does it make sense to work? (about salaries)

amother

Tue, Dec 06 2005, 2:55 pm

I am a teacher in the school. We all know that the salaries there are not the best and sometimes they pay us late. My babysitter earns $300 less then I earn myself. I spend a lot of time in the school and when I come home I have to prepare projects, lessons and etc. Sometimes I have some doubt: does my work have a sense.

SMG

Tue, Dec 06 2005, 3:01 pm

I always say, we don't go into teaching for the money, but we wouldn't teach if we didn't get paid. I actually stopped teaching for a couple of years because at the time I was going to be paying my babysitter more than I was making!

nicole81

Tue, Dec 06 2005, 3:09 pm

my sitter earns $200 less than me! no matter what you come home with, if your income is absolutely necessary to run your household, then it's worth it. I'm hoping that after the winter is over and I don't have a heating bill anymore, I can quit. but maybe I'm just being too wishful...

happymom

Tue, Dec 06 2005, 3:11 pm

amother if you cant live without the 300 dollars than I guess you dont have a choice... but if you can live without it im sure its worth it, and your kids will be happy too Smile

raizy

Tue, Dec 06 2005, 11:01 pm

like the poster above. if u can live without the 300 hundred dollars then quit..

also my hubby said to do your homedaycare u have to make at least x amount of money to be worthwhile of your time and energy and he is 100% right!!

chen

Wed, Dec 07 2005, 12:17 am

Some of us work not so much for the pay, most of which goes to the babysitter, but for the health insurance.

shanie5

Wed, Dec 07 2005, 8:50 am

if your babysitter gets $300 less than you, it means you work for $300. if thats a month, you get $75 a week. so if you can find something to do at home for $75 a week, then you would make out even. (not counting health insurance of course). cut out cost of the work clothing, commute etc., and you may find out youd be better off at home.
question is how much you like the job!

IndyMom

Wed, Dec 07 2005, 9:30 am

I "work" (school is work) in order to be away from my kids for a few hours without spending money. During my winter break I still need time away from the kinderlach, buti end up going to target or bed bath and beyond and spend to much money.

Ok, so school costs money - but I plan to work after I get my degree adn make it all back within a few years.

Believe it or not, some women don't WANT to be home all day. If I were home all day it would NOT be better for my children.

To answer the poll - as of now my husband makes more than me - but after I finish school who knows. Maybe it'll be worth it to have him stay home and perhaps go into learning while I work.

happymom

Wed, Dec 07 2005, 11:25 am

NOBODY likes to be home all day. Although I am a sahm, I ALWAYS GO out! I go to the gym every day, and often go to shiurim... I also get together alot with other stay at home mothers. Although I think its important to get out to be a good mother, working is not THE ONLY WAY to go about it.

amother

Wed, Dec 07 2005, 12:06 pm

When it comes to making money in our house, I would be the turtle and my husband would be the hare. I make less per hour but have relatively steady hours, while my husband doesn't have any regular job but sometimes pulls in a lot of money with the things he does. Except now that I think about it, if you would add up all the money we each make, at the end of the year I think he would actually come out ahead. So it would be like the turtle and the hare where the hare wins.

Well since we are working together not competing it works out just fine.

IndyMom

Wed, Dec 07 2005, 1:17 pm

I am only talking about my personality - but I would need to be either working or goign to school in order to feel liek the time I am not spending with my children is worth it. I have great admiration for sahms. I reallly thought I wanted to do that when I had kids - but I just couldn't. Perhaps it has to do with my upbringing, or perhaps it was just to much work that ia m not cut out for. Anyway I get good grades in school becuase I feel that if I am not with my kids I should at least excel in what I am doing. They are my motivation.

ElTam

Wed, Dec 07 2005, 1:25 pm

Something else to think about is whether you could cut costs to make up for the money you are earning, if it is a not big amount. I love the Complete Tightwad Gazette for ideas on cutting spending and having more with less.

Personally, I work part-time. My salary pays for things like new tires, having the carpets cleaned once a year, a new storm door, not regular expenses.

Because I do plan on going back to work once all the kinderlach are in school all day, I do not want to have a big gap of not working on my resume, which I think makes it harder to go back into the workforce. So that's another reason to work.

Tefila

Wed, Dec 07 2005, 4:42 pm

Quote:

My babysitter earns $300 less then I earn myself.

Ditto, but here r the benefits. Health insurance, no tuition for any of my kids. allowance for me that my husband doesn't have to worry about. And I just love my job it's 4 hrs aday in the morning and keeps my brain finely tuned and alert. Plus my babies will be joining the younger program in a month or so. If I wasn't working I wouldn't consider it. But since I am this way I will have no babysitting costs and see them during intervals, since we will all be under the same roof. And then I maybe richer well not really, since that will iY"h go yeshiva gedola tutition etc.

Last edited by Tefila on Thu, Dec 08 2005, 4:16 pm; edited 1 time in total

girlzmom

Wed, Dec 07 2005, 5:18 pm

I can honestly say that I have tried both. When I stayed at home I found that I got nothing done. I pushed everthing off thinking, I have so much time that I can do it tomorrow. When my older kids got home from school, I was so drained from being home all day and not being around adults that I felt completely cut off from the world, resulting in having less patience for them, which I thought would be otherwise. Now I am working, and I can honestly say EVERYONE is much happier!
I cant wait to see my kids when I come home (I work 6 hours a day).
I socialize with adults and when I am home I'm being a 10 times better mother!
Its really what works best for you! Noone is better or worse for working or for being a sahm.

1stimer

Thu, Dec 08 2005, 1:24 pm

indymom and girlzmom, Thumbs Up

for your honesty. It's refreshing ... and a little brave Wink

For those of you that are only making 2-300 dollars a month, that must be rough! But I'm assuming that you don't work that many hours though?

nobody28

Mon, Dec 12 2005, 1:01 pm

I look around at my neighbors and I don't understand how people live on one salary! My husband and I both make decent salaries, and with all the expenses - tuition (woh!), mortgage, cars, TRYING to save for the future, I don't know how I could NOT work!

raizy

Mon, Dec 12 2005, 10:11 pm

I work to pay the morgage and that is a worthy cause. does anyone not want to have a roof over their head with 4+ kinderlech and a hubby. my hubby payes for everything else...

so it is basically 50/50 even though I wish he would have a more steady kind of job.

yes tution is going through the roof and that is with reduced contrubution in all. also I am undecided if my "baby"should go to school next year or not since that will cost me anther 200 dollars a month... I can tec keep him home anther year. but is it in his interst to be around babies at the age of 3 ? all the other kids will be under 18 months.

sarahd

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 7:37 am

People who are earning $300 more than their babysitter aren't earning $300 total, you know. The babysitter might be taking $1500 a month and the working mother ends up with $1800. Such a sum might be more difficult to live without than $300.