There are two things I wish I'd understood when I first wanted to stay home with my children. One was how much it actually cost me and my family for me to work and, second, how little I really needed to earn to stay home! This page will help you figure out both!

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CAN YOU AFFORD TO WORK?

Would you send your children to childcare for 45 hours per week so that you could work 40 hours per week to make a measly $3.80 per hour? Of course not, you say. But how do you know you aren't doing just that? I certainly never thought as a professional social worker that I would be making only $3.80 per hour. But that is exactly what I was doing.

When I worked as a social worker, I made about $28,000 per year. Not a great salary but, combined with my husband's, was a decent income. So why was I always broke? Why did we have a good income but couldn't afford to go on vacation? Worse, I couldn't afford to take the full 12 weeks allotted for maternity leave when my second child was born. The reason was that I had no clue how much I spent to work outside the home.

Here is what I paid each year so that I could work:

• $3,000 for Federal and State government income tax, Social Security payments and Medicare tax.
• $6,000 for childcare
• $2,400 extra for car payments, car insurance, and personal property tax for a newer car.
• $1,700 for commuting 10 miles a day.
• $1,000 for clothes, dry cleaning and other items and services related to my professional appearance.
• $1,000 for lunches.
• $2,600 for convenience foods and dining out because I was too tired to cook.
• $2,400 for I-deserve-this-because-I-work-so-hard items and guilt treats (toys, special outings) for my kids.

Total cost of my job: $20,100!

I spent $20,100 to work! That equaled an income of $7,900 per year, $152 per week... a full $3.80 per hour!

 

How much do you pay to work outside the home?

Use the list or the calculator below to calculate how much you pay to work.

 

Work-related Expenses (listed below):

• Federal Taxes:
• State Taxes:
• Local Taxes:
• Social Security:
• Medicare Tax:
• Child Care:
• Commuting (toll, parking, 2nd car):
• Gasoline and mileage:
• Car insurance (extra car, nicer car):
• Clothing expenses (cleaning, new):
• Gifts, special friends etc at work:
• Convenience food for meals:
• Eating Out:
• Housekeeping help:
• Grooming needs (hair, nails etc):
• Guilt items for kids and family:
• Extra cost related to lack of time to research cheaper prices:
• Extra cost related to hiring help instead of making repairs yourself:

Add all the items above and subtract from your GROSS income.

Expense Calculator

Taxes:

Daycare Expenses:

Commuting Expenses (gas, toll, parking etc):

Additional Car Expenses (2nd car, nicer car, increased insurance):

Lunch Expenses:

Clothing/Dry Cleaning Expense:

Dining Out and Convenience Food Expenses:

Extra cost related to hiring help instead of taking care of things yourself (maid service, repairs, etc):

Guilt or Reward Items for Working So Hart:

Miscellaneous Expenses:

Now enter you NET monthly income:

Gross Income Earned:

Total income after expenses:

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