Articlr

In today’s crazy world many moms are considering leaving the workforce to stay home with their children. We all make the decision for different reasons, but many of us get there the same way. We have to weigh our options against our lifestyle. Can we afford it, or does our lifestyle prevent us from affording it. Sometimes a decision like this can force us to re-align our priorities or sacrifice some of the comforts we have become accustomed to. But, before you get to deep, have you considered how much it cost you to actually go to work? What you find out could be stunning. Get out a piece of paper and prepare to do some math. You may be closer to staying home with your children than you think.

There are so many factors to look at, but I think of the following are the biggest. Day care expenses can be massive, costing some as much as $12,000 per kid. Add up your weekly total. Another thing to think about is your clothes. You don’t just spend money on the obvious, but how much do spend on shoes, pantyhose, nails, make-up, dry cleaning, etc.

Your food bill can add up fast. If you are like me, I was all about going to lunch every day. I needed the mental break and found that getting away from the office for a my mid day meal did the trick. That mid day break hit me in the pocket book hard. What is your lunch costing you each day? Also, with gourmet coffee shops on every corner it is easy to get sucked in for a nice cup of java. What about your late afternoon vending machine pick me up? Last but not least, how often do you pick up dinner on you way to the house, go to dinner to avoid having to cook anything when you get home. Now how much are you spending on food.

Gas is a huge weekly cost, what do you spend? With all the driving, you are just adding miles to your vehicle which causes the value of your car to decrease. This will increase the frequency of your oil changes and tire maintenance. What do you spend on vehicle insurance? Many times the more you drive, the more your insurance will cost. Some insurance companies give a discount for driving less, some will even provide policies based on the number of miles you drive each day.

What tax bracket are you in? You may pay more tax from your additional income because it forces you into a higher tax bracket. Additionally, you could be missing certain tax breaks from your single income household status.

You need to add all of those expenses up and subtract them from your income. Now how much are you making? Go a step further and divide the amount left over by the 2,080 work hours in a year. How much is your hourly rate? Is it worth your time to even go to work? This exercise can be eye opening, it certainly was for me! It provided me the catalyst I needed to leave the workforce.