help!!

I am contimplating whether I can work part time when we have a baby rather than working a full time job--(I want to stay home full time eventually but it isn't realistic yet). I just have a few questions for those of you that have already made a change in cutting the budget. I'm sorry if this gets a little too personal :blush I just really need to know what is realistic. Just a background on us--my husband is about to become a police officer--about 42,000 dollars a year. We have a house-mortgage about 1050 a month and 2 vehicles but one is paid off. We are trying to get pregnant with our first baby. I just wanted to give you some of our expenses so that may help me to know if I am being unrealistic. Do you have much money left over at the end of the month? Does your husband make a pretty decent salary? Do you scrimp and save for every penny? Any advice or info you can give me would be much appreciated. Thank you very much!!

Truthfully it just depends on your priorities IMO.... Sometimes you do have to give things up, move to a cheaper place, get rid of a car or get a cheaper car, sometimes you have to buy cheaper foods and so on. Some will say you could do just fine with 42,000 a year (like me) others will say they couldn't do it. I think that if you did things right then you could easly live on that and still not feel like you are living pay check to paycheck.

The best advise I can give you is to start living off his paycheck now. That will let you know if you can do it.

Great advice, and I would put up the extra money up in savings I mean who doesn't need some extra cash!!!!

My sister's husband makes around the same (he's Air Force)...she has always been a SAHM and she's pregnant with #4!!! They don't have much leftover but they aren't destitute! They have enough to do fun stuff, let the kids do Little Gym, piano lessons, etc. They have two cars, one is paid off as well.

I think it also depends on if you have credit card debt and how much!

Thank you for the advice so far. I'm leaning more towards a part time job instead of staying home completely. I will stay home once my kids start going to school but I will probably work 20 hrs a week just to keep extra money coming in. That will mean we will bring home around 52000 a year. I just hope it's enough. I will definitely try living on one check until then!!

And another note--we don't have any credit card debt--or any debt at all for that matter. We always make sure to pay off everything fully. We are very much into the attitude of don't buy what you can't afford.

Keep the awesome advice coming. It is really helpful :upthumb

The best advise I can give you is to start living off his paycheck now. That will let you know if you can do it.

That is exactly what I was going to say!! It is highly recommended by so many counselors and such. You could open a savings account and put your paycheck in it right now, try to live off his, and make adjustments accordingly. That way when the baby gets here you are used to being frugal and making ends meet and you also have a good chunk of change in your savings in case you need it...or it will buy you a little extra time off if it doesn't totally do the trick (or help you go part time, etc). Good luck!

Great advice so far! I just wanted to say that my dh makes a little more than 1/2 what yours does & our apt. rent is a little more than 1/2 what your mortgage is and we have the same set up with 1 car loan & 1 car paid for & no debt. I've stayed home since she was born because it was extremely important to us. We have to make a lot of 'sacrifices' (well, to most they would be sacrifices, but if you've never had them to sacrifice... well, you kwim... ;)) but it's absolutely worth it for US. & It's really been quite necessary with all of Cassidy's health/medical/developmental issues. But I wouldn't trade any of it! Good luck! :)

My husband is also a police officer. He has been doing it for 7 years, so he makes a little mroe than your dh, but not a whole lot.
We have a mortgage, and 2 car pmts. One of them is rather high.
We get our bills paid, and live somewhat comfortably. We don't get to have *everything* we want, and we don't put a lot in savings, but we make it.

I have been staying home, basically, since we got pregnant with baby #1.
DH works a lot of off duty jobs to fill in the gaps. Your dh will be able to do that, too, once he is actually hired and trained, and cut loose.
He is gone at least 2 evenings a week, usually 3 or 4. That is hard, and he misses out on a lot of time with us, but it makes a lot more sense than me working 3 nights a week.
His average job pays $30 an hour, and most of them pay at least $25. :upthumb

I had fully intended to go back to work when Jacob was old enough to leave, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't leave him at 3 mos, tried again at 6 months, and when his 1st birthday rolled around we had a knock down drag out battle over it. I just could not leave him. Luckily, when he was 13mos, I got pregnant with Lucy! :lol
After many discussions, we are finally on the same page about me staying home. ;)

Something to take into consideration with YOU working, even part time:
will your 20hrs a week pay for childcare? gas? meals out? clothes? and still turn over a profit?

Good luck to you both! You are making a lot of changes in your lives right now!

we live comfortably off of a little more than half of that.

Thank you for the advice so far. I'm leaning more towards a part time job instead of staying home completely. I will stay home once my kids start going to school but I will probably work 20 hrs a week just to keep extra money coming in. That will mean we will bring home around 52000 a year. I just hope it's enough. I will definitely try living on one check until then!!

And another note--we don't have any credit card debt--or any debt at all for that matter. We always make sure to pay off everything fully. We are very much into the attitude of don't buy what you can't afford.

Keep the awesome advice coming. It is really helpful :upthumb

Don't forget about childcare though. Most of the time (guess depends on the p/t job though) it will end up being a wash after you pay for child care!
I think that you have to see if it works for you. Like a couple of the others said.....try it out to see if you can live on it. Everyone's situation is different, so give it a shot! Good Luck!

The bonus for us is that we won't have to pay for child care. We wouldn't be working the same shift and if we ever did I have a very understanding family. I have a mom that is DYING to become a grandma and I know she would help out when she could. So that is one less thing to worry about thank goodness!! :rolleyes

I think that once that baby comes you might decide to just not work... Some people are still eager others are not. I really think you could do fine off of the one income. If you ever decided to just be a full time sahm!

The bonus for us is that we won't have to pay for child care. We wouldn't be working the same shift and if we ever did I have a very understanding family. I have a mom that is DYING to become a grandma and I know she would help out when she could. So that is one less thing to worry about thank goodness!! :rolleyes

That is AWESOME! Wish I was as lucky as you to have family around!

The best advise I can give you is to start living off his paycheck now. That will let you know if you can do it.

ITA. That's what we did, plus with the savings you have that cushion should anything happen to dh's job, though I would think a police officer position would be pretty secure. Good luck.

If I had family around I'd like to work at least part-time. It's so hard to plan ahead on this area of your life. I alway thought I wanted to be a sahm. I ended up having to start out as a working mom and I ended up enjoying being a working mom - then I had to become a sahm and I missed being a working mom. It took a good year for me to transition. Then I enjoyed being a sahm and I'm now looking forward to be a part-time working mom when my kids go to elementary. I'm thankful though to have been with them the past few years, but I'm looking forward to working outside the house again.

You might look at your baby and say "no way - we will make it work no matter what, I'm not leaving him/her".

It's AWESOME that you have a great support system ready to support you whatever you decide though :thumb

hmmm see i dont have much advise cause we have always lived off my hubbys paycheck even when he didnt make as much as he does now!!! I too have a house payment but i dont have any car payments... Um all i can say is try it and see if you can do it for a couple months then you'll know!! We are very careful not to go and buy "crap" so we live pretty simple!! Thats the only fall back is you may have to cut back on extra wants!!Good luck!!:upthumb

My husband and I both work. Together we make a little bit less than what your husband makes - and it takes two of us! We have one car paid for, and small payments on the other car. We live in an apartment, but we are planning to buy a house within two years.

I would love to be a SAHM, but at the same time it is nice to "get away" from the kids for 6 or 7 hours a day. I wish I didn't HAVE to work and that it was more of a choice. We also do not use daycare. My husband and I work opposite shifts. Every once in awhile my husband picks up an extra shift for overtime and it overlaps with my shift, but we also have 2 grandmas close by that can babysit for us. That really helps out ALOT!