Parenting

You Can Be an At-Home Parent Too! At-Home Parent Profiles Name: Stephanie Schultz Home State: Wisconsin Number Ages of Children: 3#151;4 yrs., 2 yrs., 5 months Stephanie and her husband Steven live in a small town where family is a high priority. Steven is a full-time firefighter. At-Home Parenting Obstacle Encountered (e.g. income, self-esteem from job, husband not supportive, etc.) : When their second child was born Stephanie desperately wanted to stay home full time. She was working as an administrative assistant at a small insurance firm. Steven was resisting because they had just purchased a house and Stephanie#146;s income was essential in making the payment (or so he thought). How They Overcame this Obstacle : With her maternity leave nearly over Stephanie decided to find out for herself just how much her income was contributing to the total family income. She carefully recorded all of her work expenses including the obvious child care that would increase with the new baby, car expenses traveling to work, wardrobe; and less obvious expenses such as office gifts, lunches out, more convenience foods and eating out for the whole family, etc. When she subtracted this amount from her net pay, she was shocked to find out that the total amount of actual net income she would be providing was only $35/week! Stephanie was certain that she could save at least this amount by buying less pre-packaged foods, paying attention to sales and coupons, etc. For two weeks she tested her theory and ended up saving over $75 on groceries and household purchases alone. Stephanie turned in her resignation the next day, and since then has found numerous other ways to save on utilities, refinancing their mortgage, and so on. She has also started selling a very unique line of dried flower wreaths, gift boxes, etc. at a local consignment shop which has provided a small but steady additional income. The Schultzes estimate that they are financially ahead about $250/month over what they were when Stephanie was working, plus they have the added priceless value of having a parent home full-time with their children. For more information on Your REAL Take Home Pay, click here . Parents profiled in this feature are members of the National Association of At-Home Mothers. For more information or if you#146;d like to be profiled click here . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.