Take a pay cut?

[~Ari~]

My DH and I have been going back and forth on the idea of me becoming a stay at home mom. We aren't near FI as we are fairly young, but we are out of debt (24 & 25).  I only bring in $300 a month after childcare working 45 hrs a week. A new job opportunity opened up....if I take it, I would be working 10-15 hrs a week at a $1 less an hour then my current job. We would also be paying less in childcare cost due to changing providers to accommodate the new schedule. So, in summary I would be making about $200 / mth, only $100 less than what I currently am making. Would this opportunity allow me to have the "best of both worlds" as I would have more time with my children while still being employed? I do plan on going back to work full time once my children reach school age (3-4 yrs from now).

Just wondering what other mustachian may do in our situation?

[Jrr85]

Really depends on your career aspirations.  My wife and I looked at something similar and in the short term, doing the SAHM or part time thing would have been a better decision, and to me it looks like it would be for your situation also.  But my wife was in a career where it wasn't feasible for her to quit or go part time and have a reasonable expectation of getting back on track when she came back.  The money wasn't the issue (she has always made enough to net a decent amount even after child care, and I have always made enough that we could forgo that extra amount if we wanted), it was just that she wanted to achieve some career related goals for personal satisfaction. 

Had she had a career where she could step out for a few years and then step back in without serious limiting her potential for advancement (say maybe being in nursing or teaching or pharmacy) she probably would have stayed at home or gone part time.  I think it's more of a question of what you value than the money aspect of it, but if the money aspect is important, I'd almost ignore the money while you would be staying at home or doing part time, and just look at the impact on earnings after the kids go back to school.  Depending on career, those numbers could easily dwarf near term impact. 

[~Ari~]

Really depends on your career aspirations.  My wife and I looked at something similar and in the short term, doing the SAHM or part time thing would have been a better decision, and to me it looks like it would be for your situation also.  But my wife was in a career where it wasn't feasible for her to quit or go part time and have a reasonable expectation of getting back on track when she came back.  The money wasn't the issue (she has always made enough to net a decent amount even after child care, and I have always made enough that we could forgo that extra amount if we wanted), it was just that she wanted to achieve some career related goals for personal satisfaction. 

Had she had a career where she could step out for a few years and then step back in without serious limiting her potential for advancement (say maybe being in nursing or teaching or pharmacy) she probably would have stayed at home or gone part time.  I think it's more of a question of what you value than the money aspect of it, but if the money aspect is important, I'd almost ignore the money while you would be staying at home or doing part time, and just look at the impact on earnings after the kids go back to school.  Depending on career, those numbers could easily dwarf near term impact.

I would have to agree with you about your comment on career aspirations...I didn't give that a good thought. My current position is in office management / marketing. It's not that I don't like it, but it isn't where I see myself. So, for that reason I am not too concerned about not having a job come time to return back to full time.

[Slow&Steady]

This is a decision that can really only be made by you and your family.

It sounds like you want to stay home but are willing to work part-time and the $100 per month less in income doesn't really impact your budget, if that is the case then do it.  However, I agree with the PP, if you do have a career goal don't forget to include that in your calculations.  When your kids do go back to school and you want to start working full-time again they will try to base your offer on what your last income was (unless you change fields).  Also include any benefits you might be giving up, are you currently eligible for a 401k? Do they match?  Are you eligible once part-time?  Will they match at part-time?

[~Ari~]

This is a decision that can really only be made by you and your family.

It sounds like you want to stay home but are willing to work part-time and the $100 per month less in income doesn't really impact your budget, if that is the case then do it.  However, I agree with the PP, if you do have a career goal don't forget to include that in your calculations.  When your kids do go back to school and you want to start working full-time again they will try to base your offer on what your last income was (unless you change fields).  Also include any benefits you might be giving up, are you currently eligible for a 401k? Do they match?  Are you eligible once part-time?  Will they match at part-time?

This is why it is a hard decision. Current employer matches 4% on 401K (which i was just eligible for 3 months ago) and I also have a "free" $25,000 life insurance policy through them. So, I would be giving these up if I do change positions. The new job does have great benefits and retirement plans for those that work 20+ or more a week. So I do have the potential of bumping up my hours to get those benefits. Just not right away....

[PencilThinStash]

So you're effectively "paying" $100 a month in exchange for ~120 extra hours with your kids?

Bachelor's perspective here, I haven't changed a diaper since my little siblings grew out of them, and I get to happily hand back nieces and nephews when they start to throw tantrums - But if I had kids, and someone told me it would cost me less than a dollar to leave the office and spend an hour with them, I'd take that deal 10 times out of 10.

