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As some of you who follow my blog know my wife and I are looking at starting a family. One of the things that comes with that is my wife wanting to stay at home and raise that family. It's one of those things that was probably in the back of our minds. We knew she probably wouldn't want to work full time once we started having kids, but we didn't really think about it much because it seemed so far away. Now, that time has arrived, and we're not very prepared for it. More than likely she'll still have to work at least part-time until we can pay off a few more debts. So to those of you who are thinking about wanting to be stay at home mom's, I offer these tips.
1. Beware of the Student Loan - The average 4 year college graduate ends up with just over $19,000 in student loan debt. That averages out to over $200 a month for 10 years. If you marry a fellow graduate, that's over $400 a month in student loan debt. My wife and I did better than the average, but we still are feeling the pain. My wife got a 2 year degree and only took out $2,800 in loan money. I on the other hand, took 4 1/2 years, and took out over $17,000. The sad part is, I could have worked through college, but chose to sit around and play video games instead.
2. Don't Finance Your Wedding - The average wedding costs over $26,000. Can you believe that? I couldn't, but I found it on the internet so it must be true. I know that parents are supposed to help pay for the wedding, but that wasn't the case with me and my wife. I basically paid for the wedding myself. But not $26,000, I don't even think it was $2,600. And even at $2,600, if my wife and I could do it over again, we would've spent less. In my opinion it's not worth it. Save the money for the honeymoon.
3. Buy a House You can Afford...On One Income - A lot of people buy houses based on what they can afford right now, without thinking about the future. You can afford a much bigger house with two incomes and no kids, than you can with one income and two kids. This is another thing that we didn't really think about. Now we didn't go overboard with our house, but we looked at the payment of what we could afford with both our incomes, instead of just one income and that was probably a mistake.
4. Live on One Income - This goes back to tip #3. Once you are married, live on one income, even if your both working. If your husband is going to be the one working while you stay home with the kids, then live off what he brings home. Take and put the money you're making into a savings account, or use it to pay off debt. It's much easier to start off living on one income than trying to go from living high off two incomes, to living frugally off one.
5. Look for a Side Income - I know several mom's out there who manage to stay at home and raise their kids, and still contribute in the money department. They do this in a variety of ways. One of the best ways seems to be babysitting. While you may want to stay home and raise your kids, there's a lot of mom's who would rather work, or some who just can't afford to stay at home. Daycare is very expensive, so if you're willing to watch a few extra kids each day you can make a nice side income. Another creative way mom's have found is by blogging of all things. Whatever you found to make extra money, I know your husband will appreciate it.
I think we all recognize the importance and value of having mom stay home and raise the kids. I am going to try my best to make sure my wife is home to raise ours. Hopefully these tips will help.
These are just a few of my tips, I'm sure you have many more. Please share them in the comments section.
1. Beware of the Student Loan - The average 4 year college graduate ends up with just over $19,000 in student loan debt. That averages out to over $200 a month for 10 years. If you marry a fellow graduate, that's over $400 a month in student loan debt. My wife and I did better than the average, but we still are feeling the pain. My wife got a 2 year degree and only took out $2,800 in loan money. I on the other hand, took 4 1/2 years, and took out over $17,000. The sad part is, I could have worked through college, but chose to sit around and play video games instead.
2. Don't Finance Your Wedding - The average wedding costs over $26,000. Can you believe that? I couldn't, but I found it on the internet so it must be true. I know that parents are supposed to help pay for the wedding, but that wasn't the case with me and my wife. I basically paid for the wedding myself. But not $26,000, I don't even think it was $2,600. And even at $2,600, if my wife and I could do it over again, we would've spent less. In my opinion it's not worth it. Save the money for the honeymoon.
3. Buy a House You can Afford...On One Income - A lot of people buy houses based on what they can afford right now, without thinking about the future. You can afford a much bigger house with two incomes and no kids, than you can with one income and two kids. This is another thing that we didn't really think about. Now we didn't go overboard with our house, but we looked at the payment of what we could afford with both our incomes, instead of just one income and that was probably a mistake.
4. Live on One Income - This goes back to tip #3. Once you are married, live on one income, even if your both working. If your husband is going to be the one working while you stay home with the kids, then live off what he brings home. Take and put the money you're making into a savings account, or use it to pay off debt. It's much easier to start off living on one income than trying to go from living high off two incomes, to living frugally off one.
5. Look for a Side Income - I know several mom's out there who manage to stay at home and raise their kids, and still contribute in the money department. They do this in a variety of ways. One of the best ways seems to be babysitting. While you may want to stay home and raise your kids, there's a lot of mom's who would rather work, or some who just can't afford to stay at home. Daycare is very expensive, so if you're willing to watch a few extra kids each day you can make a nice side income. Another creative way mom's have found is by blogging of all things. Whatever you found to make extra money, I know your husband will appreciate it.
I think we all recognize the importance and value of having mom stay home and raise the kids. I am going to try my best to make sure my wife is home to raise ours. Hopefully these tips will help.
These are just a few of my tips, I'm sure you have many more. Please share them in the comments section.
1 comments:
These are great tips Travis. Thanks for sharing!
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