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  1. #1
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    I am 24 right now and have been married for almost a year. My husband and I want to wait another 4 years or so to have our first child but I am pretty sure I want to be a SAHM. My question is what steps should we be taking now so that we will be financially ready to be a one income family when we do have our child?

    Being 2 years out of undergrad I am not making a ton of money and my husband works full time and goes to college full time to get his undergraduate. I am currently studying for my GMAT to get my MBA. We have a house we bought a year ago and 2 cars. We have some credit card debt but are planning to pay that off this year and of course we both have student loans although nowhere near what the average person has.

    Do you think it will be possible for me to become a SAHM at 29. If it is not too personal (and I am sure it is) :blush: what is the average HH income for a one income family? I just want to get an idea of where we should be.

    Thanks


  2. #2
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    It's great that you are planning. The income depends on where you live. I left work when I found out I was pregnant. At the time, we were making less than 40K in southeast Alabama. But God had already set things in motion for me to be able to stay at home. My husband was getting a major promotion in the following 4 months, and in the following 6 months, I was getting an inheritence. We were also having our first home built and planning to move to another state in the following 9 months and we purchased a 3rd and bigger car within 7 months.

    What we did was pay off of our debt, credit cards, student loans, and anything that was lingering around on my credit report. I messed it UP in college. :blush: The only things we had to pay were the regular monthly bills and 1 car note, we owned the other car. We didn't have electric or rent to pay because we lived on the army post at the time.

    That was about 4 years ago, I'll be 32 next week. I'm still a SAHM, and I just gave birth in January to our 2nd child. God just set things up for us. Right now, my husband is making close to 100K, and we have moved back to SE Alabama, so we are in transition. We are paying a mortgage AND rent because we are waiting for our home to sell that we just purchased in late August.

    You see, you don't have to be rich to be a SAHM. Just have a plan. Besides getting ready financially, make sure you are ready emotionally. It's a TOTALLY different lifestyle than being married with no children and working. I mean TOTALLY! It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life, but it's also the HARDEST. You never clock out or get vacation time or get paid on this job. The rewards come from your children and husband, so make sure he agrees with your decision.

    I wish you the very best!
    BC March 31, 2003
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  3. #3
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    can the two of you live off of your husband's salary now, even if it takes some discipline and will power? if so, why not budget all your expenses off of his salary and allocate your income (or at least most of it) to a savings account?

    i don't know how much you earn, but let's suppose that you can commit to depositing $17K a year into a savings account. that means that in four years when you are ready to start a family, you'll have $68K in the bank to transition you from a 2-income to a 1-income family.

    and assuming that your husband will be earning more money in four years, you may discover that you won't have to touch any of those savings and will be able to invest it or create some financial security for your child.
    I felt so bad, but so deliciously satisfied. --gigglezk

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    You've already gotten some good advice.

    I have been a SAHM for just a month or so, as it wasn't something we had intended for at this time but was necessary because of other factors.

    Anyway, we had already been putting away most of my income and living off of DH's, as well as paying off lingering bills. We are not yet debt-free, but we have managed to reduce our debt load and have socked away some somewhat substantive savings, and started two IRAs.

    We have #2 on the way. This SAHM thing is totally new for me, and I'm not sure how long I plan on doing it. However, in just the short time it's been, it's amazing how the household stressload is reduced and my DH has already began making substantially more income (and become increasingly motivated). My being home has taken some burdens off of both of us, and that, frankly, is priceless.

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    can the two of you live off of your husband's salary now, even if it takes some discipline and will power? if so, why not budget all your expenses off of his salary and allocate your income (or at least most of it) to a savings account?

    i don't know how much you earn, but let's suppose that you can commit to depositing $17K a year into a savings account. that means that in four years when you are ready to start a family, you'll have $68K in the bank to transition you from a 2-income to a 1-income family.

    and assuming that your husband will be earning more money in four years, you may discover that you won't have to touch any of those savings and will be able to invest it or create some financial security for your child.
    [/b]
    Unfortunately there is no way we can afford to live off of just his income. I actually make more than he does and until he gets his bachelors degree my earning potential is lot higher than his. For being 24 I think we make pretty good money but there is no way we can save that much. Not living in Atlanta and especially living in the city. I actually feel like we are just at the point now where we can be comfortable and save more money and pay off debt faster.

