A Few Really Hidden Costs Of Working October 16, 2008

This list and it’s information was taken from a book I just ordered called “You Can Afford To Stay Home With Your Kids” by Malia McCawley Wyckoff and Mary Snyder. (List found on page 28)

1. Business Trips. How come an all-expense-paid business trip always ends up costing you so much of your own money? We estimate that we usually spent at least $150 for every week we spent out of town on business – some of which went for horribly overpriced airport gifts for the kids.
2. Fund Raisers. It’s hard to say no, particularly at the office. Even in companies with a “No Solicitation” policy, it’s not unusual for parents to bring in the school’s latest fund-raising effort. We’ve seen everything from raffle tickets to pizza kits. Girl Scout cookies were even known to cause office stampedes.
3. Interoffice Gambling. Who hasn’t tossed a couple of bucks into the football pool, the baby-weight pool, or the Academy Awards pool?
4. Multilevel Marketing Products. There’s one in every office. They’re either selling cosmetics, home accessories, cleaning products, jewelry, plastic food containers, or toys.
5. Sunshine Funds. Many companies request that employess kick in $1 per paycheck to be used for officer parties, employee picnics, and the like.

These are just some more things we spend our money on when we are working. It is very eye-opening when you start looking at exactly where your money is going. I liked this list and wanted to share it. I’m hoping this book will give me a little more insight on living on one income.

Living On A Budget. October 9, 2008

The next thing I had to decide on my journey to stay at home was to live on a budget.  Now, I have to say that I am not perfect at this, and it is still a work in progress.  However, I have a basic budget in place, and am working to make it fit one income for when I am finished working.  It is so important to know where your money is going each month.  For those of you who listen to Dave Ramsey or have read one of his books, you should give each dollar a name.  The best way to do this is to get your budget on paper.  It doesn’t matter if you hand write it or have it on your computer, all that matters is that you can look at your spending.  Here are some places I have found some free budget forms.  You can use one of these to write out your budget or you can come up with your own!

Dave Ramsey Quickie Budget Form

Dave Ramsey Monthly Cash Flow Form

Dave Ramsey Irregular Income Form

Basic Budget Form

Debt Budget Form

Monthly Spending Form

Annual Budgeting Form

Holiday Expenses Form

Household Budget Form

Calculating Your Cost To Work October 8, 2008

One of the first things I did when trying to decide whether or not to stay at home, was to figure out what it would really cost me to work.  Boy was I shocked!!  We do not live in a big city, and the cost of living is relatively low.  I was definitely not prepared for what I found out.  The first thing I had to figure was daycare cost.  The average cost per week for a newborn in our area is $150.  That is $650 a month just to have someone watch my child during the day.  I also figured my gas cost, clothing cost, food cost to eat out for lunch, and the cost to eat out for dinner when I don’t feel like cooking after work.  After subtracting these totals from my monthly “bring home” amount, I was only left with $275.  That came out to $1.58 an hour!  For me, it was not worth it to be away from my baby for 9 or 10 hours a day just to make $1.58 an hour!  Now, I did not come to the decision immediately after doing these calculations.  I spent time in prayer and spoke with my husband about it on many occasions.  I felt like this needed to be a “family” decision since it would affect us all.  So, before making the decision to stay home, do your homework and talk about it with your family!

Check out this calculator to compute your cost to work:

Cost To Work Calculator