How to Start Being a SAHM

Good Luck Hon... I sell Mary Kay and love it but you said it was not right for you lets us know what happens

I used to work full time, and did until my daughter was 2 years old. I absolutely hated every single minute of being away from her! When I got pregnant with my second, I knew something had to change. I was not willing to miss out on him growing up like I had with my daughter. Not to mention the fact that daycare costs are just terrible. Anyway, what I did was to find aspects of my current job that I could do from home. Then I put together a lengthy proposal to my employer, asking them to let me reduce my hours to part-time, and to do my work from home. To make a really long story short, after some negotiation they approved it, and I now do my job from home and am able to stay home with my kids. I don't know what your current job is, but maybe you could find parts of your job that you could do from home???

Just wanted to throw in, when you're at home, you spend a LOT less money. No gas for commutes, no daycare, no work wardrobe, no convenience food, etc. Then you scrimp a little more.

Just to give you some perspective: A friend of mine was offered a job at $75000, it was a 30 min commute and she drives an SUV. By the time she got through calculating costs for all the items I mentioned she came out to a take home of roughly $5-800/wk. It was better for her to just continue to be a waitress three nights a week. She gets to stay home and she still brings in some money.

Plow through your expenses and see what can be cut and realistically look at what your bringing in for actual take home pay once all work expenses are factored out. Go from there to slice more from the budget. GL!!

Not sure on your finances, but when my husband and I decided that I would stay at home we had to make a lot of sacrifices to do so. We live in a modest home and budget our money so that I can have the joy of being with my kids all day. Look at were you could make some cuts and maybe you could work it on one income?

I agree to look at what you spend each month and cut out the unnecessary spending. Cut coupons, buy in bulk when items are on sale for a good price, etc. We turned off cable and went with a new company for our internet service. We're saving $100 a month just from doing that. If your husband doesn't pack his lunch, have him starting taking lunch to work. There's a ton of different things you can do. I would like to find something to do from home just so we have extra spending money but I'm like you, I don't want to do the Mary Kay or Avon. If you find anything legit let me know and I'll do the same for you :)

Good luck! You will not regret your decision! My youngest just started walking this past week and I got to see it! I missed out on my other two kids first steps b/c I was at work :(

I J.!
I understand completely! I had always worked full time, and after the birth of my first son, I went back to work after a few weeks. When he was about 9 month old, I realized I was missing all of the 'firsts' in his life. Not only was he cared for by someone else all day, but my job was so time consuming that I spent hours on the computer after I was home. So I quit my career of 10 years and started cleaning homes for 2-3 days a week. This was a no stress job- when my work was done it was done, and gave me two or three days home each week. My husband was fine with this, as long as I continued to pay our mortgage. I cleaned large homes, and sometimes 10 hr days, but the pay was worth it! Less then I made before, but I kept the bigger picture in mind. In April I had my 2nd son- he is now 7 months old and when I needed to start looking for work again, my old company offered me 2 different positions. But I looked again at my children and I know that they will never be this age again and we will not be able to go back and get a 'do over'. So I researched a lot of companies- including the ones you mentioned, and found something that works for me. I don't have to 'sell, stock, deliver any products. I don't have to take orders or deliver money. I would love to share what I do with you! Free info- no obligation- just get all the info and see if this makes sense to you! I look forward to sharing this with you and answering any questions you might have after getting the free info!
www.livetotalwellness.com/themillers
click on more info and I will reach out and contact you- or msg me on here!

Melaleuca isn't a MLM and has a great pay plan and some people are super successful with it. It also has residual income so you keep getting paid for the work you do over and over again, not just once. Great company, great products, no selling products, collecting money etc. If you like this type of thing and have the time, this might be something you may want to look into. I can inbox you their website and you can go through their tutitorial if you want.

Start moving toward operating off of the one salary. Look into what your state has to offer in the way of health benefits for mid to lower income families. You may also want to look into finding a supplemental insurance plan like an Aflac which would cover you for some things extraordinary at a very low costs that you pay directly (there are limitations here but it is a start). Find out what insurance plans you may be able to afford or join some kind of group or organization which would be willing to have it's membership be a part of a health coop or something like that.

If you are really great with kids, perhaps you can open a day care or after school care program from your home. Tutoring is also helpful in bringing in income. I have several friends that bake during the holidays, things from cakes, cookies, fresh breads and pies to homemade icecreams.

The sister of a coworker makes jewelry and sells it while one of the sister's from the church sells accessories (socks, braceletts, ribbons, hair bows, sun glasses, handbags, scarfs, gloves, mittens, etc) from the back of her truck. The key to earning extra income is in thinking outside the box.

I loved Christin B.'s suggestion. This may also be a win win for you all. Plan everything out and then begin executing your ideas.

Maybe opening a daycare from your house? You need to make a list and separate necessity bills from non necessity bills. For instance, my husband makes a modest salary but we have been able to live in a nice house and my kids are able to do extracurricular activities and we make it work. We only needed one car (husband has work truck) so we have 1 car and 1 car payment and the minivan we have, is not top of the line. I do not have a cell phone. Gave that up. Can you reduce your cable bill? I turn off my A/c as much as possible (and living in Florida, that is not easy!) We went through grocery lists and limited that down. We stopped eating out as much. I haven't bought much new for myself and neither has my husband. I don't get my hair done as much as I would like, and I never get mani's or pedi's. My husband is paid hourly, so now he works 6 days a week every 2 weeks to supplement and that has helped immensely. It has been hard, many months living paycheck to paycheck. But, I would not change a thing. I am back in school now to be a nurse, because that way I can work at night and make a nice salary still. I had a data entry from home job, but I got that because I knew someone, it was only 1 year contract, and I haven't been able to get another one. Go to this website: http://www.virtualassistantjobs.com. These are LEGIT work from home admin jobs. But, very very hard to actually get a job. I have been trying for awhile. They fill them very quickly. Good luck!

can you get insurance through hubby's benefits?

random idea here... I pay my house keeper $80 and she cleans my house in ~3 hours. What if you cleaned 3 houses a week, you could make a grand in a month with less than 10 hours a week. cash.

(not a very glam job and it might seem crazy b/c if your anything like me, you don't want to do it in the first place, but worth a thought)