Staying Home for parenting

Even though I wanted to be with my daughter during her childhood, I used to work in an office job until she was two. I hired a nanny who was taking care of her. The situation pains me because I wanted to be with her especially during her development stage. I wanted to be there and witnessed her first smile, firs step, and first words. But I know I had to work. My husband needs help with our finances.

It is such a blessing to have a nanny as efficient as Maria. She really performed the duty of a second mother to my child. My daughter never got sick during those times she was under the care of Maria. Unfortunately, a tragedy came to Maria’s family. She had to fly back home and never had the chance to come back to us. I was left with no choice but to stop working and do the nursing my way.

Things changed or really have to change when I stopped working. It happened so fast and we were not prepared for this kind of situation. We were not stable financially. My husband’s income was not enough to support all our expenses… especially my frugality. I knew I had to do something. I can’t work and take care of my baby at the same time so I have to save to make both ends meet. This was the greatest challenge I’ve had.

I started reading articles on how I will save money and started planning. I also practiced saving coupons, shopping only sales and cutting every dollar spending as much as I could. It wasn’t easy at first, but later everything becomes a routine and saving a penny became easier. My husband got his promotion six months after I stopped working and it came to a point his earnings was more than enough for the family.

Soon after my husband’s promotion, we were ready for our second baby. Everything has been planned out. We made sure the kids will have a brighter future even if it is only their daddy working. We both agreed it is still best if their own mother will watch over the kids.

Both our children are on grade school now. I am still home preparing them and waiting for their arrival after school. You can see the smiles on their face when they got home and see their mom waiting for them preparing home cooked meals and cleaning the house up.

For those parents who wanted to be home for their kids, but just can’t for financial reasons, you might want to consider these tips. I have learned these valuable lessons along the way.

Take a good look at where your money is going. First, list down all your expenses while you were working. The biggest expenses might be transportation and daycare. Include also the other expenses like the amount you put on your lunches when you don’t have time to prepare your meal, or your wardrobe when you don’t have the time to wash them. Add everything then subtract it from your income.

Find ways to save money. On another piece of paper, write down ways on how you can save money and how the approximate amount. For example, you may be able to save $50 by cutting coupons on groceries. Preparing home meals is also cheaper than buying lunches or dinners in restaurants, and you may get $200 savings from it. Think of other recreational ways that are way cheaper than your usual hang-outs. The creativity in you will pop out and leaving a great self-discovery.

Add it up. Now add your savings together to see if you can make as much as your previous income. It is expected that you won’t get even, but no need to panic. You can still think of other ways to make money.

How can you make money from home? Ask yourself what are you good at and what are the things you enjoy doing, and then make money out of it. If you love writing, you may begin writing articles and submit it to magazines or newspapers. You may also consider looking for online jobs so you can work at home. If you are a great cook, you might want to bake pastries and sell them to the neighborhood or to your friends. Not only you get additional income, you also get the chance personally look after your kids.

Don’t let fear get in your way. Do not be afraid of changes. It is true that there are things you will have to give up, things you were used to doing, but with your determination you will surely cope up.

The old saying goes, “If there is a will, there is a way.” Once you decided on one thing, believe that you can do it and you definitely will.