Can You Afford to Be a Stay At Home Mom?

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Can you afford to be as stay at home mom? That’s a loaded question that I’m going to help you figure out. If you desire to be a stay at home mom, then let’s decide if you can!

I’m going to help you understand just how much a stay at home mom is worth, as well as all the things a stay a home mom does, and how to afford being a stay a home mom.

Being A Stay At Home Mom Is Hard!

I’ll caution you right now, being a stay at home mom is hard. It’s not something you step into lightly. You have to commit, and dive in, head first, if you really want to rock being a stay at home mom.

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I will tell you, it’s possible to be amazing at it, and it’s also possible, even on the tightest budgets, to afford being a stay at home mom. Let me ask you, do you think you can afford to be a stay at home mom? Ok then, let’s find out, but first, let’s discuss what a stay at home mom does all day long.

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What Does A Stay At Home Mom Do All Day?

I get asked this a lot. What does a stay at home mom really do all day? That’s like asking water if it’s really wet. What do we do all day? Well, let me tell you!

A stay at home mom does all sorts of things from laundry, cleaning, shuffling kids to activities, cooking, preparing lunches, getting kids to school and back, entertaining kids, changing diapers, wiping booger (ewwww), running a household, being a helper to their spouse, helping with homework, preparing snacks, attending all necessary school functions for their kids, and so much more.

Stay at home moms are housekeepers, chauffeurs, chefs, bakers, day care teachers, laundry operators, tutors, mental health specialists, counselors, and a household CEO all in one. That’s what we do.

What Is A Stay At Home Mom Worth?

According to mom.salary.com, a stay at a home mom juggles about 96.5 hours of work a week – that’s 50 hours of overtime and she should be paid close to $162,581 for all the different things she does in a week.

I would love to be paid for being a stay at a home mom! Seriously, being a stay at home mom is hard and it’s a ton of work, but being with my kids all day is totally worth it!

This Job Is Hard!

The job is hard! Nothing about it is easy! I keep reinforcing this idea because before you jump into the role, you need to know that just how hard it really is.

Talk about the never-ending to do list. Rarely do you get all tasks done in a day. It’s rewarding and amazing, but not highly valued. Again, it’s so hard! But so worth it! The worst part of the job, there is no paycheck at the end of the month for all the work you have done. But, the time with your kids is priceless!

When you are trying to decide if you can afford to be a stay at home mom, you have to remember this one very important thing. The job is amazing, but you don’t get paid. I, along with all other stay at home moms, sure wish there was a paycheck at the end of the month.

Mom, You Are Amazing!

Let me stop right now, and give a quick shout out to all the stay at home moms out there – you are amazing momma! Way to go! And in case no one has told you this lately, YOU ARE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB! I know the job is hard, but I’m so proud of you!

Because there is no paycheck for all the hard work you will do, you need to make sure that financially you can afford to stay at home. Plus, I’ll share some tips on ways you can actually earn an income from home too!

Can You Afford To Be A Stay At Home Mom?

Can you afford to be a stay at home mom? Let’s talk about how you can figure this out. If you are currently a two-income household, then you need to figure out if you can live on just one income. A lot of times, you might be surprised that you really can live on one income.

Take a quick moment to look at your budget and finances. If your income was taken away, can you afford to live on your spouse’s income? Remember, there will no longer be childcare expenses, if you stay at home. Which is a huge plus, because for a lot of families, that is the biggest expense they have.

Tighten Up Your Budget

Most likely, you will need to tighten up your budget, cut the extras that you don’t really need like cable, gym membership, visits to the salon, extra meals out, etc.

All of these things are great, but if it were a choice between spending time with your kids and all those extras – which would you prefer?

If you chose your kids, then we are on the same page and it would make perfect sense why you are contemplating how you can become a stay at home mom.

I’m right there with you! I love spending time with my kids and am so thankful that I was able to stay at home with them when they were little. The time flew by fast. I’m 13 years down the road with all 3 of my kids in school full-time and I miss them! But, I’m also very grateful that I got to spend those first years with them.

Tighten up your budget if you want to be a stay at home mom living on one income. Share on X

How You Can Save Your Family Money At Home

I challenge you to take a good hard look at your finances – if you stay at home, you can take care of your kids and no longer have childcare expenses. You can also be the kid taxi and no longer pay for the bus service (yes, where I live, the bus is not free to take my kids to public school 2 miles away).

