SAHM question..

Rhiannon

SAHM to Rhys
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for you SAHMs out there...how much would you say is possible to live on disposable income wise per month?

ive just realised how expensive childcare is and am considering not going back at all x
 
I find being a SAHM very restrictive when it comes to money. There are things that I just can not do that I was doing when I was working fulltime, like going out to eat once a week or shopping for myself or hubby.

Pretty much every month, hubby pays the utilities, house payment, and buys groceries. That leaves very little do do anything with. The rest is used for gas for the car and maybe going out to eat that month. I thank the LORD for WIC. If it weren't for that I don't know how we would manage buying formula and baby food for Bryson.

But, I would not change it for the world. I love staying home with my LO.
 
we're not flush but you learn to cope we've got enough for a decent lifestyle tbh prolly would have only slightly more if i worked once you took travel lunches and childcare off...like previous poster said tho thank god for Tax credits...also we're lucky as we rent our house we still get some housing benefit and council tax benefit that we wouldnt if i worked xx
 
im a stay at home mum and think it costs a fair bit. Hubby earns a good wage thank god, or we just wouldnt be able to do it, well we would but I would be sitting at home all day and not shopping ect!!
 
me and hubby live comfortably we have roughly £5-600 spare a month after bills, credit card payments and food etc.

we put £50 a week away for things like bread and milk etc then the rest we do what we like with.
 
I guess its all relative to your outgoings. OH only started working when LO was 5 weeks old. We managed on my low wage and a bit of WTC because we live in a council flat and have cheap rent, don't have a car to run and cut down all our bills. If OH hadn't started work we would have still been better off after LO arrived due to CTC and increased WTC whilst on mat leave.

One thing to consider.....don't make any decisions before the budget on 22 June!!!! We may all end up penniless!
 
I think it depends entirely on your cost of living for utilities & necessities and following that maintaining a level of comfort living you're happy with and that varies so much from family to family and one place to the next.

It's often suggested to sit down and work out the costs of you staying home vs. going to work, and it doesn't stop with just childcare. Consider the expense of owning and operating a 2nd vehicle with mileage, gas, wear and tear and maintenance, paying for lunches, coffee and anything else you'd spend money on every day that exceeds what you'd spend at home, the cost of work clothes & shoes etc.

Of course not all costs are financial. Consider whether you will be happy not getting out, working, having a career and the social aspect of interacting with adults in a working environment. Some people are fine and love being a SAHM, some hate the idea and others think they will like it and end up hating it and feeling housebound, trapped and stuck holding intelligent conversations with their babies about whether the houseplant needs repotting.

ETA: I love being a SAHM :cloud9:, was delighted to pack up all my work clothes into storage, and my plant totally needs repotting! We may even mak an outing of going to buy a nice new pot. :mrgreen:
 
I'm not really much help but m in the same situation, it all depends on how much DH pay rise will be, then i'll know if i have to go back to work part time or not, thats if they will have me back part time as i was full time before and don't think they would like me being part time..... we'll have to see what happens.

Hope you can make an easy decision :thumbup:
 
Disposable income- we have about £30 a week left over! Its tight, and we no longer go out/have takeaways etc. I do bits in the day that are free with Izzy, and have to be really thrifty! I think i am going to have to get some evening work when my OH gets back from work though, as we are moving and will need to decorate etc!
 
Depends on your outgoings but me and LO dont ask for much and we dont have a lot of huge outgoings so we're cool! Just shop wisey!
 
such a difficult decision to make! thanks all for your input though :) xxx
 
i manage to make £200 stretch the month, this is for food and stuff we need for LO. we dont have any money after ive been food shopping and bought nappies and formula etc.

its very tight but were ok :)
 
When you say 'disposable income' do you mean after all the bills, food, baby stuff etc is paid for? OH and I have just worked out our finances and I wrote a list of the things I like to buy but don't need, like clothes for me, coffee out, travel, birthdays and Christmas presents etc. We worked out that £150 a month should cover that, obviously not including splurges on clothes or TVs etc! I've only just stopped getting maternity allowance so I don't know how it will work out but £150 a month works in theory for me. The major expense was actually presents, I'm going to have to be careful to save each month to cover them.

ETA - I also do the food shopping, clothes for LO etc. Without cutting down on our lifestyle, £350 a month plus Child Benefit is more than adequate. I don't know about the other bills though, OH sorts that out.
 

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