Should my wife give up work? Your thoughts and experiences.

hayleythedaisy

Sounds like a brilliant idea to me, so long as she studies something that will be relevant in a few years. Glad you had a nice family time this weekend.

greytdog_2

i think if you can get by on your money and your wife is thinking of giving up work then she should. I know if we could afford it i would give up tomorrow. She would then get to spend quality time with you and the kids and you can never go back and do that again once the time has gone. She can always get another job when the time comes. You only get one chance to be with the kids when they are young.

Phil3822

In order to rebudget do people think it is reasonable for us to give up sky, broadband, home phone. We would also lower our food bill and reduce to one car. I use the car 3 days a week for work. Get a lift other times. We would also go to PAYG mobiles. We have access to internet from family that live not far. Not to sure if this is to much of a sacrifice. We would probably look to grow veg and get some chickens instead though, something the children can take part in and grow up with.

Getting rid of those things I mention above will save £260 a month. On top of that we would not have the £160 per month childcare cost. One of our concerns is are we being realistic with what we could give up? We do have a desire to live a more simple life although not sure if we are getting to deep.

I have SOA for now and one for my predication of how things would look. Would that be of use on here?

Margaret52129

Not sure if this will help or not, but this is what we did when in this same position (quite some time ago!).

I had a good job when we had our 1st child and returned to work after Mat leave - only to find it was so different once I got back, so after 3 months decided to leave.

We had moved into our home only 18 months prior and pushed the boat out to buy it, so me leaving meant making deep cuts into our household budget. Because I was untied to working hours, I was able to take advantage of shopping at times when I could get cheaper items and was able to cook from scratch using cheaper cuts of meat etc. I also made most of my DD's clothes out of 2nd hand/jumble sale dresses.

We also only went out for birthday/anniversaries, so saved money that way. It was tough going for many a year, but for us/me, it was the best thing we ever did. I did return to work after DD2 went to school, but do not regret one moment of the scrimping and scraping we lived by. Our DD's young lives were our top priority and we put ourselves wants after their needs.

I know it was in a different era (almost 25 years ago now) but your questions were the same we asked ourselves.

My DD2 is now in the same position as you Phil, and is asking the same questions, so it will be interesting to read the replies.

I hope it works out for you whatever your plans will be.

lostinrates

Phil3822 wrote: »

We would probably look to grow veg and get some chickens instead though, something the children can take part in and grow up with.

Are you already keen gardeners? Home grown veg is wonderful, and does make live cheaper but also requires some initial cash input. Chickens for eggs, or meat too? I keep and breed chickens and to be honest not sure it works out cheaper than buying eggs for the average family.

artichoke

hi

with regards to what you can give up ....

it all depends on your family and how much tv they watch and how old they are etc...if they are old enough could you discuss it with them and explain what you are going to give up and what new things you are going to gain?? For me giving up TV is easy but i could not survive without broadband:o

We have kids age 7 and 6 and they have never had Sky so don't miss it, we now have no "live" tv as our analogue signal has been turned off and we don't have a digital TV or a freeview box - the kids do not miss it at all - they watch cbbc progs on iplayer...

We do have broadband - we need if for our work - we work from home and are self employed... we don't have mobiles but do have a landline...

i would look at what you could cut out / give up / reduce and see what cheap alternative you could put in its place:

eg
we dont have expensive holidays but do have lots of cheap weekends either camping (tent) or Haven caravan holidays booked through special offers...

we don't eat out - but do eat well - if your wife is at home she will have more time to cook from scratch and teach the kids how to cook as well...we sit down each night to a "proper meal" as a family..

we don't go to the cinema - but we do have a family movie night once a week in the autumn and winter when we cuddle up together on the sofa with a blanket, HM popcorn, (bottle of wine for me and DH) and watch a rented DVD together.... we usually watch a series like star wars, or indianna jones - this autumn we will watch all the Harry Potters...

we don't go to shopping malls - but we do go on family bike rides on a saturday..

so if you sit down together maybe you can work out what you can cut out and what you can add in to your new found family time...

we have lived very frugally for the past 7 years since dd was born but i would not change it as we have spent so much time together as a family.... BUT now they are both settled at school i have recently returned to working in a new career that i forged for myself by studying / volunteering whilst they were babies...

good luck - only you can work out as a family what is best for your own situation...

art

anguk

We've never had Sky so I can't really comment on that, we do have a landline and broadband they are very important for us and you can get cheap deals. Do some research on mobile phones, it may work out cheaper to have a cheap contract than pay-as-you-go depending on how much you use it.

Growing your own veg is definitely cheaper and also satisfying, chickens are great but feed is getting more expensive and you have to have money put aside for vet bills etc.

You really need to sit down with your wife and write down every outgoing that you have and see what you would both be willing to cut back on. Sometimes it's the little things like a daily newspaper, lunch or a coffee every day at work that add up, take a packed lunch & a flask, you'll save a fortune. Days out with the kids don't have to be expensive, a home-made picnic and a day at the beach or park is cheap.

Have a look on the old-style money-saving board, everyone on there will help you cut food & cleaning bills.

**Patty**

I'm a stay-at-home Mum. It's the best job i've ever had

I may have a different opinion briefly by the end of the summer though:rotfl:

My OH works shifts.....12 hour rotating *continentals* which include 2 weekends out of 4.....so i'm in charge of the household.:o

Today, we've met some friends for a picnic (and i've cuddled her 12wk old & failed to feel broody)...we made chocolate crispie cakes this morning, made pizza dough for tomorrows lunch and after tea i shall make a pan of play-doh as rain is forecast for weds/thurs/fri (oh joy) and i have a stack of ironing.

On the other hand, apart from an hour this morning my lot havn't had time for the TV or games/computers.

I had a quick look at your SOA Phil & one thing that jumped out at me was that you pay a fee for your bank account and yet don't have breakdown cover for the car? Might not be a priority if it's just you going to work but if your wife gives up her car.....wouldn't it be worth the couple of quid for basic cover in case she gets stuck out in the car with the kids?

Phil3822

Thanks again all, still struggling but this is helping. In terms of my SOA Patty, the bank fee includes AA cover, phone insurance, travel insurance etc etc. The things I commented on above are things we feel we could do without. We were just wondering if we were being realistic. I like the idea of writing a list of replacements. Makes it feel like we're not giving up stuff but exchanging. At the moment our life is more like live for convenience rather than invest time.

**Patty**

Bit of food for thought then: (as i'm off to make play-doh lol)

12 (months) x £15 = £180.

Using this site, could you shop about for the phone isurance/travel insurance (how often do you holiday?) and equivalent breakdown cover?


There's tonights challenge Betcha can get them all cheaper