Sahm

Hello C. F!

I have friends who do a business out of their home and they are doing very well. So, well that their husbands quite their jobs and has never looked back. If you want to know more about it just let me know.

Hi. My husband is a sales director at Quicken Loans in Livonia. He started out there as a web banker, and has always made very good money. It's a great place to work, and they are hiring due to much growth, so maybe your husband could check it out. Best of luck to you.

My DH builds racing engines at Livernois Motorsports. From time to time I pick up the odd graphic design job that I can do from home, which is nice for spending money. I got my associates degree from Schoolcraft in Computer Graphics Technology in 2 years, going full time (back in the day before I had a kid, obviously), and it's been worth the investment.

Hi C.,
Before I got Prggie. I was working in retail, and that didn't pay very much. It wasn't worth paying for DayCare, I wouln't have brought more than a few buckes home every week. Right now my husband is working for Tech Teams for Fords. He takes care of the old computers that are no longer being used. And he is going to school at ITT-Tech for computer networking. MY husband and I prefer me to stay at home with our son, but we do without things that we don't need. It is hard alot of the times. But in the end we think it's worth it.
I hope that you find something that will work for you.
Good Luck
J.

Hi C.,
I'm not a sahm but often wondered the same thing. I am the main source of income in our house since my hubby is also an auto mechanic. I know exactly what you mean by the ever-changing hours and pay checks! My hubby and I are trying to figure out a way for him to open his own business so that I can stay at home. But since there is so much cost and liability it is going to take quite some time to get everything rolling. I know that this doesn't sound encouraging but with my hubby being an auto mechanic for over 10 years, I'm never going to be able to stay home. We definitely need a plan to change some career moves around. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Thanks,
J.

C.,
I unfortunatly am stuck between a rock and a hard place and HAVE TO stay home. We have 4 1/2 yr old triplets. I had to stop working when I was 20 weeks pregnant. My husband is a bowling alley mechanic. He works between 55 - 60 hours a week as head mechanic at his regular job (no time and a half for OT) and he works 2 nights a week at another bowling alley. He does not get insurance thru his work but his main job does give us $300 a month towards us paying for our own insurance (doesnt pay all of the ins for me and hubby). My husband gets laid off from the PT job in the summer and goes down to 40 hours a week at the FT job because the bowling alley closes and he does maintance to the machines during the summer. Because of this we barely qualify for MICHILD (ins for the kids). If we didnt have MICHILD for the kids it would cost us another $300 per month to add them onto my husband's ins. which we DO NOT have. We are barely making our bills and I have had anemia problems in the last yr and a half so I have $5000 in hospital dr bills that are going unpaid. I cannot work even PT or we wont qualify for the MICHILD. And TRUST ME I really do want to work, even if it was a PT job. Good luck to you and your family. I hope you find something.

My husband works for a marketing firm selling computer prossecors for AMD. I'd love to work myself but paying a babysitter or day care just seems like the second person is working for nothing.

Dear C.,

I became involved in a company called Arbonne International in April, 2006. It is a company that has exploded by 2000% in the past 5 years in the U.S. I have all the flexibility I need to say home with my two children and you can do it as a plan B until it supercedes your current job. It is not an overnight get rich quick scheme, it takes work but if you have the drive to want more time with your fmaily and make a residual income to leave with your children, I think you should give me a call at ###-###-####. I speak from the heart of a mother that felt exactly like you! Here is my
website: www.rmoyer.myarbonne.com.

You would need to talk to me to find out complete details.

Good luck and keep smiling!

C.
I'm a SAHM however, I work...a lot. I do a stay at home editor job where I edit books for a small publishing company. I also waitress on his night's off (two nights a week) at Carrabba's Italian Grill. I supliment our income...i'm not the "bread winner" but without my extra work, we wouldn't be afloat.
My husband is a restaurant manager. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone. It requires terribly long hours and EVERY weekend.
I don't have any advice, really. I just thought I'd give you our situation. If I had great ideas, I'd probably tell my husband to switch jobs. But, without a specific college degree, we don't have many options for him. If it's really bad for your husband, maybe move out of Michigan. Our economic climate is aweful.
J.

Hi C.. My husband is a Corrections Officer. He makes pretty good money but where it saves us is he has an unlimited amount of overtime if he wants to work extra every week. There is always a shortage of corrections officers and most likely will always be. I was on disability due to a back injury/surgery from an injury on the job, I used to be a police officer. But I was cut off in May of last year. I never thought we'd be able to survive on one income but we just cut corners where we need to and do just fine. Good Luck.
J.

