How to Financially Prepare to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom

Now that I’ve stayed home for almost six years, I want to share my tips on how to financially prepare to be a stay-at-home mom.

Preparing to become a stay-at-home mom could begin long before marriage and children with career and financial choices that help support that lifestyle. However, many women initially don’t plan to stay at home and don’t realize they want to until after children come into the picture. While planning early could set a family up for a better financial situation, staying at home is still very achievable if you decide later — and incredibly valuable for the whole family! In this post, you will find six tips on how to financially prepare to be a stay-at-home mom no matter where you are in life!

Read about our current single-income-family budget for our family of six!

My Story

When I was pregnant with my first, I was 21, newly married, and working as a bank teller. It happened much quicker than we expected and becoming a stay-at-home mom was never part of our plans. We thought I would have a degree and a job and maternity leave when I had my first baby.

Instead, I didn’t have a degree, and I didn’t yet qualify for maternity leave at my job. My boss was kind enough to give me as much time off as I needed, but it was unpaid. Since I hadn’t yet graduated college, we decided that after the baby was born, I would continue working part time as a bank teller while also working on finishing my degree.

As my pregnancy progressed, the desire to be a stay-at-home mom took root. Throughout my life, I never believed that being a stay-at-home mom and homemaker could be a reality for me, so I never let myself dream about it. However, now that my first baby was on his way, I couldn’t deny the natural tugging in my heart to be home with my baby.

Trying to Figure out How I Could Afford to Stay at Home

As his due date approached, I started crunching numbers and brainstorming ways we could afford to let me stay at home. During slow periods at work, I obsessively calculated each potential scenario.

It wasn’t hard for me to figure out that my part-time job at the bank would barely cover the cost of full-time daycare. Actually, if I worked as much as I could when I wasn’t at school, I calculated that I would bring in an extra $50 per week after deducting daycare expenses. I didn’t feel it was worth it to give up the valuable experience of raising my child.

I decided to bring it up to my husband, even though I feared he would quickly tear down my idea of being a stay-at-home mom. He wasn’t completely convinced that living on one income would work, but he said we could see how it went over my maternity leave. I was surprised, but relieved that he was willing to think about it (husbands aren’t as quick to say no as we often think!).

Thankfully, my husband and I were already almost living completely on one income. His paycheck paid all the bills and living expenses, while my income covered a couple extra things. However, we lived extremely frugally, and we worried that just living on his income would not be sustainable.

We gave it a try, though, and decided to make it work. About eight weeks after having my son, and right before my first semester back at college started, we came to the agreement that I would stay home (at least for a season)!

How to Financially Prepare to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom

Money was TIGHT the first couple months. The transition would have been easier if we had planned and prepared to live on one income. Here are my six tips on how to financially prepare to be a stay-at-home mom:

Decide sooner rather than later that you want to be a stay-at-home mom.

Like I said above, I never thought I could actually be a stay-at-home mom some day. If I had realized sooner that it was a desire of mine, I could have made better decisions to help make my dream a reality. For instance, I might not have gone to college or just pursued an associate’s degree instead of a bachelor’s degree. I could have saved more money or put more money towards my student loans to pay them off quicker. I could have done several different things (even before marriage) to help put us in a better financial position to live on one income.

However, you may still be able to make it work, even if you decide later in the game that you want to stay home! It just helps if you have more time.

Make sure you have a budget set in place.

Once you decide to be a stay-at-home mom, the first thing you need to do is look at your budget. If you don’t have a real budget, then you need to make one! It’s important to know how much you and your spouse currently bring in and what all of your expenses are. You need to know what your spending currently looks like. The worst thing you can do is to jump into a financial decision just guessing or hoping that things will work out.

Start making a zero-based budget every pay period. List all of the income and expenses for the pay period until the income and expenses are equal. Give every dollar a job in your budget.

Practice living on one income.

The best thing you can do to financially prepare to be a stay-at-home mom is to adjust your budget to live on only one spouse’s income while you both are still working. This way of living is beneficial to practice even if both spouses plan to work forever. That way if one spouse ever loses a job or takes a hit in income, you are already used to living on one income and the impact of going from two incomes to one won’t be as crippling.

Use the second income to quickly reach major financial goals.

If you are both still working, put the second person’s earnings toward any major financial goals you two have! Paying down debts and increasing your emergency fund are vital to work on as you prepare to be a stay-at-home mom. Another thing I should mention is to get life insurance policies for both you and your husband if you don’t have some already. You may not be bringing in an income soon, but you are an invaluable asset as you provide childcare. You will feel more secure going into this lifestyle change if you are prepared for the worst!

Be economical and practice frugality.

One of the most important things you can do to make living on one income successful is to learn how to practice frugality and lower costs. This skill is extremely beneficial and will serve your family immensely. There is a multitude of ways to cut down on expenses and, therefore, increase your household income without actually earning an additional income. Additionally, the habits of being less wasteful and spending money wisely will serve you in whatever financial situation you find yourself in throughout your life.

Find ways to bring in extra income from home.

When you do finally become a stay-at-home mom, whether it’s right when your first baby is born or a few years down the road, it is helpful to find ways to bring in a little extra income. Don’t require this as part of becoming a stay-at-home parent because as I can attest, earning side hustle income is not always easy or reliable. In addition, some seasons of parenthood are more demanding than a full-time job, so it’s completely understandable if you don’t have the capacity to take on extra projects for a time! I go through some periods of time where I feel more capable of taking on extra work than at other times.

Final Thoughts

Now that you are ready to quit your job — jump into your new homemaker role with excitement and peace! If you follow tips above, you are as prepared as you can be to live on one income. I know it can be scary, especially if you haven’t relied on one person to support your family before. It may require a leap of faith.

Remember that being a full-time mother and homemaker is a blessing not only for you, but for your husband and children. Sacrificing a career in the workforce for a career at home is invaluable, even if just for a short season. Raising your children full time is a precious privilege. Don’t doubt the value you will bring to your family by becoming a stay-at-home mom.

“She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her” (Proverbs 31:27-28).

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