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    can the two of you live off of your husband's salary now, even if it takes some discipline and will power? if so, why not budget all your expenses off of his salary and allocate your income (or at least most of it) to a savings account?

    [/b]
    Best Advice Ever!

    Even if you can't do this now, I would advise to begin doing it at least 1 year in advance of when you actually stop working.
    OMG!!! Somebody made me PANK! Thank you!!!!!

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    Unfortunately there is no way we can afford to live off of just his income. I actually make more than he does and until he gets his bachelors degree my earning potential is lot higher than his. For being 24 I think we make pretty good money but there is no way we can save that much. Not living in Atlanta and especially living in the city. I actually feel like we are just at the point now where we can be comfortable and save more money and pay off debt faster.
    [/b]
    I know what you mean, because I am a SAHM living in Atl (own a home in the city) and the cost of living here ican be quite steep. But You are already ahead of the game because you are thinking about it and PLANNING! I didn't plan to, although I was always open to it. When I found out I was pregnant with twins and I had a 15 month old at home, my husband and I knew that one of us would just be working to pay for daycare. 4 years later, I am still at home and loving it! There are lots of good books out there by women who were in your shoes, and they give great advice on how to make it happen. "Miserly Moms Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy" is only one. Keep doing what you're doing, you never know what you may be able to do in the next few years! But in the meantime: Save as much as you can and pay off the debt!
    "All of the children of Adam make mistakes, and the best of them are those who repent." - Muhammad (salalahu alaihi wa salam)
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    Ladies Thank you so much for the great advice. Loc'dnfaith, I am going to check out that book you recommended. I talked about with my husband again. He really wants us to be able to do this in a few years but I think talking about it upsets him because he feels like we may not be able to because he won't be making enough money. Meanwhile I am going to continue to prepare for grad school and working on my career just in case the SAHM thing doesnt work out.

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    Ladies Thank you so much for the great advice. Loc'dnfaith, I am going to check out that book you recommended. I talked about with my husband again. He really wants us to be able to do this in a few years but I think talking about it upsets him because he feels like we may not be able to because he won't be making enough money. Meanwhile I am going to continue to prepare for grad school and working on my career just in case the SAHM thing doesnt work out.
    [/b]
    Maybe you could be WAHM (Work at home mom), that could make things much easier for you and your family. More and more employers are considering the benefits of offering their employees the option of telecommuting (This may not work for all fields of employment). That's what I am doing more of these days anyway because my family could use the extra income at this time. For me, working outside of the home is not an option since I also homeschool. I have worked outside of the home and been at home with my children. Staying home works much better for my family providing much more flexibility and, as werds mentioned in her post, I too noticed quite a bit of the burden and stress was eleviated from our lives when I came home. I Hope that things will work out for you and your husband as you make staying home with your children a goal.
    "All of the children of Adam make mistakes, and the best of them are those who repent." - Muhammad (salalahu alaihi wa salam)
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    I am a SAHM of 4 with one on the way in Santa Barbara, Ca (one of the most expensive places in the country to live). It is great that you are thinking ahead, and you've already gotten great advice. Really, what it takes is making a budget and sticking to it. It's really just as simple as that. We're on a budget and very disciplined about it, and that is the only way it could work for us (or for my other similarly situated friends here in SB).

    FYI--Buying a house is a key to doing this successfully, because it keeps your housing bill constant over the years (if you don't go for the crazy interest only/ super low interest loans that are popular these days...and will likely come back to bite you later).
    Now a mom of five!

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