I have to work - we need another income
If you would rather stay at home with your child, but for financial reasons you need to work, think about alternatives.
How expensive is work?
By the time you deduct from your salary the cost of decent food, transportation, clothing, paying a nanny or kindergarten, increased taxes and medical bills( in kindergartens, children catch more infections), you may be surprised how little remains.
Determine what is important to you. Do you work to pay for utilities and feed your family, or are you just longing to buy expensive things that you could actually pull a little at? No material values will not be more dear to the child than you. Decide for yourself whether you can afford to deny your child to herself. Maybe you could give it to him, at least for two or three years.
Save. Take a closer look at the habits of your
family in spending money. Some people better save a penny than others, but some of the thought of counting every penny infuriates.(Why should we discipline ourselves?) However, if they can truly understand how important it is for a mother to be with her young children all the time, efforts and deferments of material joys will be worth it. If you approach the economy seriously, for some people it is possible to raise the family by one income higher and even realize some dreams at the same time without two incomes and kindergarten turmoil, which seems to be the norm for Americans.
Think about whether to take the "second income" on credit. The period of care of the child, when special tenderness is required, does not last forever. Have you thought about taking the missing income while your child is an infant and returning to work later to repay the debt? Grandparents usually willingly lend money, they only need to understand that this is one of the most valuable contributions that they can make to the future of their grandson.
Plan ahead. In the first years of living together and during pregnancy, save to save as much money as you can. Let the savings from your second income help your family when you work as a mom. Many married couples get used to the standard of living, supported by two incomes. At the very beginning of your family life, learn to live on one income and save the second, if you do not want to fall into the trap, adjusted by the habit of a luxurious life for two income, after the appearance of the child.
Take care of your home business.
We are sure that for some families this can be a real solution to the second income problem. Home business is most successful when you do what want to do. Any work that you do not like, will soon fall apart. Here are examples of successful work at home, the effectiveness of which we saw personally: mailing, accounting, typing and translation from foreign languages, trade, folk crafts, piano lessons;or you can arrange your own kindergarten at home. In our practice, there are women professionals who have transferred their business to their home and have turned an empty room into an office. For example, one mother is an editor and works on her own portable home computer, connected to the main office. She goes to her office without leaving home. It's wonderful in the home business that in many cases it becomes so successful,
that not only helps to keep the mother's attachment to the child, but also helps to stay together with the husband and wife, and when the child grows up, he or she can connect to the family business. We know of two mothers who wanted to stay at home with their newborns, but needed a second income. They organized a business for tailoring car covers. This enterprise was then overgrown with branches and turned into a corporation with a multimillion-dollar income.
Consider other work schedules. In addition to the usual options - full-time and part-time - think about two other new options:
• Flexible work schedule. Flexible hours of work allow the parent to independently determine when to work, to be at home, when the child is sick or when he has a special need, and this option allows the spouses to more easily share the care of the child.
• Work for two. With this option, two mothers share one bet. It allows mothers to replace each other when children have special needs or they get sick. It turns out to be profitable for employers, as they get two minds for the price of one. With every option, apart from a full bet, you may have to bargain with the employer because of the social package.