Unexpected Things You No Longer Need To Pay For

No More School Lunches

You will no longer have to pay for school lunches because you can make them yourself. Yes, I know school lunch is pretty cheap, but over time, it can really add up and I know you can make lunch cheaper yourself than paying for it every day.

No More Takeout

You will no longer be rushed and tired from a long day at work and be tempted to get takeout as often. Just think of the money you can save by cooking your own meals?! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t love to eat at home all the time, but if you really want to stay at home, this is one area where you can save your family a ton of money!

Get An Instant Pot

I do understand that being home all day with your kids is a super tiring job. At the end of the day you may not want to cook a meal, but again, you can save your family money by cooking from home. When you are wondering how you can afford to be a stay at home mom, cooking at home is one way to help make this happen.

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Get an Instant Pot!

My Instant Pot is amazing! I can’t say enough about how much I love my Instant Pot! It helps me eat healthier, it frees up my time in the kitchen that I would normally spend “cooking” to do other things, like folding laundry or clipping coupons.

Get an Instant Pot! It will save you time, money, and your sanity! Share on X

Everything is cooked in one pot and it’s super fast! I just love my Instant Pot and love how it helps me get dinner on the table faster and stress free!

Yes! I Need An Instant Pot!

Yoga Pants and Leggings!

When we you are no longer working, you won’t need to buy such expensive clothes. Welcome to the world of leggings and yoga pants! Being a stay at home mom, I can wear them every day if I want! And, I can still look cute in them!

Plus, they are much cheaper than fancy work clothes! Love me or hate me – in my book, leggings are a huge plus to being a stay at home mom.

You will also have more time to find clothing for your family at a serious discount. Time is a commodity when you are a working parent – so taking the time to shop around and find deals may not be possible.

Instead of being pressed for time and needing to buy clothes at full price because, now you can shop around. There are all sorts of ways to find clothing at serious discount from garage sales, to online marketplaces like VarageSale.

Start Using Coupons

You will finally have time for coupons! Woot! Woot! Now that you have time to use coupons, you can start saving your family a lot of money on your groceries! You will have time to go inside the grocery store and will no longer need to use grocery delivery or pick up services. By going inside the store, you will save even more money – I promise!

Wondering why you should never use grocery delivery or pick up services?

Coupons will become your best friend and are another great way to make sure you can afford to be stay at home mom.

To get started with coupons – read this post, Where You Can Find Free Coupons.

Hard Decisions

Deciding if you can afford to be a stay at home mom is a hard decision. Trust me, I know. I’ve been there. 15 years ago, I was running my own business that I started with my husband building websites – from home – before we had kids.

I kept working from home for a few years after having kids, but quickly realized that time was slipping through my fingers. My job was asking too much of me, and taking away too much time from my kids.

After a lot of thinking, praying, planning, and discussing with my husband, we came to the decision that we could financially afford for me to stay at home. But, it was going to take a lot of extra work on my end. I would need to become the best home economist I could by combing through our budget and cutting costs anywhere I could.

Coupons were about to become my best friend! As well as meal planning, find free activities for our family to do. I also needed to start cooking more at home, shop at thrift stores and garage sales, do regular panty clean outs, and make YouTube my best friend when a repair was needed in the house. All these things add up and will save you money!

I have been a stay at home mom for 13 years and I don’t regret it one bit. There are days when I miss the income that we might have had, if I had been working. But I don’t regret the time I got to spend with all 3 of my kids before they started school.

You Will Lose Money

Being a stay at home mom is a hard choice. You will lose out on money. Sacrifice With A Smile will become your mantra. You may not have the luxury of going on all the vacations and doing all the fun things your friends do that live in a two income household.

If you work at it, there are all sorts of free and fun things you can do with your family that don’t cost tons of money. After all, you can’t put a price on time. Time with my kids is well worth not having the extra income.

In fact, read this post, Free Fun Ideas For Kids, to find out more than 50 free ways to have fun with your kids!

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Being At Home Is Not All Rainbows & Sunshine

I say all of this like it’s easy, full of rainbows and sunshine. Being at stay at home mom very far from that – but it’s very good at the same time. The sacrifice doesn’t seem that big when I know it means more time with my kids.

Take Time To Think About It

Take some time to talk with your spouse. Talk about the hard questions. Be realistic and honest about how you feel. Can you afford to be a stay at home mom? I sure pray that you can!

If your answer is yes, then you must also read this post – 25 Ways Stay At Home Moms Can Save Money Today

Hugs Mommma! Want me to pray with you about your decision? I’m happy to do so! Jump on over to my prayer page and let me know how I can be praying for you and your family.