self-sufficient enough to be left for short periods if I were to go back to work part time. My mom was a SAHM until I was in high school and then she worked part time (night shift nurse) and went to school to get her BSN. There were many afternoons that I'd come home an hour or two before her, and start dinner. I was responsible and trustworthy, and I plan to raise my boys to be the same.

[quirkylayne]

I've considered this but here is my question - what kind of job do you hope to get in 18 (or more) years?

[Lovenest]

Originally Posted by quirkylayne

I've considered this but here is my question - what kind of job do you hope to get in 18 (or more) years?

Really anything, I am not picky. Maybe costco or the like. I know costco pays well and good benefits etc. Or really anything customer service.
I know I wont have pick of the litter for jobs, but that does not bother me.

[BetsyS]

I'm home for the long haul, too. My mother is still a homemaker, even with an empty nest.

I have one SIL that is an empty nester (she's the oldest of the siblings; I'm married to the youngest). She went back to work when her youngest left home. She is now the manager at a Giant Eagle grocery store. Maybe not the most glamorous job, but she loves it, and she is fulfilled.

I think it's definitely a workable possibility to stay home then go back to work "some day."

[2Sweeties1Angel]

Heck no! But more power to those of you who want to stay home for so long.

You may want to do something part-time every few years, because if you go a really long time without employment it can be hard to get hired. Every place I've ever worked at has really looked down on applicants who've been out of the workforce for 10+ years.

[Spinifex]

I think it's workable, but I would caution you and your husband to plan for all of the worst-case scenarios: death, disability, divorce, or business failure.

Definitely make sure you carry enough life/disability insurance to replace lost income and pay for childcare if one of you dies or becomes unable to run your business. Keep an emergency fund with 6+ months of living expenses at hand. Make sure both of you know exactly what assets you have and how you can access them in an emergency (account numbers, safety deposit box keys, etc). Make a will and trust, if you haven't already.

I know it's unpleasant to think about, but my grandma was unexpectedly widowed when her kids were in their early teens. She had to take any jobs she could find - supermarket checker, housecleaner, babysitter - to try to make enough for rent and food. At one point she lost her house and had to sell her furniture and car. It took years for her to recover financially from losing grandpa.


PS. I'd suggest prioritizing your retirement over college savings for your kids. They can always get student loans, but you can't borrow money for your retirement.

You might also think about going back for some continuing education once your kids are in school. Having even a few technical skills can give you a lot more options if you need to find a job in an emergency.

[daekini]

This is a major consideration for me. Ideally, I would stay at home til my youngest is 16 - 18. But at that time, I will be around 50 years old! I have a graduate degree in biology and I'd like to be able to use it, but if I go that long without continuing my education in some way, I'll probably lose the chance. So, I may go back to school at some point - I could attend classes while the kids are in school (we're not homeschooling unless something dramatic happens - dh is an elementary teacher) OR perhaps volunteer or work part-time with raptor rescue or at a discovery center or environmental outreach program. But that would mean... well... working. Currently I work a few hours a week at a bookstore... pretty much for kicks. I must be nuts.

[Kristy555]

I plan to stay home with my two children until they are teenagers. Well, one of them is almost a teenager. My daughter will be 13 in July and my son is 2. Yes, we had them 10 years apart! So, I guess you could say that I have already stayed home until one of my children was a teenager because I have been a SAHM since my daughter was born and I plan to continue to stay home with her and my son until my son becomes a teenager too unless for some reason I am unable to.

I love being a SAHM and I have a wonderful husband that provides for us and I feel so blessed. He is a wonderful husband and dad.

Kristy
Mom to Rebecca (12) and David (2) and one angel baby (01/25/07)

[Lovenest]

Originally Posted by Spinifex

I think it's workable, but I would caution you and your husband to plan for all of the worst-case scenarios: death, disability, divorce, or business failure.

Definitely make sure you carry enough life/disability insurance to replace lost income and pay for childcare if one of you dies or becomes unable to run your business. Keep an emergency fund with 6+ months of living expenses at hand. Make sure both of you know exactly what assets you have and how you can access them in an emergency (account numbers, safety deposit box keys, etc). Make a will and trust, if you haven't already.

I know it's unpleasant to think about, but my grandma was unexpectedly widowed when her kids were in their early teens. She had to take any jobs she could find - supermarket checker, housecleaner, babysitter - to try to make enough for rent and food. At one point she lost her house and had to sell her furniture and car. It took years for her to recover financially from losing grandpa.


