Yes, You Can Afford to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom!

While there is certainly nothing wrong with working outside of the home, for many women, being able to afford to be a stay-at-home mom would be a dream come true. I hear from women all the time who desperately want to stay home with their babies while they are little, but they simply don’t think they can. Well, today, I’m here to tell you that you can! How do I know? Because I did it and so have plenty of others.

While the process of becoming a stay-at-home mom will look different for everyone, here are three tips that have worked really well for us. Hopefully they will inspire you to find the solutions that are just right for your family.

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1. Plan Ahead.  Becoming a stay-at-home mom is generally not something that happens overnight. You have to plan. The best advice I ever heard was to live on one income from the time you are married. (You can have two jobs, but the income from the second job has to go to savings or one-time purchases, not your monthly bills.) Then, if you lose that second income stream, it’s no big deal because you only needed the one income stream to live on anyways. This is what we’ve always done.

For people who are already used to a two-income lifestyle, however, cutting back to one income can be incredibly difficult. In this instance, you would want to plan ahead to save as much as possible while you are both still working. Then, you can use your savings to help you stay home as long as possible.

• Preparing Financially To Be A SAHM
• From Working Mom to Stay At Home Mom  
• Staying Home With Your Kids When You Can Barely Afford It

2. Embrace Frugality.  Next, you’re probably going to learn to have to live without. I prefer to think of it is “ordering my priorities,” but the truth is, there are probably several things you won’t be able to have, and that’s okay! We don’t go on vacations, we rarely go out to eat, we have small wardrobes of clothes we found on sale, our furniture is all secondhand… but that’s okay! I don’t need “stuff;” I need quality time with my children while they are young.

• 10 Money Saving Tips for SAHM 
• Keeping Our Household Budget Under $300
• How to Save Money Without Going Crazy

3. Earn Extra Income on the Side.  Lastly, it may be wise to pursue an extra income stream. There are TONS of jobs you can do either from home or very part-time so you can still be with your kids all throughout the day.

When my first was little, I would waitress on the weekends when daddy would be home to watch him, so I was still with him all day long during the week. Now, I work completely from home as a freelance writer and blogger. This allows me to work during my children’s nap times and after they’ve gone to bed, so I can be here for every waking minute of their childhood (which is both a blessing and a curse!)

• How to Become a Virtual Assistant – This is one of the BEST ways for moms to make good money from home with no experience!
• 30 Jobs Stay-At-Home Moms Can Do 
• 101 Companies That Hire Remote Workers  
• Legit Work From Home Jobs
• Blogging – I actually quit my job last year and have doubled my income with this blog. Crazy, I know! I love talking to other moms that want to do the very same thing because I am proof that it’s totally possible.

Right now you can start your own blog for less than $4! Check it out here or if you need a little help you can read my step-by-step guide here. Plus, I have lots of other blogging resources to help you get going!