how do you SAHM do it?

Question

I'm gone from 7AM-6PM 5 days a week. I'm pregnant and trying to figure out what I'm gonna do about work. I can't imagine doing this and then throwing a baby in the mix. I want to stay home and raise my child, at least for the first few years. My man only makes 17-18 an hour. That's not enough for me to stay home with all of our bills. How do you guys do it???? I need advice. I've bartended  and waitressed in the past. I'm thinking maybe I'll just do that 3 nights a week and it'll be enough. Any advice?

Answer

budget budget budget! My husband gets paid every week. I pay certain bills each month with the first, second, and third paycheck plus include gas and groceries. The 4th paycheck every month is for savings and anything extra unforeseen.

I also coach Crossfit part time and clean the gym which pays for our memberships and gives me a little bit of income. A lot of sahms also offer babysitting or do direct sales (things like Avon, scentsy, itworks, etc). Find what works for you!

You can coupon, shop deals, buy in bulk from Costco (I buy all my meat there, portion it out, and freeze it). Cut out anything that's not necessary -- eating out, Starbucks, fancy phone plans, cable tv, etc.

Answer

I've been a SAHM for 5 years now!  My husband has a great job that allows me to do so.  He works 60 hours a week Tuesday-Saturday and is home by 630p every day.  We are able to own a home and 2 cars.  We have a 5 year old and a one month old.  If I couldn't afford it I'd probably nanny or something to where my kids could stay with me! It is such a blessing I hope you get to!

Answer

My husband has a full time job and two part times. I made decent money so it has been an adjustment but we make it work. We don't eat out nearly as much as we did before. And cut down on some of the bills we could.

Answer

Budget and cut bills. Cut out things that are more luxury than necessity.

Answer

The only reason im able to do it is because my husband is 15 years older, and works in the medical field. He owns his practice, so he brings home enough bacon to feed all of us. I don't see how most people make it work if I'm being honest :/ Life is expensive. I'd assume you'd have to save save save in advance.

Answer

Try and make a budget by listing out everything you purchase in groups like rent/mortgage, insurance, cable, cell phones, then work your way down to gym memberships, eating out, gifts, hair cuts/color, etc. There are great budgeting tools online that will help you think of all the categories.

Add it up to see what you need to make to do everything on the list. Then start going through the list and see what you could compromise on to reduce your expenses on some of the "extra" things. This will help you figure out if you need to work 3 nights a week or maybe none.

We've worked hard to pay off our cars to remove expenses, also no cable TV just reg antenna channels, no Netflix/hulu/etc, we keep things longer vs buying the newest version  every year (like phones), use coupons when we can & shop the sales on meat.

You just have to see what the right combination of compromise is for your situation and what that means in terms of not working at all or grabbing a few shifts a week. GOOD LUCK!!

Answer

I'm not a SAHM, but I only work about 20 hours a week and my husband puts in a lot of crazy hours at work. My GM is also really flexible with me in my schedule so that helps out a lot. I'm pregnant right now with baby number three and after he's born I'm not going to work for the first year and we agreed that hubby will just work as much as he can and if we really need it, I'll go back to work sooner & only do two to three days.

how do you SAHM do it?

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