(01-12-2019 08:06 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(01-12-2019 07:19 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(01-12-2019 05:48 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(01-12-2019 05:43 PM)fsquid Wrote:  Cost of daycare is what my friends cite when asked why they stopped.

in a two income household, just one will hurt the feelings of the average wage earner....

a good one in the 'burg will run ya ~500.00/mo...

I've helped a lot of young couples handle budget issues over the years. By the time you figure the cost of a second vehicle, its insurance, and tag, and gasoline, and add the cost of daycare, if the wife isn't knocking down 24,000 or more a year whether she should work or stay at home becomes a big question. Many Day Cares run $500 a month for a good one. Then add the fact that most young couples who both work eat out way past the norm and pretty soon the NET benefit of the second paycheck is lost to all of the above plus the extra taxes paid because of the adjusted gross income.

The question really is how much more revenue does the wife need to earn before the issue isn't a quality of life matter. Stay at home moms who shop and cook still save young families a lot of money. If the wife makes more then stay at home dad becomes the viable question.

Of course feminists go berserk over these kinds of matters, but the quality of life for the child is usually better, the cost of living is less, and families tend to remain nuclear which has shown some strong upsides for all involved. Now thanks to the internet many stay at home parents can actually have an online income stream and still manage the parenting and household matters.

It's just no longer what seems to be the right option for young couples due to lifestyle matters and appearances, plus the retarded social stigma against stay at home parents discourages many from taking a serious look at that option.

that's solid advice.....I've had that same discussion with younger couples as well.....

in addition to what you pointed out, I would also suggest waiting a little while, save money, and decide further down the road once a rooted path for each was better established and understood both emotionally and financially...

Agree. I usually cover savings when I talk to them about acceptable %'s of disposable income to be used for personal cash allowances for private money versus what they need to set aside to build both toward having enough on hand for unexpected cash outlays and retirement. I cover their life insurance, the kinds of, the values of, etc, and get into why they need some cash set aside for Cobra's should they find themselves out of work or in transition and are dependent like most young folks on group plans at work for health coverage.

Unfortunately you don't always catch them prior to that first baby so waiting until they are both in a better emotional and financial state is not always the sitz im leben in which they seek help. What I hate to get are those who have so thoroughly screwed up that they have virtually destroyed all paths out of the crisis. They are usually going to wind up headed for another cash outlay (divorce). And divorce with a child is frequently a negative life altering experience for all involved.