Single income house holds

[Skerhunter]

Must be my part of the world, but I don’t know of many full-time stay at home parents currently that are what I would consider “successful”. Those that I do know of all make $350k+ per year, which is a lot in the Midwest!

 

[spur60]

My wife has been a nanny for three different families over the past 12 years; that was her solution to being able to spend the most time with our kids as well as make some money. And per her contracts, our kids would be able to be with her at the nanny family's home, so we haven't paid any daycare in those 12 years.

 

[HFBPA889]

My wife stopped working 21yrs ago when our first was born…we have 4 boys total ranging from 8yrs to 21yrs…big gap. Probably the best thing we ever did…my boys have been raised right and their mother sacrificed for them but we wouldn’t change a thing. Through the years…there were some struggles with money but we always made it work.

 

[Long Cut]

I wonder how young families can make it now with just a single income. Unless the husband makes really good money i don’t usually see it in my neck of the woods.

This ^
There’s a huge difference between folks paying for childcare, mortgages, vehicles, student loans etc… BEFORE 2020 and AFTER 2020.

We bought our first house after 2020 and financially, could not afford to go down to a 1 income household. Being a first responder has its perks, but the salary (in our region) is below the national median income level. Even with a side business, it’s not all sunshine & rainbows.

If your Teachers, Firemen, Police Officers, Paramedics etc… cannot afford even basic housing needs Today; Not 10 Years Ago.. there’s a bigger issue at hand here.

 

[98XJRC]

We had a bit of a different experience then most. When my oldest was born my wife continued to work and my mother in law was able to care for him while her and I worked as she was on disability and no longer able to work. The wife and I were dirt poor and neither of us made much money. In retrospect there is financially no way we should have been having children. Almost immediately after he was born I started a new job and began making ok money for the time. Fast forward a year and I got a promotion and we really thought we were doing great and really started being able to have a sizable savings. We then found out we were having triplets. She worked for as long as she could but after they were born she was done working and honestly didn't start working again until 2 years ago when they were 10. I busted my ass though to provide for my family during that time and worked 2 jobs 6 days a week. It wasn't until almost 7 years ago I got a new position that paid me enough to drop back to a regular work week.

Covid really jacked things up for us. The triplets were in kindergarten and my oldest was in 3rd. We made the decision to switch them to cyber school and they've been in it ever since. My oldest is now going into 9th in the fall and the triplets 6th. They've excelled in the cyber program which has made it difficult for us to revert back to a brick and mortar public school. The wife now works essentially a second shift which is what works for our family.

As a single income things were definitely tight. It was doable, but your free cash is essentially non existent. Something that we did, but isn't necessarily for everyone is look into the state sponsored child health insurance. Medical bills will kill you, but depending on your income level the state can provide insurance for your child which will typically cover everything at little to no cost to you, which is much better then what most employer insurance programs are anymore.

 

[dirtshooter]

NGL I skipped right to the end without reading much

We became a single income household Dec 2019 shortly before covid. We knew my wife wanted to be a stay at home mother so we decided to try it without kids first. She took a layoff and shortly after (jan 2020) she got pregnant and then the covid shit happened. We are now expecting our third and it has been smooth sailing but I am fortunate to have a good career and we don't go on all inclusives every year etc.

The way we look at it is child care is expensive and you gotta pay someone to raise your kid(s)

Say my wife made $80,000CAD (she didn't it was like $50,000-60,000 but if she did make $80,000 see below)
Right away Canada takes like 50%+ taxes so now we got $40,000. (probably less because we are taxed out the ass here)
Daycare is like $1200-1600 x12 = $14,400-$19,200
Leaving us with $20,800-$25,600
Now there is extra wear and tear on vehicles, more fuel purchases, probably more take-out or pre-made food purchased because working all day and then wanting to spend quality time with the kids, dollar cost unknown
Divided that $20,800-$25,600 by 12 months and it's $1733.33-$2135 extra per month which if I'm being honest is like working a couple weekends per month, per year if I am on a 50hr work week. If I'm on turnaround like I am now I'd make that in 1 to 1.5 days lol.

So for us it was never going to be worth it for my wife to go back to work. She says she will go back when they are in school but she wants something that allows her to go on fieldtrips with the classes to be involved.

 

[hoosierhunter11]

We had our second daughter in fall of 2023 and due fulltime childcare costs $2500-3000 per month for 5 days/week where we live, we decided that she would stay home for awhile. At about the 3 month mark she was drowning... she did not enjoy being home all day and felt like she needed to get out of the house, be a professional, etc. It was really difficult for her to realize she didn't want to be a stay at home mom. Since then, she's gone back to work Tues-Thurs every week and stays home with the girls on Mondays and Fridays. This has been a great balance for all of us. I work a typical Mon - Fri schedule. The financial part has to make sense for your own scenario but for us she's bringing home about $4500 per month working those 3 days per week and we're spending $1750 per month for childcare.

