SAHM

[mamadrummer]

Hi
Just saw someone say a husband earning £35,000 isn't enough for the mum to stay home. Just curious, what do you think is an ok salary for one partner to earn so the other can comfortably stay home?? I know it depends on situation and costs etc but just rough idea?

It depends on what satisfies you in life . We live in the East, bog stand 3 bed semi, two middling aged cars, 3 kids and survived quite comfortably on a wage of 35k. We have savings, can do an average holiday, have treats.

Would you also like to know how long a piece of string is??

I earnt between 30K- 40k as a single professional in London it was a stretch to save when paying exorbitant rent and travel costs.
I did extra work when I could and scraped a deposit together but it took years.

70k is our combined wage but I would rather 80k + so we are comfortable. We are in zone 4 of London. I'm guessing it might be different in other parts of the country.

Completely depends on your outgoings - don't forget tho if you've strived for a decent career it may be an idea to keep your hand in so you can get back into your career when they're a bit older ... time moves on so fast and you can get left behind in some careers .... depending on what you do

Things would be tight for us with less than 50k, which is our current combined wage. We could probably manage on 35k if we didn't have a hefty mortgage.

Well when I had two young children it was costing more than my salary to have them both in childcare. I did it for the sake of my career and I worked p/t so the hit was less, but it was still a hit. I can't imagine we would have been the only ones in those circumstances.

(Yes childcare for 2 also cost more than DH's salary - and he also applied to go p/t as well but was refused... Long story and I'm still bitter about it!)

Funny - I posted this question last week!

We have been just surviving with me as a SAHM for a few years, however I completed a degree & ma in that time and have recently started at a company I like. DH has just been given a promotion and so I could stay at home. However, after posting I realised I don't want to - I may be at the beginning of my career and dh reaching his peak, but I want a shot at it too!

My husband earns less and I'm a SAHM to our 4 children. We live a very comfy lifestyle and always have, I think. Our annual income for our eldest child's first year was just 11K! At that time my DH and I were both students, working odd jobs. Our rent was £550 p/m. We managed.

I've been a SAHM for nearly 9 years, was a student before that. SAHM by choice but if I was working, my salary wouldn't cover childcare. And the nature of DH's job means we move countries every 1/2 years anyway. Not great for my 'career'!

We're currently renting in the South of England. We don't have any debts/credit cards. We're very sensible with money, in fact I'm a real penny pincher- I have to be to make it work! Obviously everyone's outgoings are very different. Along with the nature of a SAHP's career, outgoings are the real crux of whether it's financially feasible or not.

My brother is on that wage & his wife is a SAHM to 3 kids. They live in a 2 bed house with a converted loft, drive an old car & save for holidays abroad every two years. They feel they are comfortable.

On the other hand our friend has 2 kids & constantly remarks about how she "has to work", " she doesn't have a choice" she'd "love to be the mum with her kids in the coffee shop but she can't afford it". She has 2 new 4x4 type cars, 5 bedroom house she is planning to extend, family holidays abroad at least twice a year, a holiday house in the U.K & lots of expensive buys. She could easily afford to be a stay at home mum but they need two incomes to fund their lifestyle & they don't want to give it up.

Well I'm a sahm currently (probably not long term) and my husband earns £50k and it's doable day to day but things like holidays and home improvement budgets are definitely affected.

We are in the north and luckily have small
Mortgage and lots of savings which makes it doable.

Chocolate I know lots of people like your friend. I think it's difficult to survive on one salary if you place a lot of importance on material things, house extensions, cars and posh holidays which I know a lot of people do

We share one six year old unflashy car. I buy clothes for the kids but only when strictly needed for myself. We rarely go out to posh restaurants etc (maybe pizza express with the kids once a month). We are going camping in France this summer which will be our main holiday. We do lots of days out with the kids but very few things as "grown ups only".

That's what the reality is for a sahp I think unless partner earns a LOT.

It’s like saying how long is a piece of string.. it depends on where you live, outgoings etc. My DH earns £70k+ and I work two days a week, we would struggle without my salary but that’s down to our lifestyle and where we live. We live somewhere where house prices are pretty much like London prices even though we are in the NW.

Probably but not comfortably.

We live in a relatively cheap area and bills (including mortgage and food but not childcare) are about £1200. I wouldn't feel safe staying at home unless partner earned about £60,000. We earn about £70,000 combined and still struggle some months, but then childcare is a large amount.

I'm in Edinburgh and neither my husband nor I could be a SAHP unless the other earned at least £55k or we would seriously have to compromise on lifestyle (and we aren't especially extravagant - but to cover mortgage, car, one holiday abroad per year and to have any money left to spend, that's what we would need).