Dear Dr. Laura,
I was just listening to your podcast and a mom was saying their family could not afford for her to stay home full time with their children. I just wanted to give my testimonial that it is possible, but the husband and wife need to make that the priority. I am 27 years old and my husband is 28. We have a 21-month-old daughter, and I am five months pregnant with our second.
Up until a couple of months ago, I worked a few days a week- mainly to keep our insurance and the stock benefits I had with the company I worked for. I worked during the week, usually at night. My husband and mother-in-law traded off watching our daughter. It was tough, I didn't work the most, but my husband and I worked pretty much opposite schedules. We did what we needed to do, but we maintained the goal of me staying home with our daughter during the day. The money I did make was usually splurged on eating out because we were both too tired and the house too messy to want to prepare a meal at home. The money was okay - but we weren't happy.
Luckily my husband is an accountant and believes in budgets! Money is tight and actually we are right above what is considered the poverty line, but now on his income, we are able to live comfortably, pay our bills, and have food on our table. We actually are homeowners - our mortgage is only fifty dollars more than our rent was! We have one good car and one junker for around town. We live comfortably, but not very extravagantly. And the best things are my daughter gets a happy mommy 24/7, my husband has his "girlfriend" again, and we haven't been happier! It's a simpler life that requires sacrifices, but is so much more rewarding in so many ways.
Thank you, Dr. Laura, for inspiring our commitment to family.
Jessica
