Three Financial Considerations for the Stay at Home Mom

(The following guest article is by Jason at WorkSaveLive. If you would like to guest post for us please see our guidelines. Editors’ Note: My wife has been a stay-at-home mom since our son was born in 2001. It was a great choice for us and something we don’t regret.)

Many people have called mothers, or any parent, who stays at home both the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the household. Even if a stay at home mom does not make all the monetary decisions, she is often tasked with saving money, making ends meet and stretching a dollar to do the job. Here is a look at three financial considerations unique to the stay at home mom and some tips for dealing with each.

Peter, Paul and the Grocery Store

With mouths to feed and lunches to make, it does not really matter how much is in the checking account. Families need food, and often a mom has to figure out how to make that happen. You do not have to rob Peter to pay the food bill, though. Some ways of stretching the budget to ensure quality, healthy meals include:

• Making the most of non-dollar payment sources like coupons.
• Creating a meal plan for several weeks at a time, which allows you to stock up on appropriate items when they are discounted.
• Buying in bulk and storing food in airtight containers to cut back on waste.
• Shopping fresh and locally to avoid transportation costs.
• Getting creative with leftovers, like using the leftovers from baked chicken to make both chicken salad and chicken noddle soup.

Timing a New Arrival

Couples may wonder when is the right time to have a baby. Although the traditional answer is that no time is perfect, there are some times that are better than others. A mother who is juggling two small children and an increasingly tight budget may not want to plan for a new arrival. A couple who has purchased a larger house for their family of three and has extra money at the end of each month may be ready for their next child.

Of course, babies are not always planned, so do not let your financial situation cause a panic if something does happen. Simply buckle down and find some ways to add to income or save on regular expenses. Cutting out cable might pay for diapers, for example.

Working from Home

When ends simply cannot meet, then a stay at home mom may need to consider finding another source of income. While many turn to full or part-time work outside of the home, there are a growing number of moms working from home. At-home work options include:

• Content writing
• Transcription
• Customer service and phone support
• Data entry
• Crowd sourcing tasks, such as writing reviews or entering search terms, and
• Google rating

Moms with degrees or special skills may also be able to turn their abilities into a small side business. From baking cakes to sewing doll clothes to sell at etsy.com, anything is a potential income source as long as you are willing to do a bit of work and market yourself.

If moms really are the CFO of the home, then they need to do what CFOs across the nation are doing during economic downturns. They need to analyze the financial situation, find areas to cut costs, make sound decisions on bringing in new people, and increase income when necessary.

Author Bio: Jason is the founder WorkSaveLive.com and the author of the free How to Become Rich e-course where he helps guide people towards the path of building wealth.

6 Responses to “Three Financial Considerations for the Stay at Home Mom”

1. John @ Frugal Rules on January 15th, 2013 11:21 am

   Good post Jason! My wife is worth more than her weight in gold. I would definitely say she is the CFO of our house. We do our budget together and there are many categories I hand over to her in order to keep us on task. She is much more skilled at being able to keep many moving parts straight than I am.
   John @ Frugal Rules recently posted…Are You in Charge of Your Financial Future?

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2. The Happy Homeowner on January 15th, 2013 11:29 am

   I love that there are so many options for working at home–far better than what used to be out there and getting better every year.

   I don’t have kids yet, but I wouldn’t be opposed to creating a WFH situation that allowed me to be closer to my children (and avoid childcare costs!).
   The Happy Homeowner recently posted…Is Getting a Second or Third Job Really Worth it?

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3. Kyle on January 15th, 2013 12:26 pm

   @ John – I am constantly saying that my wife works twice as hard as I do as a stay-at-home mom. Days when I am not working I get a really good glimpse into the work she does to keep our household going.

   @ THH – So true! A blog like yours is a another great way to find some side-income.

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4. Jason on January 15th, 2013 2:32 pm

   @John – yeah, we know quite a few stay-at-home moms and I’m always amazed at how they’re able to handle everything. I don’t think they get enough credit whatsoever!
   Jason recently posted…Debt Reduction Strategy: The Debt Siege

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5. Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank on January 16th, 2013 1:49 am

   Great post Jason – I always love reading your guest posts, you seem to put a lot of effort into them.

   My wife and I waited until we could afford to continue paying off our house one a single income before we decided to start extending our family. I’m really glad we waited and while there are probably better times to start, I think we are doing OK.
   Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted…Route 66 – A Road Trip That Won’t Break the Budget

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6. Kim@Eyesonthedollar on January 16th, 2013 6:12 pm

   Obviously I am biased, but I do believe women are better at multi tasking. If my husband has our daughter, especially when she was a baby, he could watch her and nothing else. If I had her, I could take care of her, clean the house, make dinner, and pay bills online at the same time. Is that the best way? I don’t know, but you only have so much time to get everything done.
   Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted…My Child Needs Glasses, Now What?

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