The
Stay-At-Home Mom:
It’s challenging enough to survive on two
incomes in this day and age. When the difficult
(and of course rewarding) decision is made to stay
at home with your children, what can you do to fill
the income void in your household? 
Your
children are the most important things in the world
to you. They deserve your full attentionand you have
gladly chosen to stay home and care for them. You
know that you have made the right decision.
Your
choice to be a stay at home mother has come with a
price though. Careful budgeting alone cannot offset
that missing second income. Yes, you and your husband
are getting by and your family is enjoying quality
time together, but you have sacrificed income and
benefits to raise your children.
Depending
on your profession, your financial sacrifice can be
very significant after a few years. In Ann Crittenden's
book "The Price of Motherhood," she
calculated that a couple that once earned over
$80,000 annually could lose over $1 million dollars
in lifetime earnings after they have a child and the
woman leaves work and stays at home.
Your
retirement is in jeopardy as well.
No
matter what level your previous earnings were, there
are long term consequences on your finances for the
years spent raising children instead of earning a
paycheck. Aside from salary, you are not earning any
pension benefits from an employer or medical insurance,
both of which are quite valuable.
And
few women when they decide to stay home consider that
they will cease to accrue any social security benefits
from the federal government. No income for you means
that your benefit rating with social security is stagnating.
It's
a shame that there has to be such a cost for you to
stay at home with your children. You certainly value
your work as a mom. It's nice having time to nurture
your children's education and interests. You even
get to have fun, and you do not envy the scheduling
hassles that working mothers face as they juggle job
commitments and children's appointments.
You
are not alone either. More women are deciding to leave
the career track and stay at home with their children.
There is a growing trend for families to decide to
make it with only one person working outside the home.
A report from the U.S. Census Bureau in 2001 showed
that in 1998 59% of mothers with infants worked at
a full time job, but that had dropped to 55% in 2000,
only 2 years later. The appeal of actually being the
one to raise your children is undeniable and more
families are pursuing this important goal.
Being
a stay at home mom has many positive points, but you
still miss being able to earn an income. You want
to continue developing your skills and creativity.
Maintaining your professional skills that you worked
hard to get before motherhood nags at the back of
your mind. You wish you had a way to transform your
time into money without compromising your need to
be at home.
You
can enjoy the security of a second income again.
There
is a revolution starting in our society. People are
deciding that they don't want to struggle through
a traffic jam every day and spend 10 hours at an office
away from their families in order to live. It's time
for you to start learning how people are earning a
comfortable living from their homes. You can start
a home based business, raise your children, and have
a profitable professional existence at the same time.
Bringing
in a second income and avoiding childcare costs would
be doubly profitable. Think of all the important things
in your financial life that you won't have to put
off anymore.
After
starting your home based business you won't have to
scrimp and save so much. Yes, youwill still bargain
hunt because it's smart and you're good at it, but
you won't have to feel guilty about that occasional
dinner out.
There
is no arguing that the work you do as a mother is
exceedingly valuable. The salary research company
Salary.com even attempted to calculate what a salary
for a stay at home mother should be. After factoring
in everything from childcare, transportation services,
accounting, laundry, cooking, management, and much
more, Salary.com came up with a figure of $90,000
a year. This sounds like a lot but it was based on
a 90 hour work week.
As
nice as it is to know that your work as a mother is
worth nearly six figures, there is no salary fairy
out there that is magically going to start writing
you checks. You need to take action and earn money
your own way. The way to do this is with your own
home based business. As your own boss, you will be
able to integrate earning an income into your other
valuable and important duties.
With
the income from your home based business, you will
be able to enjoy the benefits of financial security.
You won't have to worry so much if your husband loses
his job. With your business income you could even
give him the freedom to pursue a career change that
he has been dreaming of.
To
start earning money for today, for your retirement,
and to give your children every advantage, fill out
the questionnaire below. You will then receive information
about a home based business opportunity that will
let you start supporting your family in every way.
Sincerely,
