Stay at home mums!

[nicole_]

id really like to for aslong as possible with aidy but OH doesnt think its doable really
so was just curious what the general income is of those who are SAHMs(hence poll so you dont have to put your income)and how you find it financially, especially those with a joint income of under 18k including CB and TC etc.

and also what made you chose to be a SAHM and if you enjoy it?

 

[KayBea]

I get roughly £900 a month to take home, childcare would cost £1320 a month.. So im going to stay at home and maybe get a few evening shifts somewhere! X

 

[freckleonear]

I've been a SAHM for 4 years and our income has always been under 15k. It's absolutely possible, it just depends what sacrifices you are prepared to make I suppose. I always knew that I would be a SAHM if I had children because it's something that I consider really important. I do enjoy it and it only gets better after the first year when they start being more mobile and learning to do more.

 

[bubbles]

We are getting just under £20k per year (DH wage and CTC) We do find it tough at times but thats the choice we made. When I was pregnant with DS I considered the childcare route but it never felt right to me and financially didn't make any sense. I just ended up asking myself time and time again "why pay someone to look after a child I decided to have and that I could raise better than any nursery?" I also went on my own childhood experiences and I HATED going to a childminder.
I adore being a SAHM (soon to be WAHM when my business gets going) and being there for all the milestones. We have a great time playing all day, laughing and I love teaching my son new things

 

[charli87]

I've been a SAHM for 4 years and our income has always been under 15k. It's absolutely possible, it just depends what sacrifices you are prepared to make I suppose. I always knew that I would be a SAHM if I had children because it's something that I consider really important. I do enjoy it and it only gets better after the first year when they start being more mobile and learning to do more.

can i ask how you do this? as oh gets 14k a year and im currently on stat mat and we are struggling beyond belief. we dont have a car, or a mortgage just housing association, we get no housing benefit, just the basic ctc and cb. we dont go out, we dont buy expensive food and yet we only just scrape by every month. im really interested in how you do it feel free to pm if you dont want to post it all in here

 

[hpjagged]

I'm very very fortunate enough that I haven't worked for a couple years as DH is in the military and have a very good pay income. I love being a SAHM! I love doing things in and around the house. Being with my daughter, we always knew that she wasn't going to go in to daycare from an early start. And my DH loves to take care of us.

 

[freckleonear]

I've been a SAHM for 4 years and our income has always been under 15k. It's absolutely possible, it just depends what sacrifices you are prepared to make I suppose. I always knew that I would be a SAHM if I had children because it's something that I consider really important. I do enjoy it and it only gets better after the first year when they start being more mobile and learning to do more.

can i ask how you do this? as oh gets 14k a year and im currently on stat mat and we are struggling beyond belief. we dont have a car, or a mortgage just housing association, we get no housing benefit, just the basic ctc and cb. we dont go out, we dont buy expensive food and yet we only just scrape by every month. im really interested in how you do it feel free to pm if you dont want to post it all in here

525 rent + 60 water + 40 telephone/internet + 60 gas + 30 electric + 20 insurance = £735 bills per month which is 8.8k per year. Child tax credit pays for our food (I cook from scratch) and we usually have a bit of money left over for anything else. No car, no TV, no expensive hobbies, no debt. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything.

 

[Mum2Alfie]

We are on a low income, I work on a saturday only to make up the money. I watched my sister muck her daughters life up by being a full time worker and have always refused to work full time! i decided to have my babies, i want to bring them up and be there for them at every oportunity! I dont ever want to hear someone else tell me my son took his first step and I wasnt there! Why would I have a baby for someone else to bring them up? Sorry feel very strongly about it!

We have money to splash out on things and enjoy life. We dont have a mortgage, we do have a car, we have a small amount of debt, but have them all under control. It is very doable, however if you are struggling you need to look at what you are spending your money on. We cook from scratch, but still get a takeaway once a week. Break everything down that you are paying for and see where its going. Dont forget things like cigerettes and booze cause you will be surprised as to how much money you spend.

 

[charli87]

freckleonear, do you mind me asking how much tax credits you get?

 

[nicole_]

I've been a SAHM for 4 years and our income has always been under 15k. It's absolutely possible, it just depends what sacrifices you are prepared to make I suppose. I always knew that I would be a SAHM if I had children because it's something that I consider really important. I do enjoy it and it only gets better after the first year when they start being more mobile and learning to do more.

can i ask how you do this? as oh gets 14k a year and im currently on stat mat and we are struggling beyond belief. we dont have a car, or a mortgage just housing association, we get no housing benefit, just the basic ctc and cb. we dont go out, we dont buy expensive food and yet we only just scrape by every month. im really interested in how you do it feel free to pm if you dont want to post it all in here

were really comfy atm on OHs wage of 13k and my MA, i cant imagine struggling with this
our rent and bills are £800 we have sky with most packages, internet etc aswell, we have a car, our food shoppings sometimes £80 a week and we eat out/takeaway a lot and still have money left over for bits!

im just worried when the MA goes if we can still afford all this! lol

 

[you&me]

I am very lucky in that my hubby has a good job...so I can stay at home with my babies...and by the time number 3 comes along, anything I did earn would be spent on childcare...they are my children and I want to look after them.

