Get a Job?


I’ve been talking to a lot of stay-at-home moms with stressed-out husbands lately. Even if the men haven’t been laid off yet, they don’t like the looks of things at work, so they’re looking for other sources of income. In a lot of cases, they’ve been turning to their wives and saying, “Time to look for work, honey.”
Being the breadwinner for a whole family is a big responsibility, and homemakers should definitely be grateful for the spouse who gets up every morning and puts in long hours to bring home the bacon. But is a second income really going to solve the cash flow situation in your home? That answer isn’t as cut-and-dried as you might think. Consider the following expenses that might eat into that new paycheck:
  • Child care!

  • Housecleaning

  • A more professional wardrobe for the new wage-earner.

  • A higher tax bracket.

  • The higher likelihood of more take-out and restaurant meals.

  • Transportation costs to get to work and back.

  • Other paid services that the spouse at home used to do.
Factor all those in, as well as the loss of your standard of living now that you’re spending weekends catching up on all the stuff not accomplished during the week, and two incomes doesn’t look so attractive in a lot of cases.
So, is it just up to the man of the house to figure out how to provide for his family in this economy, and we women don’t need to worry our pretty heads about all that complicated finance stuff? NO!! You’re a team, and you’re both responsible for keeping your family whole. So, what’s a housewife to do?
  • Are you hiring out any services, like housecleaning, yardwork or home maintenance? Time to roll up your sleeves and do the jobs yourself!

  • Pack lunches for your husband and the kids.

  • Make meals from scratch. No cans. Nothing frozen. Buy ingredients cheap. Use everything. Roll those leftovers into new meals.

  • Plant a vegetable garden.

  • Hang dry your laundry.

  • Pull your kid(s) out of preschool. You can teach the alphabet and numbers yourself, honest.

  • Cut the number of extra-curricular activities your kids are in. They really add up.

  • Look at your own habits for places to make cuts. No more coffees and weekly lunches out if your financial situation needs to improve.
In other words, save so much money, it’s like you earn another wage, tax-free! In a lot of households, it’s not that hard to find ways to save a few hundred dollars a month.
If that’s not enough, get that second income on your own terms so your other responsibilities aren’t impacted. Some of my friends sell stuff on Craigslist and eBay. Others substitute teach. Others have started small businesses selling cosmetics or housewares through parties. This source of funds may be small, but in a lot of cases it’s scalable if necessity dictates it, and at least allows for something to go into savings.

Doing something to alleviate some of your spouse’s stress in these tough financial times is priceless!