I am a stay-at-home mom of three crazy… I mean, wonderful children. That wasn’t always the case, though. I used to work full time as an administrator in real estate. It was the typical Monday through Friday grind sort of job with alright pay and ok benefits. Yet, I wanted more.
When I worked out of the home, my dream was to be financially stable enough to be a stay-at-home mom to my, then, two children. I had memories of my mama being home when my sister and I were young and being home every day when we got home from school. I wanted to be there for my children the way my mother had been there for me. I didn’t want to miss any of those important milestones that I felt I was missing out on as a working mother. I am not here to declare a winner in the battle of stay-at-home moms versus working moms. I’ve been on both sides of the fence and can honestly say that they both have their benefits and challenges. I didn’t think it was financially possible for me to become a stay-at-home mom or for my family to become a one income household. Though, when I became pregnant with my third child while still working full time, the time came for me to seriously entertain the idea of staying home full time.
When I became pregnant with my third child, it became clear that my need to be a stay-at-home mom was not just one of my dreams but also one that made more financial sense. The rising costs of daycare and after school programs combined with commuting cost and other costs of working outside the home, made it increasingly difficult to imagine adding another child to that financial mix.
My husband and I had a serious sit down and discussed the pros and cons of me becoming a stay-at-home mom full time. We knew that for us to successfully make the transition from me working full time to being home full time we had to take stock of all our finances and decide what we really needed and what we could get rid of. We were surprised to see just how much financially superfluous junk we were able to get rid of. Staying at home also automatically took a large chunk out of our regular monthly expenditures. We knew that we wanted to have a cushion of savings to allow for a smoother transition financially. In the months leading up to me quitting my job, we set aside a little money each paycheck to allow for a small savings so we could have that cushion. It hasn’t always been easy but setting up our finances beforehand has helped with making things a little easier now that I am home full time.
I love being a stay-at-home mom, even though it hasn’t always been a piece of cake. Chances are, as the children grow up, I’ll go back to work and enjoy the fruits of working out of the home again. For now, I’m enjoying being at home with my children and know that all the preparations we made towards my transition made it easier for me to enjoy this time all the more.