We have 20+ a year including WTC/CTC/CB and child maintenance for my first child...so by the time our bills are paid we still have money left to allow us take away once a week, or say a day out at the seaside...I also have a car which is a neccesity as my daughter's school is in the next town...I have money on my catalogue but that is it debt wise, we have no loans or anything.

 

[charli87]

I've been a SAHM for 4 years and our income has always been under 15k. It's absolutely possible, it just depends what sacrifices you are prepared to make I suppose. I always knew that I would be a SAHM if I had children because it's something that I consider really important. I do enjoy it and it only gets better after the first year when they start being more mobile and learning to do more.

can i ask how you do this? as oh gets 14k a year and im currently on stat mat and we are struggling beyond belief. we dont have a car, or a mortgage just housing association, we get no housing benefit, just the basic ctc and cb. we dont go out, we dont buy expensive food and yet we only just scrape by every month. im really interested in how you do it feel free to pm if you dont want to post it all in here

were really comfy atm on OHs wage of 13k and my MA, i cant imagine struggling with this
our rent and bills are £800 we have sky with most packages, internet etc aswell, we have a car, our food shoppings sometimes £80 a week and we eat out/takeaway a lot and still have money left over for bits!

im just worried when the MA goes if we can still afford all this! lol

is MA different to SMP? because i have no idea how you manage all that such a small amount of money.
our rent is 450, council tax 110, both have mobiles so thats 75 together, 35 for sky and internet, 12 tv liscience, 50 water, 55 gas and electric, my oh pays 100 for his plumbing course, i pay 100 on my credit card (will only be 25 when smp stops), costs 60 for oh to get to work on the bus per month.
i dont think ive missed anything

we only spend around 40 per week on food, chloe has around 1 1/2 tubs of milk so thats another 10 per week. we might have 1 takeaway in the month but thats about it, i dont get where we're going wrong

 

[shortie1990]

My OHs salary is just over 25k, last year his gross income was 35k (plenty of over time/on call etc)

And we always seem to be skint well bills are always paid, OH has debts which he's paying about 200per month etc, then theres the car, two mobile phones, Internet, tv etc, but we spend so much that we don't need to spend, which NEEDS to stop!!

 

[3011busyyear]

gosh we must be doing things wrong too, OH earns about £35k a year but we are thinking i need to go back full time part of the reason is that we want to start ttc so i would then get the full maternity package (6months full pay) again within the year then i would not plan to go back.
however part of it is financial.
rent £695
car costs £250
gas and elec £100
council tax £120
laser eye repayments £102 until march 2012
tv/broadband/phone £60
mobiles £51
food up to £150
formula £40 approx
various little costs that add up, tv license, contents insurance, water, gym membership-cheaper than taking LO to local pool. plus we both have credit cards, currently paying £200 a month but that will reduce to minimum payments when i go on smp.

i did mention to OH about selling my car but he works away a lot and my family are about an hour away so it is useful, but £250 a month suppose we'd still have to pay of the loan on it anyway so may as well keep it until that's paid off.
the extra 9 months or so of full salary would allow us to finish paying my laser eyes off, pay off most or all of my credit cards, and save a few pennies for when number 2 hopefully comes along!

 

[3011busyyear]

another point that was important to us was that OH has unfortunately been made redundant twice in the last few years so it's always useful for both people to have some kind of earnings to at least pay the bills whilst the other person finds a new job. obviously this doesn't need to be full time but just another issue we thought about in terms of giving up work completely.

also i contribute to a pension through work so if i can keep working even part time that would help long term.

 

[vaniilla]

my oh earns just over 30k atm but he'll be earning closer to 50k+ in a couple of months as he's just started a new job so is still in the trainee phase, I'm a SAHM and hope to have another baby soon, I'll then start a law degree and hopefully train to be a barrister, I'm a SAHM for many reasons, all the jobs available to me atm I wouldn't want to do and whatever I earn wouldn't be substantial enough for me to need to work and I don't want to miss out on lo's first year. by the time I start work lo will have started school

just to add we're also struggling atm with making the money last

 

[Breezy]

Love it. Our joint income is about 41000 a yr.

 

[CharlieKeys]

OHs income is about 19,500 (due a pay rise soon!! YAY) a year, and then I get CB and CTC, it would cost more for me to work and put him in childcare then it would to stay at home and look after him and with a second on the way, both in childcare would be stupid! Plus I LOVE staying at home with him

Instead, I'm doing my OU degree and then when they start school I'll do my teacher training.

oh I forgot to add, we live where we live rent and bill free! Perks of his job!

 

[Honey27]

Our joint income is £65k a year but always seem to run out of money. My OH has lots of uni debts so that along with everyday bills, takes a huge chunk out of it.

 

[SmileyShazza]

We are lucky as OH gets a very good wage which covers our mortgage, bills etc.

I was made redundant 4 weeks after starting my maternity leave so I got a redundancy payout which I have put away. I also had been putting money away each month in savings since we started ttc in May 2009 so I have quite a lot put away from then. I'm not touching any of it unless I absolutely have to but its there if we need it.