When T-Rex was born, there was no question as to whether I would return to work. I simply could not afford to stay home. When you have no other options, it’s easier to make tough decisions.
Two years and one child later, I still can’t afford to stay home… but I almost can. When I take a bare bones, beans and rice, hang the clothes on the clothesline look at our finances, we are almost there.
When I hear women say they would love to stay home if they could afford it, I wonder if they really can’t afford it or they can’t afford to make the sacrifices. What if we were meeting 100% of our financial goals when T-Rex was born? Would I have chosen to stay home? It’s easy to speculate that I would have, but without that option, who’s to say? There’s a lot more than money involved in a career, and I happen to have the job I’ve always wanted.
I’ll admit to spending a lot of time during the day obsessing over whether I should be at home with my kids. I thought going back to work after Little Man was born wouldn’t be much harder than it already was to leave T-Rex everyday. I was wrong. It’s definitely harder.
On the other hand, I’m proud to work outside the home. Balancing a family life with a professional life gives me a great sense of accomplishment. My mom gave me very big shoes to fill and every day I’m surprised at just how well I’m doing.
My goal at this point isn’t to find a way to stay home. It’s to know what I want. I can’t truly know what I want until all options are open to me and I make that decision for myself.
Starting this month, my husband and I are living as though I’m not earning a salary. To accomplish this we have two working budgets. One that includes my salary and work related expenses – such as childcare – and one that only lists my husband’s income with the appropriate work related expenses removed.
It will be very interesting for me to see where we stand financially each month on just one income. I hope you’ll join me on this journey.
[...] Deciding Whether to Stay at Home Categories [...]