Title: Should Both Parents Work
- Or Should One Stay Home?
Author Name: Gordon Bellows
Contact Email: Gordon@ArticleCafe.com
Word Count: 977 words (including resource box)
formatted with hard return at 65 characters
Category: Family / Career / Finance
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Should Both Parents Work - Or Should One Stay Home?
by Gordon Bellows
In today's economy, there are more and more families
with both
parents working. This article offers a few things to
think about
and how to determine what may be best. There is no
right or wrong
decision; each family has to evaluate their situation
and then
decide what is best for them as individuals and as
a family.
There are many things to consider:
* Do both parents really want to work?
* If one stays home, which one should it be?
* What is future earning potential in current position?
* Which job offers the best benefits and medical insurance?
* Is there opportunity for advancement?
* What are the job-related expenses? (clothing, transportation)
* How much of the income goes for child daycare?
* What are the ages of the children in the family?
* How long is the daily commute to work?
* If only one works, what happens if they're suddenly
laid-off?
* Should one or both parents have some type of home
business?
Start with a list of all things that need to be considered
for
your specific situation, coming up with different scenarios,
and
then list the pros and cons of each scenario.
By the way, the number of stay-at-home dads is on the
increase,
so don't hesitate to consider that as one of your options.
For many families, having both parents working is almost
an
economic necessity. But, you may want to review the
income vs.
the expenses to really see how much you come out ahead.
For example, I know of two families that did just that;
they took
a close look at the expenses tied directly to the second
income.
Both families had similar situations; each family had
two
children under the age of ten, and the mother returned
to the
workforce after their youngest child was out of diapers.
Both women earned the same annual income and had very
similar
expenses. Mindy was a customer service supervisor for
a marketing
firm, and Cedara was a caseworker for a social services
agency.
They looked at all expenses directly related to their
job:
* Transportation - gasoline and car upkeep or bus/subway
* Child care - daycare or after-school care
* Clothing - several outfits worn only for work
* Dry cleaning - some work clothes required special
care
* Food - morning coffee, lunch, tips, afternoon snack,
etc.
* Beauty salon - hair/nails were done more often because
of job
* Miscellaneous - gift for boss, flowers for sick co-worker,
etc.
Both women knew about the major expenses, but they
were shocked
at how the little things added up week after week;
the morning
coffee, the afternoon snack, a dollar here, a dollar
there.
They could see their take-home pay... the amount of
their check
after taxes and any other deductions. However, they
really needed
to find out what was left from the take-home pay after
all of the
job-related expenses were added up.
After careful review, Mindy and Cedara both discovered
that after
taxes and all job-related expenses, what they had left
as a net
result was less than one-third of their salary!
That means somebody with a salary of $15 per hour would
realize a
net result of less than $5 per hour. That shocker really
got
their attention. Mindy and Cedara had some decisions
to make.
Mindy knew there was little opportunity for advancement
in her
position as customer service supervisor. She was often
required
to work evenings, which she wasn't comfortable with.
She felt the
net result pay was not enough for the long hours she
put in.
Mindy decided to stay at home. She would now have the
time to
shop the sales and make home-cooked meals instead of
buying the
more expensive heat-and-eat meals. With some careful
planning she
could make the household budget stretch enough to do
just fine.
Cedara liked working in social services and felt she
was making a
difference in the lives of many clients. She wanted
to continue
working. She took a close look at her expenses and
saw ways to
cut back and get a better net result. It was just a
matter of
being aware of where the dollars go and spending more
wisely.
Each woman made their decision based on what seemed
to be best
for them and their family in the long term.
The portrayal of the family as seen on some old TV
shows like
'Leave It To Beaver' and 'Father Knows Best' where
the
husband/father puts on a suit and goes off to work
while the
wife/mother stays at home is only one of many scenarios.
Side note: I would like to see double standards eliminated,
but
unfortunately, I don't think it will happen anytime
soon. One
example that comes to mind is that it was okay for
women to do
heavy labor during World War II (think of 'Rosie the
riveter'),
but when men returned from the war, women were expected
to go
back to being housewives and file clerks.
Who says women can't do labor or drive a truck or that
a man
shouldn't be at home raising children? Sorry, but prejudice
and
narrow-mindedness are a couple of my hot buttons.
Again, it should be emphasized that there is no right
or wrong
decision. It comes down to doing what is best for you
as an
individual and for the family as a whole. Taking the
right action
is not always easy, but usually well worth it in the
long term.
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Gordon Bellows is a home business advisor. Success
Tips, a handy how-to guide, is FREE! Loaded with tips that get great results!
See what works, what to avoid. Discover the keys to
success for
your home business or MLM. Go to http://www.TipsForHomeBiz.com
