Transitioning to stay at home mom?

Question

My son is almost 2, and baby sister is due April 15. Ever since I’ve had him I’ve wanted to be a stay at home mom.. I know some people have the desire to work or have to, which has been our case but also I know it’s not impossible! I’m just looking for advice and tips on what has worked? How to work with one income, what were your struggles of being a stay at home mom? Any advice and encouragement is helpful!

Answer

Take a hard look at your wants vs needs. Take your spouses salary and then deduct all the “needs” such as mortgage, utilities, groceries, savings, car payments/ins, cell phones, etc. Determine from there what is a true want vs need. Do you want/need Internet? Cable? New vehicles with high car payments can be traded for older vehicles and NO payments? 
I’m on #4 and cut to one day a week years ago by really working on myself to get out of the materialist mindset this world places us in. It was really important for me to homeschool our children. Not so important to me to have tons of materialist items and be paying high monthly payments.

Answer

I transitioned out of the workforce into a stay at home mom! My son was almost 2 and I was pregnant with our second at the time. My husband and I were both making decent money. We had to take a hard look at our finances and did the Dave Ramsey 7 baby steps. We have no debt, and are saving more now than we ever were on two incomes (college funds and retirement)! Being a stay at home mom has been so good for our marriage and our family. I loved my job and was on my way to being very successful in it, but I wouldn't change anything about being a stay at home mom to our soon to be 3 kiddos! If you have any specific questions feel free to message me! (Its definitely not all sunshine and rainbows lol but it is definitely far more rewarding and just seeing how our family benefits has been such an encouragement to our decision).

Answer

Try budgeting on just your spouses income until baby gets here. Put your income aside and see if you can live off just one. You can see what it would feel like and then you’ve also got some padding in your savings.
We did it after our second was born, but there are some months that are really tight. I also had to start keeping another little boy during the week to help make ends meet. We don’t go out to eat and we eat a lot of rice and beans 😂 but it’s so worth it to spend the time with my babies.

Answer

I quit my job to become a sahm. The one income was hard, and I became a lot better at meal planning and not doing much else. Thankfully we don’t have car payments, that makes a huge difference. We also don’t have much debt, just what I’m paying off from a divorce years ago. I wont lie, it’s tough at times. There’s def times at the end of a paycheck where we run out of food or have to make ends meat with what we have left. However, staying home with my kids was always a priority to me. The biggest struggle was Covid this year, and being so lonely. No play dates or friends or family, so it’s been hard. Aside from that, the time bonding has been amazing. I do miss my career and I know I’ll probably go back one day, but for now I’m content.

Answer

Budgeting is the biggest thing. For now put all of your paychecks in a separate account and don't touch it. See how it works with just his income.
For me I needed to work, not for the money but for me  It makes me a better mom. I like my job and it makes me appreciate the time with my kids even more. Now with #1 it was super hard to go back but I knew I wanted to. With #2 I was ready. 
It takes a lot of patience to stay home with kids. After the shut down was lifted I decided to go back only 4 days a week and it was a good compromise for me. I get a long weekend with my babies but still get to work and feel like an adult. 
There's no right answer. Whatever works for your family is okay

Answer

I jumped from being sole provider to stay at home mom. Money was definitely an internal struggle but the thought of getting these years with my babies is a no brainer. 
I did start coaching through Beachbody to earn extra money to help with groceries and it has helped keep me in shape and meal plan in the process.

Answer

First, make sure your spouse agrees to this and can financially support the family with his income alone. 
Second, budget accordingly. Example; car payments, mortgage, misc bills (phone, insurances, cable, internet etc). We put money into our kids college funds each month too. That’s very important to us but optional for you guys. 
Third, take a look at your debt (both you and your husbands) and pay off debt before you stop working. Don’t use credit or set a credit spending budget. We have a credit card that gives cash back.

Answer

I transitioned from full time to owning my own business and working only part-time after my daughter was born. 
My parents watch her 2 days a week. So I’m very lucky.
To go from 2 incomes down is hard unless you have very little debt and are smart about budgeting and finances. So, I would say the first step is working with your spouse/partner to manage your budget and pay off debt. 
We use YNAB.

Transitioning to stay at home mom?

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