So I just quit my sales job in order to be a stay at home dad. My wife makes much more, and I wasn't making much than day care would have costed. So it made sense, and we wanted one of us to stay home with the kid if possible. However, my old boss took me out for lunch today, and offered me a manager job. The pay is almost 2x higher than what I had been at. It makes it a bit more enticing. But then I would obviously have that added daycare expense. The math is looking to work out in favor of going back to work.
On just my wife's salary, we'll probably both be FI in 9-10 years. However with this, it might be more like 6-7 years.
So, is it worth it to take a job and not stay home in order to FI slightly earlier, or post-pone it, but be home with your kid and have a slightly better lifestyle? I realize this is one of those "Only you can tell the answer to that one" questions. So please skip that response; I'd like to know if you guys have any advice or experience to share.
DH is a SAHD and has been for 3 years now. For us, the math would def be for him working (he and I were making close to the same). Even with everything taken into account, it's costing us a lot for him to SAH.
With that said, I don't regret it for a second. While I think DD would have been fine in daycare, him SAH has improved the quality of our family life 100 fold.
-There's no rushing in the mornings to get everyone awake and out of the house. There's nothing I love more than leaving on a cold dark winter morning seeing DH and DD still warm and toasty in the house taking their time in their pjs.
-He does all of the regular cleaning and shopping while I'm at work, so weekends are for bigger projects or family time.
-He has time all for himself everyday (while DD naps) when he can workout, or even play video games or do whatever he wants.
-Dinner is ready when I get home and we eat and have the evenings together
-There's no rush for dinner, bath, bed, b/c when DD gets her baths, it's during the day before I get home.
With that said, I don't work at all for several months of the year, and have great flexibility and time at home (eg, WOH 1-2 days a week when working), so we both really have very relaxed lives and lots of time. All of this has set back our FI (we have a stache saved from before when we both worked FT that we add some to) but are still about 10 years away from FI. But, we are choosing great lives now with delaying the additional freedom of FI.
Oh, although DD is only 3 years old. We are moving towards him working PT when she's in school.