Before we got pregnant, my husband and I worked hard to pay off our debts. We have a home in Dearborn that is very small, but very affordable. We also worked together to figure out a budget where we can afford to save money each month and still eat dinner out once or twice (and we work to stick to it). We also work really, really hard not to buy anything we don't need or can't immediately pay off. We have one credit card that gets paid off in full every month. It's difficult, but we knew that if I wanted to stay home with our child, we had to cut back. My husband is a CAD/AUTO CAD designer and has worked at the same company for 10 years. He learned his trade on the job, but is attending college at Baker College in Allen Park during the evenings to complete his degree and make himself more marketable. Basically, we work really, really hard to not spend beyond our means and still not feel like we're missing out. Of course, that means saying no to things we'd really like to do. For instance, one of our close friends recently got married in Belize, Central AMerica. We had to say no, because paying for the trip was not in our budget, despite the fact that the couple was one of our best friends and the groom and my husband grew up together. Of all of our friends, we were the only couple who did not go (oooh, was that hard for me!). If your goal is to eventually stay at home with your kids, you may want to speak with a financial advisor about what you need to do/save to make that happen. You could also check out Baker College. My husband went to Eastern Michigan for two semesters, but decided Baker College was more to his liking because he could complete his degree in 18 months if he took the accelerated program and it's not as expensive. Good luck!

Hi C.!

You are right, it is very hard in this time for a parent to stay home. The middle class is now becoming the poverty level and upper class is falling to middle class. With all of the job cuts that are happening no one is safe and a lot of parents are forced into that situation (one parent at home). It all boils down to will you live above your means to satisfy your lifestyle? We say no with our mouths and yes with our pockets. We pay for convenience. 2 cars, fancy houses and unnecessary extras that we could do without, but have become and needs not wants.

It takes financial hardships and strains to make people see the light. For years my husband and I mundanely worked for companies 9-5. We were comfortable on a steady income. We did about $180K BUT when he got laid off and my position was outsourced we were living WAY beyond our salaries. Could we have made it on just his salary? Sure but I wouldn't have been driving a Mercedes. Then like a ton of bricks our plush life hit rock bottom and got backed into a corner that I never though we would get out of.

I said all that to say, you will NEVER be financially independent working for someone else. Ends meet will always be an issue. It was for us and we made decent salaries. Its all because we get comfortable, too comfortable. We take our job for granted like it will be there. No back up plan. 9 out of 10 times its people who go broke that either sink or swim because something has to happen, no matter what it is.

Its been 4 years since out "financial awakening" and my husband and I live very well now but we no longer take things for granted even in our own businesses. We save and live on one of our salaries. It works so well that way.

Changing careers takes time and a lot of patience. I have a MBA and I am established but I missed my kids as babies. It was a trade off, a career that would make their life better or me in their life, just being there. I chose the career and it did not pay off because all the school nights, late studying, leave me alones I am busy, I got a test in the morning, no park today because mommy is tired did not pay off because all I worked for was outsourced.

Take it slow and find your niche. Healthcare is an ever growing field. If you have picked a career start slow so you don't miss out like me.

well, the way we manage(which is still pay check to pay check). Is we live in a co op townhouse.so rent is cheap! my husband works for fords on the line.(but with the way fords is ...we never know whats going to happen)but my background is in daycare.so for me to work would just pay for child care. so i stay home. we dont have alot of extra stuff.put its worth it to be home with my kids.good luck!

Hi C.,
Its not easy..thats for darn sure!! I too am a SAHM of 2 children. My son just turned one and my daughter just turned 5. In order for us to survive (for a lack of better words) I am now babysitting in my home. It brings in an extra $800-$1000 a month. I am able to stay home and raise my family while helping other parents who HAVE to work in keeping their childcare costs down.
We have a cute bungalow in the downtown Eastpointe area and my husband just started a new job with Quicken Loans. Hopefully within the next year he will make enough to were the money that I bring in can be saved. Right now we are just about pay check to paycheck. We do allow ourselves one day a week were we go out for dinner. There is no spending unless we pay for it on the spot and its mutually agreed upon.
Its tough but, in the long run I think that the kids are much better off.