This is something to discuss with your husband. You should have a plan agreed upon for the many issues that can happen to a family that relies upon a single income, such as the loss of a job, death or injury of either spouse. These aren’t fun things to think about but that means only that it’s all the more important to have a plan in place.

The stay at home mom or dad gives up a lot. It’s years of work lost, which has a major impact on one’s career. It’s less money for retirement. It’s falling behind in the field that you used to work in.

Stay at home parents should take the time to limit their financial vulnerability.

Stay at home parents should take the time to limit their financial vulnerability. It’s not all about finding a work at home job either, although that can help.

Continue Your Education

Keeping up with your field is important if you want to go back to work someday, especially if you worked in an industry that changes a lot. Take classes online, through a community college or technical school.

You don’t have to stick with whatever you have experience with, of course. You can use your time to study for the career you’ve always wanted.

Pick a course that will give you the flexibility to be there for your family. You don’t want your school time to take as much time away from your family as a career would if your goal was to raise your kids on your own.

Set Up a Retirement Account

Your long term well being is important to your family.

You don’t have to rely on an employer to have a retirement account. Include this as one of your needs when you’re a stay at home mom. Your long term well being is important to your family too.

This isn’t easy in many cases. It’s incredibly easy to neglect. Do your best.

Ideally this should be a part of your monthly budget. Have a certain part of your family’s income go into your retirement fund. Your spouse probably has one through work – don’t you deserve one too?

Start Working from Home

Yes, I said it’s not all about working from home, but we’re talking about not being financially vulnerable, not only for your own sake, but for the sake of your family. Even having a small home-based income is protection against bad times.

Even having a small home-based income is protection against bad times.

How dedicated you are to earning money from home depends on your needs. If your family needs the money now, you’re going to have to be very dedicated. If it’s more to keep your work skills up, you may not need to work so very hard at it.

Even if your at home income doesn’t equal what your family needs to get by, it’s going to be a help if times get rough. It’s something you may be able to build upon if your family suddenly needs that income.

If you’re planning on working outside the home as your children get older, take that into consideration when you work at home. Do things that will look good on your future resume.

If you’re planning on staying home longer than that, find something to do that you will love doing from home for the long run. Building a home business can be a lot of fun and you never know if it will take you somewhere.

With any luck at all, you’ll never need your financial backup plans. But wouldn’t you rather have them ready?

Related posts:

1. Can a Home Business Save You Financially?

But it’s not all fun, even when you really enjoy being with your kids all day. And worst of all can be the financial traps that too many stay at home moms fall into.

1. Not saving for retirement.

This is one of the most common failures for stay at home moms, and it can have a tremendous impact on your later years, even if you only stay at home until your kids are all in elementary schools. And it only gets worse if you choose to stay at home the entire time you have kids at home.

There are options for stay at home moms to save for retirement. The first thing to do is to roll over any 401k money into Roth IRAs. This will give you more flexibility with the money. If you can’t afford to take a tax hit, take your time with this one.

You can also contribute to a Spousal IRA. These can be either a traditional or Roth IRA, and you need to have one. Try to contribute the maximum each year if your budget can afford it. You will be grateful in your retirement years.

2. Assuming daycare costs are completely gone.

Sure, once you’re staying at home you probably don’t HAVE to pay for any sort of childcare. But other expenses may take that money right back out of your budget.

How else to pay for swimming lessons, art classes, organized sports and other activities your children may be interested in? It may be difficult to find enough children for your own kids to play with regularly, and these classes can help you to get a bit of a break (even if you’re just sitting and watching them), and your kids get social time.

You may also choose to put your 3 or 4 year old child in a preschool program. I did this with my daughter, and while it was expensive it was very much so worth it. Makes kindergarten quite the relief, financially speaking.

3. What if…?

Many single income families aren’t ready for the big what-ifs in life. Like what if your husband loses his job? I’ve just gone through that one personally, and it’s a pain, even though I earn an income at home.

Do your best to have savings to cover at least 3-6 months of living expenses. This may not get you through the crisis, but it gives you time to figure out how to handle it.

And don’t forget that expenses can increase at such times. When my husband was laid off, rent wasn’t the most painful part financially speaking. Adding in the cost of COBRA coverage to keep our health insurance was.

And don’t forget that even when things are going well financially the car can break down, or the refrigerator, or the plumbing in your house turns out to be a complete mess. Have some money set aside for such emergencies.

4. Too much free time.

Once you’re at home there are a lot of temptations that you could either afford or just didn’t have the time for when you were working. You might decide to start painting in the house. Get seriously into your favorite crafts. Shop just because you have the time.

It’s nice to have time for these things, but if you haven’t planned for them they can seriously mess with your budget. Make sure you reassess your budget if this starts to happen to you. And don’t let it get out of control.

Related posts:

1. Financial Benefits of Being a Stay at Home Mom
2. Financial Hazards of Being a Stay at Home Mom
3. Keeping Your Financial Independence as a Stay at Home Mom