Are You Working to Pay for Child Care?

by Miriam Caldwell | More from this Blogger

03 Oct 2007 08:52 PM

Are you working primarily just to pay childcare? Would you better be able to help your family financially by staying home? These are important questions to ask yourself periodically. I understand that not everyone wants to be a stay-at-home parent. That decision often goes much deeper than your finances. However, it is important to realize that your job may be costing you more than you realize. If you do want to stay home, here are some things to consider.

1) Subtract the amount of your childcare costs from your take home pay, and ask yourself if that amount of money is worth the stress of working. For some families it is very worth it. If you have an excellent job with great pay, you will still be bringing home a lot of additional money. If you are working for about twenty thousand dollars a year, you may be better off to stay home or to find a job that you can work opposite hours of your spouse. If you have a large family, then you may not be able to afford to continue working.

2) You may also want to consider other ways that your job costs you money. If you stayed home you could cut back on your transportation costs. You may eat out less. You may be able to clean your house more effectively and have more time with your children. You could have the time to make cuts in your grocery budget and other categories.

3) You may consider telecommuting or opening your own business so that you can work at home. While this may sound ideal, you will still be making sacrifices when it comes to the time that you spend with your children. You may still need childcare for a short amount of time each day.

4) If you decide to quit your job or change your working situation, you need to take into account the cost of health care for your family. Additionally you should adjust your withholdings on your taxes to reflect your new income.

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Learn more about Miriam Caldwell

Miriam is a SAHM mom of three children. She has a daughter who is seven, and two sons, four and two. She loves being a parent and spending time with her children.

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