For those of you who have gone from a full-time working, equal (or more) income contributor in your household to a stay-at-home or part-time worker, what steps did you take to downsize to one or 1.5 income? My spouse and I both work full time, and I make slightly more, but we contribute about the same toward bills. We have a mortgage, 2 car payments, student loans (one is on hold), school tuition for our son, just a couple credit cards we’re paying down (snowballing payments), then the average daily expenses. We don’t currently have much for savings, just enough for an emergency.

I’m not looking to permanently stay home, but at least longer than the 3 months I’m given, possibly up to 1.5 years when our expected baby can start at the school of our choice.

What were some of the steps you took to make this choice work for you financially?