Posted on 07/22/2008 12:49:27 PM PDT by Sopater
What many couples discover is that, with two workers, the added expenses for commuting, eating out, laundry, etc, cancel out the second salary. In which case it makes sense for one to stay home and handle housework full time, while the other puts in some overtime to make up for the reduced income (in exchange for not having to do housework)
I’m assuming it wasn’t the economy that “drove” you to your decision.
Yeah, you have a lot of things to do, but would they ever get done? ;)
My female friend was telling me how she’ll have to cut down on her daily shopping trips now. Awwww!
I’m sure her hubby is doing the happy dance.
Spot on, PapaBear! The cost of daycare alone is enough reason for most women with young children to stay home with them.
Plus nowadays, women are probably more willing to stay at home and take care of children rather than being part of the feminist movement.
Yep. Not to mention the toll two incomes can take on families. When my wife and I were both working and as yet childless, it really felt almost like we were two roommates. We were both dead tired at the end of the day, and weekends were insanely busy trying to cram in everything we couldn’t do during the week.
Though the extra income was nice, once we realized we could tighten the belt a little and live off one income, our house turned back into a home again. For us it was totally worth it.
A good chunk of this is probably women who’ve been planning to spend a few years out of the employment scene to have a couple of children and stay home with them at least until they start preschool. Makes sense to make money while the economy’s strong and well-paying jobs are plentiful, and then use the economic downturn period for the babies. It’s an efficient flex in the economic system.
My wife and I are moving to the beach in La Jolla for one year while she takes a teaching job, this weekend she asked if I would postpone looking for work until mid-Sept to get her and the kids comfortable in their routine. I love my wife, so I told her I was willing to make that sacrifice.
The article actually says women are leaving the workforce, but not to be stay at home moms.
(I’m a stay at home mom, and quit the workforce to be one.)
That was not the case when I was working. It does if you have kids, but not when there are only 2 people. There’s not much housework if you are both working, and there’s plenty of money for food and such.
Grant it, my husband and I were both engineers and got paid quite a bit of money.
When the kids came, I didn’t want to work and it didn’t make as much financial sense. No matter what, we would have been better off financially if I would have stayed in the workforce. I would be easily pulling over $100K by this time, and that would easily pay for a full time nanny. We just didn’t want a non-parent taking care of our kids.
I loved it when my hubby and I worked. We both were software engineers for the same company, so we would go out to lunch and take breaks almost every day together. We didn’t drive in together because we often had different work schedules.
My hubby is a workaholic, so he likes to work late. When we worked together, we’d just grab a bite to eat by work. I’d go off and do my thing, and he’d go back to work.
Once I started staying at home when we had kids, I missed my husband. I still don’t see him much. Maybe someday we’ll be able to work together again.
Lost my job in January after 17 years. Not alot of decent jobs out there. Low pay, no benefits. Being older probably doesnt help. So instead, this unemployed housewife spends her day
1.) looking for a decent job
2.) fishing
3.) cleaning
4.) laundry
5.) having dinner ready when my hubby gets home
6.) spending time on Freerepublic
wish I could have done this when my kids were young
I’ve showed co-workers that the average woman here is making $100 a week, that is after child care, gasolene, and other expenses!! Most would be better off working part-time while the husband was at home on weekends.
Well they say they need the money but all the extra expenses mean they really aren’t making that much in the scheme of things.
I can sit down and show them but they still disagree. I forgot to add eating out EVERY SINGLE DAY to that list also. Also letting strangers raise their kids!
Hey my little Chickadee, take a break, you have earned it, get a big glass of your favorite beverage kick back, and relax, this recession won’t last for ever, and someone with your years of experience is always in demand. Just take a few minutes to relax, don’t worry, and enjoy your time off and hubby. Life is too short to spend it worrying about things that probably won’t happen.
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