My apologies for the gap in my series “My 31 Day Financial Challenge.” My husband and I took our daughter to visit family over the holiday weekend where I lacked both free time and internet access. So here I resume with Day 6.
Considering that I counted the employer matching toward his retirement, my husband’s true hourly wage was actually higher than I anticipated. But I know that we seem to be just barely making it.
I feel funny even calling this “My” true hourly wage. My husband’s income is the only one we have right now. Yet, I do wonder how much I’m “saving” us by staying home. If I had gone back to work I would have had to pay for daycare at least part-time. I have my mother available as a resource, but I don’t want to monopolize her time unless it’s absolutely necessary. I also would have had to purchase additional clothing for during the transition period from maternity clothes back to regular clothing. I was fortunate to only have to buy a few inexpensive items to hold me over during the summer and fall after I gave birth. But if I had been returning to work I would have had to purchase more expensive work appropriate clothing. There would have been additional purchases to make to facilitate my working such as an extra car seat for my parent’s car, a more expensive breast pump and possibly formula. I might even have had to use disposable diapers instead of cloth, if I couldn’t find a cloth diaper friendly daycare. All of these factors would have eaten away at my take home pay. Not to mention the fact that I really wanted to be at home with my daughter. I was prepared for the lifestyle changes necessary and felt that it was all worth it. I still do feel that it’s all worth it. But now I’m reconsidering the idea of returning to work part-time. It will mean giving up some time with my daughter, but it will also enable us to start paying off our debt and start saving for the future.
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