Sahm

Am currently on Maternity leave but the Pay ends this month and I return to work in June and only incoming is my husband. We budget on out goings. Its been tough tbh as I couldn't spend freely like before.

Do you feel you have to work due to bills etc and would not be able to afford to be a sahm?

Think it also depends where you live. Some countries provide benefits for having children or women who are sahm, and others give zero support and also have very high cost of living. You jsut have to assess what the necessities cost are (rent/house cost, bills for everything, food and clothing and any other general household costs). If you’re okay with jsut the basics and not being able to spend much on things that aren’t a necessity, then I think it’s possible with 1 salary (again depending on rent costs etc). In London, I would say anything around £2500 a month after tax would work, but it really depends on housing cost, because some places in London, you’d have a tiny 1 bed Appartment for about 2000/month or more!

Saying that I know a lot of sisters who moved with their families to cheaper cities for this reason. When the cost of rent is much less, it seems to be easier to be a sahm.

@Sando thank you for replying sister. £2500 is doable? Do the people you know live in decent house,area and live well? Are they on any benefits? I’m not in London and i know generally everybody says it’s cheaper up north. However, i’m not sure which one income range is doable with 2 children. Simple things are so expensive now

I mean as I mentioned it depends on location. Someone in Wimbledon will most likely not be able to afford to be a sahm if her husband is earning only 2500£ after tax. So you do have to look at it from all angles. But yes, up north I’d say a lot of them seem fairly happy in their situations with about thet much. Bear in mind I’m saying after tax, which means their husbands salary could be £45000+ a year. That’s an above average salary for the uk. Some sisters I know their husbands work two jobs, so once they finish their 9-5, they’ll come home for dinner and then be out Ubering or delivering thjngs until midnight. You have to make certain sacrifices. I know people also consider living abroad too. If you’re going to homeschool as well as be a sahm then it might be worth looking into that. The weather would be nicer for outdoor time in other countries, but there are cons to it too.

What do you mean when you say simple thjngs? A lot of people buy things second hand from Facebook marketplace etc. a friend of mine was jsut telling me she hasn’t been to ikea in years. She’s got two toddlers and a 3rd on the way, they moved up to Nottingham a few years ago. I wouldn’t say they’re very well off, it’s a struggle, but she did a little tutoring and some admin from home here and there whenever she wanted to do or buy things outside the necessities. She’s not interesting in working at all and she’d rather her kids be raised well and with correct tarbiya than have extra money for thjngs that aren’t important in the long run. It’s also the mindset. Her house is tiny, she has pots and pans and appliances that don’t fit in a small kitchen so need to be on a shelf in the living room. But that stuff doesn’t matter when raising kids.