 

[HuntHarder]

A lot of similar stories of mothers figuring out that being a stay at home Mom is just not for them. Such an individual decision that truly has no "right or wrong" answer. 100% family/parent decision.

 

[ODB]

I think a lot of times the wisdom of whether to stay at home cannot be gained on the front end, only afterwards. And by then the option to no longer exists.

 

[Long Cut]

she's bringing home about $4500 per month working those 3 days per week

LOL what does she do for work?

I’m a full time Firefighter/AEMT/Hazmat Tech with a Bachelors Degree & qualifications for Sargent… I don’t even make that a month working full time (56-60 hours/week) in a “higher end” Metro Atlanta department.

 

[HuntHarder]

LOL what does she do for work?

I’m a full time Firefighter/AEMT/Hazmat Tech with a Bachelors Degree & qualifications for Sargent… I don’t even make that a month working full time (56-60 hours/week) in a “higher end” Metro Atlanta department.

Thats crazy... I have plenty of buddies who FF and they all gross 6 figures here in AZ. Weird how FF salaries can vary so greatly.

 

[Predator_SD]

The worst thing to happen to this country in the last 50 years is both parents working and their kids being raised by others. Do whatever you can to make sure your kids are raised by you.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

LOL what does she do for work?

I’m a full time Firefighter/AEMT/Hazmat Tech with a Bachelors Degree & qualifications for Sargent… I don’t even make that a month working full time (56-60 hours/week) in a “higher end” Metro Atlanta department.

Wtf…you work 56-60 hours per week, as a firefighter, and don’t bring home 4500.00/month????

The EMT part does not surprise me, years ago I worked for an ambulance company in a big city, I got like 13.25/hour.

 

[Long Cut]

Thats crazy... I have plenty of buddies who FF and they all gross 6 figures here in AZ. Weird how FF salaries can vary so greatly.

East coast we are absolutely struggling. Most places are still Volunteer departments outside of larger Cities, which is insane when you’re paying $3-5k in property taxes for nothing.
I’ve got buddies that went to Departments in Colorado & Texas (with comparable costs of living to Atlanta) and they take home $90-100k after a fast track academy.
- For perspective most departments here pay around $48-60k a year and the Pension/Healthcare takes a dent out of your salary.

 

[Long Cut]

Wtf…you work 56-60 hours per week, as a firefighter, and don’t bring home 4500.00/month????

The EMT part does not surprise me, years ago I worked for an ambulance company in a big city, I got like 13.25/hour.

Nope, average right around $3800 a month net, working either 56 or 60 hour weeks. Not including my part-time/side hustles.

I worked 113 hours last week and I’m somewhere around +130 total hours this week with OT. That’s a 7 day, Sunday-Sunday “work week”.

 

[Mojave]

I got married at 35 and we had our first kid when I was 36 or 36. She was a school teacher and had been cycled around districts because of school closures and redistricting in California just trying to get a tenured position, and had not when we met. So she was a good candidate to be a military spouse until retired 3 years later.

We have been one income until 2024.

It sucked for a long time. I was retired and didn't have a degree and had a very small military retirement. My first job paid $45,000 a year, and within 6 years I had tripled my income.

She has always had more education, and I have always had more opportunities to make more money. So I have worked and she has stayed home.

During Covid we didn't miss a beat, she taught our kids via homeschool.

Her income is nice, but she is over teaching and I think we are going to figure out another thing she can do for work.

Money was really tight when I retired. But I hustled.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Nope, average right around $3800 a month net, working either 56 or 60 hour weeks. Not including my part-time/side hustles.

I worked 113 hours last week and I’m somewhere around +130 total hours this week with OT. That’s a 7 day, Sunday-Sunday “work week”.

Where is this? Firefighters and first responders deserve to get at least 100k for what they do.

 

[Long Cut]

Where is this? Firefighters and first responders deserve to get at least 100k for what they do.

A Metro Atlanta, GA fire department

 

[nphunter]

My wife worked a little right out of school when we first met. Had a kid at 21 and hasn’t worked much since. She went to collage a few years ago and got a degree and now substitute teaches now and then. I think the most she’s grossed in the last 22 years since becoming a mom is like 20K. Over half of that goes to taxes once I add it to my income.

We graduated one kid last month and have a sophomore, once our two boys are both out of the house the plan is to have her get a full time teaching job. It’s been tight most of the last 20 years and we have supplemented my income by remodeling and selling a few homes. It’s been nice for the boys to always have a parent around but it will be nice to start saving a bunch once she goes back to work.

 

[StuckInTheEast]

A Metro Atlanta, GA fire department

your playing that game wrong...in the wrong place.
Im not in EMS but I know enough very closely to know you can do better than that damn near anywhere if you go and look for it...and get your medic credentials.