A lot of women report feeling
like they're not "contributing" when they stay home
with kids. When bill-paying time rolls around each month and
its hard to make ends meet, they can't help but fantasize
about how much easier it would be to write those checks if
they were bringing home a salary.
First of all, obviously, moms who stay home contribute in
huge ways that have nothing to do with finances. I think what's
probably going on is that without having specific goals and
deadlines (described here)
and without a community to recognize your accomplishments
(described here)
it just feels like you're not contributing sometimes.
But, that said, there are ways to help out financially without
getting a job.
Run the family finances
I am a big believer in stay-at-home moms running the family
finances. Creating and sticking to a tight budget, coming
up with an efficient system for paying the monthly bills,
learning about investing and monitoring the family's savings,
etc. will ensure that you play a big part in the family's
financial picture.
Also, I hate to bring up a negative topic but in the awful
event that something should happen to your husband (death
or even divorce), you wouldn't be left completely confused
and helpless in matters of money if you were already running
that area of family life.
Get life insurance
Another thing we all hate to think about but is worth mentioning
is life insurance. You might be surprised at the peace of
mind you'd have in knowing that if something should happen
to your husband you would be financially taken care of.
Take a hard look at your financial picture
The primary goal of this site isn't to give family financial
advice, but I do recommend that you explore this area of your
marriage and your family, particularly if you're having trouble
making ends meet. It's critical to educate yourself about
debt, investments, budgeting, etc. and take a hard, honest
look at your financial picture. Suze Orman's 9 Steps to
Financial Freedom (see Recommended
Reading) is a great place to start.
Think about how you could bring in some extra money
Keep in mind that there are options for generating extra income
other than returning to the workforce. Especially if you only
need a few hundred extra dollars per month to make a difference,
there's a good chance you can do that on the side, from your
home.
As you saw from Erica's example in the sidebar in the goals
section, it often happens that once someone identifies her
"blue flame" and then starts taking action with
short-term goals, she finds herself with opportunities to
generate income that weren't there before.
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