PS. I'd suggest prioritizing your retirement over college savings for your kids. They can always get student loans, but you can't borrow money for your retirement.

You might also think about going back for some continuing education once your kids are in school. Having even a few technical skills can give you a lot more options if you need to find a job in an emergency.

Thank you for all you input.
My hubby knows all about that, he lost his mom at 17 years old.
We do have plans set in place, not for divorce though.

We know our business may not be there long term, we have had it for 5 years now but we know my hubby may have to go back to "work" if we end up not making it there or whatever long term. He does has a degree, a bachelors in economics.
I however do not have a degree, only a diploma for beauty therapy. But, I would never use it!
I do not know if I would go back to college, but who knows. I would rather just have a no nothing job that is fun and nothing to worry about when I go home if that makes sense.
I would be willing to work any customer service job be it GAP, Costco.. really anything. I am not picky.

Who knows I may never end up going back to work.
But, my thought was that if I could help my children though college, I will only be around 37-45 years old and if I also can save extra money for us to retire that would be an extra bonus!

[Lovenest]

Originally Posted by 2Sweeties1Angel

Heck no! But more power to those of you who want to stay home for so long.

You may want to do something part-time every few years, because if you go a really long time without employment it can be hard to get hired. Every place I've ever worked at has really looked down on applicants who've been out of the workforce for 10+ years.

Well I have not had a job since I was 16...
I worked when I was 15 until 16 and then I graduated and I went to Australia. So I have already been out 8 years.. I am 24! I would not even dream of getting a job, I just love being a mum and that has been my dream "job" since I was little. So, I guess I may have a problem getting hired when I apply at costco!?

[2Sweeties1Angel]

So, I guess I may have a problem getting hired when I apply at costco!?

Considering one of the places I worked at that didn't want to hire people who'd been out of the workforce for too long was Wal-Mart, and they'll take almost anyone--yeah, you might have trouble getting hired at Costco.

[Lovenest]

Originally Posted by 2Sweeties1Angel

Considering one of the places I worked at that didn't want to hire people who'd been out of the workforce for too long was Wal-Mart, and they'll take almost anyone--yeah, you might have trouble getting hired at Costco.

Man, thats insane. All well I guess it will be back of the line for me. I wonder if I went in when I was 26 being out for 10 years then if I would have a problem? Weird....

[dharmamama]

I don't plan to ever go back to work. Even after my kids are long gone. I plan to be a homemaker for the rest of my life.

dm

[meandk0610]

i'd like to stay home until youngest (we only have one now) is an older teen then go back to college. dh, however, would like me to get a job yesterday so i don't know if i'll be able to swing the homeschooling i want to do. :

sarah

[Azuralea]

We really like the idea of having a SAHP when DS is 9-16 or so and we're planning for that. Right now we put away a lot of my income for that purpose.

I have a friend who is a financial planner and she says that in her experience families can successfully structure themselves in any way possible so long as they plan for the Ds: death, disability, divorce.

The first two can be taken care of with a good insurance policy.

On divorce, she recommends planning for divorce, not as an antiromantic thing, but because she's had clients who were blindsided by problems with their spouses that seriously came out of the blue: e.g., alcoholism, serious mental illness, that sort of thing. It's not so much the stereotypical cheating spouse as it is the idea that all families should ideally plan for the possibility of a spouse going into a tailspin for some unforeseeable reason.

That means doing things like funding a separate retirement account for the SAH spouse and making sure the SAH spouse knows everything about the financial aspects of the family. She also recommends (like Dave Ramsey) that all families establish an emergency fund, but she suggests to her clients with a SAH spouse that the emergency fund be put in a separate account only in the name of the SAH spouse. That way, should one of the spouses go crazy and withdraw all the money out of the shared accounts, the SAH spouse has emergency funds. (The WOH spouse needs this too, but because he can work, presumably he could get emergency funds a lot faster.) I thought that advice was reasonable. It's kind of like a spouse-go-crazy insurance policy.

I say go for it and good for you!

[velochic]

When dd turns 18, it will be retirement time for us. Dh will be 65, I'm a little younger. We started a family late, so I had my career and we've saved already for retirement.

However, sometimes during school breaks, I get a little frustrated having dh under foot all the time, so I just might have to go out and find some kind of job just to get me away from him once we're retired.