Granted, my mom was a SAHM who happened to have minimal career aspirations, and my dad made enough that there was never a concern on the financial side. So I recognize that I'm EXTREMELY biased toward the traditional approach. YMMV if you lean more "ambitious modern career woman" on the spectrum.

Not to get too nosy (though, this is a personal finance forum), but what does your savings rate look like currently? Paycheck-to-paycheck vs. healthy savings buffer should also come into consideration.

[ender]

This is why it is a hard decision. Current employer matches 4% on 401K (which i was just eligible for 3 months ago) and I also have a "free" $25,000 life insurance policy through them. So, I would be giving these up if I do change positions. The new job does have great benefits and retirement plans for those that work 20+ or more a week. So I do have the potential of bumping up my hours to get those benefits. Just not right away....

Add these benefits in as yearly financial benefits. A $25k term policy is practically free to someone who is alive in their 20s and for me wouldn't even be a factor I'd even consider. My wife is about your age and I think her $400k policy is about $20/month.

Regarding your question, you are talking about a net amount of roughly $1200 less per year. This gives you about 1500 hours more with your family (or just child, depending on husbands hours). I honestly suspect your extra time for those 30 hours a week will enable you to save far more than $100/month, too.

The only question here really is how much you want to prioritize career over family long term (or, if you prefer to phrase it family over career). The financials to me would be a slam dunk "take the job" situation. Seriously - $100/month ends up as less than $1/hr difference (!).

[Hotstreak]

Instead of looking at this as giving up $100, think of the ways you can actually make this a cash flow benefit for your family.  I think if you did you will find that it makes sense.

Can you monetize staying at home?  Watching other people's kids, even part time, could easily make up the $100 difference, and if you have a stable work schedule that should be easy enough to do.  Will you be able to spend more time being thrifty, cooking at home, watching for sales on things you need?  Would the new part time job mean you will drive less miles per week (or are you biking/walking)?  Can you save money with cloth diapers at home, whereas you needed disposables for daycare?

Lastly, I'm not married and don't know how your relationship works, but will your husband be responsible for less household chores like shopping, food prep, paying bills, etc?  I imagine not having to worry about taking care of those things when he gets home could improve his performance at work, and possibly lead to more pay or better promotions.

[Jrr85]

The only question here really is how much you want to prioritize career over family long term (or, if you prefer to phrase it family over career). The financials to me would be a slam dunk "take the job" situation. Seriously - $100/month ends up as less than $1/hr difference (!).

Not to beat a dead horse, but the $100/month is not the significant part of the financial situation.  For my wife, for example, she could have given up an approximately $50k to $60k job to be a SAHM.  If that was the only consideration, we probably would have done it.  But three years in, she's already making just under $80k and conservatively, by the time all of our kids are in elementary school she should be doing around $100k and hopefully more like $120k.  So for us, let's say with three kids she takes off around 12 years to get them all into elementary school, and then she goes back and picks up where she left off making around $50-$60k and realistically, the opportunities for advancement will probably be limited coming back into the work force at that age.  She'll probably work another 15-20 years (we're not on the early retirement bandwagon, just want to have the option if we choose) so she would have 15 to 20 years where she is "penalized" by making $30k to $60k less per year compared to what she will make after not taking time off to do the SAHM thing.   

Again, for us, it was more about her reaching the goals she wanted to reach than the finances, but if the finances matter, it's just as important if not more important to look at the difference in earnings after she goes back to work as it is to look at the immediate impacts.  If you have a job where you can hop in and out of the work force without penalty, or if you are not planning on working into your 50's, then later earning potential probably won't matter, but for us, it would have been a significant part of the financial equation.

[mm1970]

My DH and I have been going back and forth on the idea of me becoming a stay at home mom. We aren't near FI as we are fairly young, but we are out of debt (24 & 25).  I only bring in $300 a month after childcare working 45 hrs a week. A new job opportunity opened up....if I take it, I would be working 10-15 hrs a week at a $1 less an hour then my current job. We would also be paying less in childcare cost due to changing providers to accommodate the new schedule. So, in summary I would be making about $200 / mth, only $100 less than what I currently am making. Would this opportunity allow me to have the "best of both worlds" as I would have more time with my children while still being employed? I do plan on going back to work full time once my children reach school age (3-4 yrs from now).

Just wondering what other mustachian may do in our situation?

Career aspirations would be my big question.

In any event, when my older son was 18 mo- 3, I worked part time (30 hrs/week instead of 45).
When my younger son was a baby (0-1) I worked 32 hours a week.

It was fantastic.  It was a net "loss" in income both times, because I was still paying for full time childcare. (7 hours or 9 hours a day, same price).  But it was so amazing to have those extra hours, and I was exhausted.

So, you are losing $100 a month.  You are gaining (as someone already said), 120 hours a month with your kids.

I'd do it.