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How? Sonnenwende says it's 8k per year for one child in elementary school. 25k - 8k is 17k. People earning 25k pay more than 2k in taxes, especially if their second income kicks the household into a higher tax bracket. That's just federal tax, not state and local tax.
I just used a tax calculator for my state, which has reasonable state and local taxes. 25k monthly net would be $1,766. 8k for childcare is $666/month. That's $1,099 per month and $13,188 per year net after childcare.
All accurate up to this point.
Quote:
In my city, it costs $147/month for a bus pass. That brings the net down to $952/month and $11,424/year.
If you don't live where there is a bus, parking is $400/month and we'll say $50/week in gas. The net drops to $499/month or $5,988/year. But a second car is needed to commute via car so we'll say $200/month car payment and $100/month car insurance. That brings the net down to $199/month or $2,388/year. That doesn't even take into consideration wear and tear on the vehicle or special clothing needed or work, which means 25k is essentially working for free in this scenario. Even if it was an extra $199/month net, most people wouldn't feel that's worth putting a child in childcare when it's easy to cut $199 from a monthly budget.
You managed to use up $13k just from the necessity of having to travel to work?
2 possibilities:
- you live in the city where parking could be your $400/mo BUT then there is the train for commuting. $400 is not necessary. And neither is the 2nd car.
- you live in the burbs - ok, but you don't already have a 2nd car as a SAHM? Illogical to me - not a new expense.
Wardrobe and car maintenance true but are not monthly figures at all.
Feels like you're reaching for expenses. Just entertaining numbers here and I wouldn't have my wife bother to work if they offered her 25k, but the numbers still would put her on top. One other thing, before any travel expenses (and some may have hardly any), the extra $1099/mo. net figure above is enough for people's mortgages (principal/interest). That's appreciable income.
You managed to use up $13k just from the necessity of having to travel to work?
2 possibilities:
- you live in the city where parking could be your $400/mo BUT then there is the train for commuting. $400 is not necessary. And neither is the 2nd car.
- you live in the burbs - ok, but you don't already have a 2nd car as a SAHM? Illogical to me - not a new expense.
Wardrobe and car maintenance true but are not a monthly figures at all.
Feels like you're reaching for expenses. Just entertaining numbers here and I wouldn't have my wife bother to work if they offered her 25k, but the numbers still would put her on top.
My husband, kids, and I survived for a decade in the suburbs with only one car, so the scenario is possible. Oldest child now has his own, but husband and I still share.
My husband, kids, and I survived for a decade in the suburbs with only one car, so the scenario is possible. Oldest child now has his own, but husband and I still share.
Yes, it's possible - I didn't say impossible. What's also possible is you get a used car which is a 1-time cost instead of the monthly mentioned and it's not like husband isn't making money to cover it. We're trying to see if we can still come out ahead, is all.
I didn't drop the SAHM title until my youngest started working and driving. But if you want to call yourself unemployed during the hardest years of your kids life that's your business. Birth-kindergarten? Cake walk....
No kidding. I guess when I stay at home with them all summer long, and on snow days and school vacations, I am just being unemployed
This really puts it into perspective. rh71 considers 40k to be low earning and you consider it high earning. A lot of people are out of touch with what life is like for the majority of Americans.
Here's a list of the median income of households with children.
Since the majority of households with children have two working parents, divide that number in half to get a very rough idea of what each parent earns individually on average. Except in the highest earning states, it's significantly less than 40k.
Those numbers mean very little without looking at the cost of living in the area though. Take South Carolina, for example, median family income is $48,000 but the median home cost is $115,000 and taxes on that house are less than $500/year. 48K is a VERY livable salary in that area. Also, according the Census, only 42% of all households in the US have 2 income earners so no where near a "majority" and of those 42%, 60% work full-time and 40% work part-time so the reality is that the main breadwinner in the family is really making up more than the $25,000 if you use median income. https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p60-245.pdf
Not having to work outside the house would rock! We moved to this area for the schools, though, and it costs both of us working. Kudos to those of you who can afford it and make it work.
There have been times when I wished I could have been a SAHM. I longed for it, but it just wasn't in the cards for our family. I was the primary wage earner. My son's father (later to be my husband) was unemployed when I became pregnant. So, after my maternity leave, I went back to work full time and he agreed to be the primary caregiver--a Mister Mom for 13+ years. And guess what? He loved it and was damned good at it!
Did we pay for our SAHD choice in terms of long-term financial security? You bet. Living off one income for that many years doesn't really allow you to save or invest much. We also decided not to have two cars (another choice city dwellers with public transit can make). To this day (my son is now 24), he and his Dad love reminiscing about reading books together, writing stories, going to the library on the city bus, watching their favorite shows, napping on the couch, taking walks, playing at the park, going to the zoo, riding bikes, planting a garden, cooking supper, and so on... That bond is there because they spent time together. That's better than any investment account (or big huge house, brand new car, etc.), in my opinion.
I would be curious to know if Mister Moms are more prevalent today as well.
Just looking my own daughters class, we have 2/24 SAHD and 8/24 SAHM. One kid who has older and retired parents has two SAHP. So almost half of the class has a stay at home parent. The class is a mix of upper middle class, middle class, and low socioeconomic class. It's a magnet program in a large city, and pulls kids from all over.
No kidding. I guess when I stay at home with them all summer long, and on snow days and school vacations, I am just being unemployed
Then by your definition, if I go back to work as a teacher when all my kids are school aged then I would still be a SAHM because I would be home with the kids on school days, school vacations and all summer long too.
The fact is, once children enter school, moms who do not work DO only spend a couple of hours more than moms who work (on average). There's nothing wrong with that. This doesn't remove any importance in your job. But let's not act as if during Monday through Friday between 7:30am - 3:30pm mothers at home are slaving away child rearing. True - they are doing homemaking or housekeeping things but not child rearing during those hours.
Yeah, I get it, they do spend more hours during the summer with the kids (not everyone is a teacher) but actual hands on child rearing beyond age 5 is not that labor intensive.
I didn't drop the SAHM title until my youngest started working and driving. But if you want to call yourself unemployed during the hardest years of your kids life that's your business. Birth-kindergarten? Cake walk....
Meh. Some people are more "baby" people and some are more "older children" people. I am the latter. It was way harder for me when my kids were babies and unable to communicate clearly. My 6 year old is a breeze compared to my 2 year old. As my children get older, I'm more of their consigliere than anything else. I was telling my husband just the other day that it's incredible how my 6 year old hardly needs me anymore. He's very independent. I see my 4 year old growing up fast too as well.
Back on topic........I'd love to know how people know what others do with their days? And what's the point in assuming what SAHPs do and why?
I know for myself and the other SAHPs I know that the working partners seem to be expected to travel more and more, and that means if the other parent worked too parenting for that parent would be very challenging.
Last edited by Jaded; 04-11-2014 at 02:21 PM..
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