Canadian sahm?

Question

My Lo just turned 5 months and we get a year off here so I'm trying to decided what to do once that time is up. I really don't want to go back to work but how do you afford to stay home? I don't trust anyone to watch her for long periods of time is one of the big reasons I don't want to go back. Any help or advise would be great.

Answer

I agree with Holley. Its soo expensive for childcare! It was actually costing us 500 extra to have me working. We paid 1250 for part time child care! Just insanity. I just didn't make enough once you combine the cost of daycare, plus gas to get there, and to and from work, and everything else it was just not worth going back to work.

Answer

It's worth looking into the cost of childcare and comparing that to your income if you went back to work. We are planning on having family look after my daughter when I go back to work. If I had to pay for non family child care it wouldn't make sense for me to go back to work, I'd essentially be making 10-20$ per day.

Answer

I’ve been a SAHM for 7 years now so we’ve been working off of one income mostly. I do have a part time cleaning job 2 evenings a week just to make some extra cash. We had to find a bigger apartment for our growing family soon to figure out that the rent is so ridiculous that it was cheaper to buy! So we moved away from the city and bought a home for cheaper. He drives a little Honda to save on gas for his commute. I do the odd job when I can if he’s home. He’s a mechanic so we save a lot of money because he does vehicle work himself. Our vacations consist mostly of camping in the summer( the kids ❤️ it). 
It’s not to easy to work off of one income but it is possible if your SO makes enough $. But with the price of things going up so drastically I’m not sure how much longer it’s going to work 😔

Answer

I stayed home once my 12 months of Mat leave was up. I do the budgeting to see what we have left after all of the bills are paid. Thankfully for my situation he has a full time job then a seasonal job that makes very good money. Costco shopping for bulk items. Or looking for sales at other stores. 
As a SAHM there are cheap or free activities you can do to fill your days
- swim lessons I think I paid like $60
- library story time is free 
- once your baby gets older there’s drop in play time at community centres (costs $3 here)
- in my city we have movies for mommies so I pay about $8-$13 a ticket to see current movies) 
- walks always free 
- indoor activities at home 
- attend parent groups 
Things we thought about before making our decision 
- when would we be adding another kid to our family (sooner or later) 
- time to commute to and from work for me cause we are a 1 car family and he works further than I did and days are longer... it just didn’t make sense for me to go back to work for a long time out of the day to pay someone else to watch my little guy 
Best of luck making your decision momma. I’m sure you’ll do the right thing for you and your family

Answer

Part of what I do as a SAHM is keep a super ridiculously close eye on our budget. We cut back on things we didn't need and are careful to only spend what he makes. Sit down and make a budget.
Also, I tried to save my EI and only live off his income to see how it would go.

Answer

I’ve talked with my husband in length about the idea and have decided to be a sahm because of the mixture between the price of daycare and the fact that I don’t like the idea of leaving my child in someone else’s hands all day ( personal choice not an attack on those who do)  and honestly now that we have decided on it I’m actually really excited about it. And the fact that both of our mothers we stay at home also largely influenced our decision.

Canadian sahm?

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