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I am not talking about Minimum Wage Jobs, but if a spouse wants to stay at home and raise the kids, there should be no problem. You just downsize your housing (rent or mortgage), downsize your vehicle, entertainment, vacations. Many say it takes two incomes to get by today, BS, it only takes two incomes if you want to have the three bedroom, two bath, two car garage home in the subs, a boat or jet skis, along with the big Toyota SUV, 46 in Flat Screen TV with 3,500 channels, surround sound, high speed internet connection ($135 month or more), I phone, oh, and the daily Latte Frappe at Starbucks at $5.00 a pop.
Get it?
Umm... Random? But yes, I agree. I worked with a guy who had four kids, and the wife stayed home. He owned a home, and rented out his old condo. They did fine. Weren't getting rich, but they were getting by. Interestingly, he moved to this country with nothing and worked as a janitor for nearly half a decade. After that, he got a job, learned the ends and outs, and was on his way. Success is possible in this country if you know where to look, and how to work.
People should not be in 2 income families to maintain a lifestyle, bit I favor mainly periods of 2 incomes for all families due to a high divorce rate. Going back after being a longtime SAHM means McJob's for life , at best, for 9 of 10 in that boat.
Now I'm not talking SAHM's for a year or two, or those who worked professionally , even part time, most of the time, but for the long-term SAHM, its a tremendous risk today.
I am not talking about Minimum Wage Jobs, but if a spouse wants to stay at home and raise the kids, there should be no problem. You just downsize your housing (rent or mortgage), downsize your vehicle, entertainment, vacations. Many say it takes two incomes to get by today, BS, it only takes two incomes if you want to have the three bedroom, two bath, two car garage home in the subs, a boat or jet skis, along with the big Toyota SUV, 46 in Flat Screen TV with 3,500 channels, surround sound, high speed internet connection ($135 month or more), I phone, oh, and the daily Latte Frappe at Starbucks at $5.00 a pop.
Get it?
Agreed. People could really make due with far less.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobtn
People should not be in 2 income families to maintain a lifestyle, bit I favor mainly periods of 2 incomes for all families due to a high divorce rate. Going back after being a longtime SAHM means McJob's for life , at best, for 9 of 10 in that boat.
Now I'm not talking SAHM's for a year or two, or those who worked professionally , even part time, most of the time, but for the long-term SAHM, its a tremendous risk today.
Not only that, but dads can lose their jobs as well as many found out during the recession. It's risky IRT divorce, job loss, illness, etc.
We're opting for two incomes as neither want to give up career paths and the schools I'm interested in for any future kids are so expensive (as well as college), but that's typical for MA. Our plan is one income to live on and one income to bank.
Agreed. People could really make due with far less.
Not only that, but dads can lose their jobs as well as many found out during the recession. It's risky IRT divorce, job loss, illness, etc. .
Good point; I have a divorced sibling who was a SAHM. When he lost his job in the state they grew up in, they had to move, and she wrongly blamed him. The reality was, had she gone back to her career years earlier, the move would have been a matter of choice, if they wished to relo, but not a bitterly contested one. IMO, that was the last straw leading to divorce and horrific economic situations for the kids.
We're opting for two incomes as neither want to give up career paths and the schools I'm interested in for any future kids are so expensive (as well as college), but that's typical for MA.
Better yet, drill in the value of hard work and working with their hands and send them out in to the world at 18. At 22 or so, if they don't like it, THEN send them to college
My dad always jokes that he lucked out with me... Got to keep the college fund to himself
Good point; I have a divorced sibling who was a SAHM. When he lost his job in the state they grew up in, they had to move, and she wrongly blamed him. The reality was, had she gone back to her career years earlier, the move would have been a matter of choice, if they wished to relo, but not a bitterly contested one. IMO, that was the last straw leading to divorce and horrific economic situations for the kids.
Yea, especially with this recent, horrific recession. It's just not intuitive to give up a good career. It's scary out there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by andywire
Better yet, drill in the value of hard work and working with their hands and send them out in to the world at 18. At 22 or so, if they don't like it, THEN send them to college
My dad always jokes that he lucked out with me... Got to keep the college fund to himself
Same goes with me, no college fund either. Hard work will definitely be valued. I got this wonderful idea from a woman on another board that intends to pay her children to volunteer at a charity of their choice. I had my first job at 13-14 and honestly, I got in trouble. It was fast food. Same with my husband, just trouble lol. Beyond that, there's just no way to predict how things are going to be two decades from now. But just considering the here and now, private pre-schools and k-8 are an arm and a leg. It always amazes me how people manage in my neck of the woods.
We often hear the lament how it can never be again like it was in the 1950's when mom stayed at home and the family did just fine.
In 1950 the average size of a new home in the United States was 948 sq. ft. with three small bedrooms, one bathroom, small living room (no family room) and a one car garage for a reason... most families had but one car.
If mom needed the car she took dad to work and picked him up at the end of the day.
Phones were usually shared party lines and you never called long distance.
Television got two or three channels and they all went off after the 11:00 PM news. In South Dakota it went off after the 10:00 PM news.
We never, and I mean never, went out to eat at a restaurant. Well, maybe not never but not more than half a dozen times over 10 years.
Vacations were camping at a state campground 100 miles away in a tent.
Christmas bought new socks, two new shirts, a new pair of jeans and maybe one toy like an erector set or a bicycle if it was a grand Christmas.
In a lot of ways it was better without the internet and computers. We didn't have porn and smut piped into our homes and the kids had to actually learn math and how to use a slide rule.
We call this the great age of information but I think it is little more than the age of BS. While the breadth of knowledge is five miles across all to often it's one inch deep.
Hate to tell you this but I don't think we have made a lot of progress over the past 40 years.
We often hear the lament how it can never be again like it was in the 1950's when mom stayed at home and the family did just fine.
In 1950 the average size of a new home in the United States was 948 sq. ft. with three small bedrooms, one bathroom, small living room (no family room) and a one car garage for a reason... most families had but one car.
If mom needed the car she took dad to work and picked him up at the end of the day.
Phones were usually shared party lines and you never called long distance.
Television got two or three channels and they all went off after the 11:00 PM news. In South Dakota it went off after the 10:00 PM news.
We never, and I mean never, went out to eat at a restaurant. Well, maybe not never but not more than half a dozen times over 10 years.
Vacations were camping at a state campground 100 miles away in a tent.
Christmas bought new socks, two new shirts, a new pair of jeans and maybe one toy like an erector set or a bicycle if it was a grand Christmas.
In a lot of ways it was better without the internet and computers. We didn't have porn and smut piped into our homes and the kids had to actually learn math and how to use a slide rule.
We call this the great age of information but I think it is little more than the age of BS. While the breadth of knowledge is five miles across all to often it's one an inch deep.
Hate to tell you this but I don't think we have made a lot of progress over the past 40 years.
I don't think we've made a lot of progress as far as the general population goes in the way of ethics and compassion. Folk do really seem to be wildly entitled. But, scientifically the progress has been exponential and quite a amazing. People, especially us westerners, just take it for granted.
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