The Cost of Work

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!


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 below to calculate how much you pay to work.

Yearly Salary:
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:
Total Expenses related to work:

Actual contribution to family income (salary - total work expenses = family contribution):


What did you discover? Is one-third, one-half or more of your income going to pay expenses just so you can work? It can be pretty depressing to learn you work hard but reap little reward for it. However, if working outside the home is costing you a lot of money, working at home may be the answer. But don't quit your job yet.





HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED TO SURVIVE?

Before you quit your job, you need to determine how much your family needs to survive. This requires making the dreaded family budget, but it's a necessary hassle if you're serious about wanting to work at home.

Here are some items to include in your budget:

Household:
Mortgage/rent
Homeowner association fees
Taxes (usually included in mortgage)
Insurance (usually included in mortgage)
Electric
Gas
Water
Sewer
Telephone
Maintenance
Other

Insurance:
Life
Medical
Dental
Eye
Other

Automobile:
Car payments
Insurance
Personal Property Tax/registration fees
Maintenance
Gas

Loans or Debts:
Student loans
Consumer debt (credit and store cards)
Other obligations such as taxes

Other Obligations:
Child Support
Alimony

Other Expenses:
Clothes
Food
Grocery
Dinner out
Lunches
Medical
Fun Stuff
Cable
Videos
Excursions
Magazine subscriptions
Vacations
Hobbies/interests
Grooming (hair cuts etc)
Dry Cleaning
Gifts
Cash
Emergency
Savings
Other

Total Expenses:


Now you can calculate how much money, if any, you would need to earn from home if you quit your job. Take your Total Expenses and subtract the amount of money that comes into your home without your income. For example, if your monthly expenses are $2,500 and your spouse earns $1,900, you would need to earn a net amount of $600 ($2,500 - $1,900 = $600). Or would you? While $600 isn't that much to earn it isn't that much to save either.

Ways to Save More!

Look over your budget again and see if there are areas that you can save money. Can you survive with one car or a cheaper car? Can you cut your grocery bill? Can you use the library to borrow books and videos for free instead of paying for them? Once you stay home, you will have more time to bargain shop for clothes, repair services, and other needs thereby cutting costs on those items.

When I did this exercise I sold my $350.00 per month car and bought a $188.00 per month car that also saved me on insurance and personal property tax. I cut my grocery bill by 20% and my utility bill by 10%. I joined barter and swap clubs on the Internet for books and other items. With my new budget makeover, I saved about $700 per month.

After doing the exercises above I discovered I could work outside the home 40 hours per week to take home less than half my salary or I could work from home part-time, be with my kids, and earn about the same amount of take home pay. It wasn't too hard of a decision to make.

By now you should know how expensive it is for you to work outside the home. Perhaps you were lucky and discovered that you pay more to work than to stay home. But even if you found that you would still need to earn an income from home, the amount should be significantly less than what you would have to earn working outside the home. You can now begin to search for work that will allow you to earn that amount from home.