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The Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter
Feature Article - Can You Stay Home?
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Guest Article - How to Work at Home and Keep Your Sanity!
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What a weekend. We had Ariel's birthday on Sunday, but she has a second cousin whose birthday is three days before Ariel's, so her party was on Saturday. Two days of running around with a group of toddlers. That's exhausting.
Gage's surgery has been scheduled finally. I may have to miss a newsletter, depending on how things go and how nervous I am beforehand, so if one of these weeks here soon I don't send a newsletter, you'll know why.
I'm going to bring your attention to this week's freebie: Kinderinfo.com's newsletter. Just scroll on down and take a look. The site has some great information for parents, family activities, recipes and more.
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One of the first things you have to figure out when you realize that you want to stay home with your kids is whether or not you can afford to do so. You are probably used to living on two incomes, so making the switch to a single income may not be easy. However, it may not be as hard as you think.
If you have children already, the first thing that goes away when you decide to stay at home is the cost of daycare. However, if you work at home, part of that cost may remain, unless your work is such that you can keep the children home with you. Take a look at how much of your income right now is going to daycare. That cost alone may prove to you that you don’t need a high-paying work at home job to stay home – a simpler one may suffice.
There are several other costs that will drop if you stay at home. You’ll be in a different tax bracket. You’ll probably drive less, eat out less often and you won’t need clothes for work, which can save both on shopping and on dry cleaning bills.
When you’re figuring out how much it costs you to work outside the home, don’t assume that becoming a stay at home or work at home parent will cause you to stop eating out. You will have those days where you decide to take the kids out, more likely than not.
One thing many parents forget to think about when they decide to stay at home is to handle retirement planning. Now, if you’re just staying home for a year or two, it’s probably not a big deal, but if you plan on staying home for many years, this can be a huge impact on you when you do retire. You may not have the finances to fund your retirement account well when your family is living on only one income, but you should try to do at least a little. See my article on retirement planning for stay at home parents for more information.
Use this information to figure out what you will need to earn while staying at home. Some will be fine as a single income family, but others will need the stay at home parent to earn some kind of income. Ideally, this will be a relatively small amount, as the whole point of having a stay at home parent is to have more time with the kids and benefit them, not maintain a freely spending lifestyle. However, if a single income isn’t enough, a work at home job or home business will likely become necessary.
Figure out how much income will be necessary and how much risk you are willing to take. Work at home jobs are harder to come by, but home businesses are by their nature more risky, and it may take a few years to earn an adequate income from a business. Plan accordingly, and know that you might not be able to live your preferred lifestyle right away.
Fortunately, by the time you take out the costs of working outside the home, you will likely find you don’t need to earn what you used to. Half or even less of your previous income may be quite adequate. It may require sacrifice, but that’s what being a parent is about.
Stephanie Foster is the owner of Home with the Kids, a resource that knows that there's more to staying home with your family than just business. For more stay at home tips, visit the site at http://www.homewiththekids.com/ and subscribe to the free newsletter.
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Working at home can be a blessing and/or a disaster depending on how you are able to handle it. A home business or job is not for all of us. I know a lot of people who much prefer to "get out in the world" to work.
I absolutely love working at home. I did enjoy working outside the home as well, but I am a homebody and much prefer working at home. It does have disadvantages and problems though as well.
* Isolation - This can be a tough one to deal with for some people. Sitting in your lonely little corner or home office hour after hour can get you down. When you start feeling isolated and lonely contact an online friend and chat awhile. If no one is available, take a break and get outside. Take a walk to visit a friend or family member. Just getting out in the fresh air can make you feel rejuvenated and alive again. Even a phone call to an old friend or your spouse, if possible, can do wonders.
* Self-discipline - This one can be a tuffy. Having your own business can tend to make us lazy once in awhile. I know it does me. ;-) What I do is go over my goals and the reasons I started my business in the first place. I also think about all my readers/customers who are counting on me. This helps me get back into focus and to get motivated to go back to work. You need to train yourself to work when it is work time because you have no boss to do it for you.
*Schedule Keeping - Making up a schedule is easy, sticking to it is not. I try not to have too strict of a schedule because it probably will need to be changed now and then. Try a daily schedule instead of a hourly one. This will make it much easier to bend it when you need to. Not being able to follow your schedule can be frustrating to say the least, but preparing a flexible schedule makes it less stressful on you and everyone else.
*Family Distractions - This is one of the main reasons it is so hard to stick to our schedules! ;-) Make time for your family and make sure they understand that work time is for work and family time is for them. With me, my family comes first and I arrange my schedule around them and it works out very well.
*Lack of Respect - Although we know how important our business is, our family or friends may not. They think we are playing around or just doing a hobby. You need to sit them down and explain that this is your job and it is very important to you and they need to respect that. Be firm. They will get the message. ;-)
*Organization - Although we might be very organized, we just might not have the space when working at home. Some people might have a office, but some of us have work stations or corners. I have a corner. Although, I don't have much room, I am able to stay fairly well organized. I have a shelf, a desk and a drawer - with a file cabinet in another room and this is all I need. Most of the organizing is on the computer so I don't need a lot of outside room. I print out pertinent records and file them accordingly. I have a 4-story paper tray which holds all my "need now or soon" papers. The shelf holds my printer, answering machine and phone. And I also have a junk drawer ( we all need one of those)! ;-) This works out with very few or no problems.
Although working at home does have some disadvantages,
I would not want to give it up for anything. I love the
freedom of it, the excitement of it, the pride of it,
and all the wonderful people I have met.
If you feel you are a candidate for a home business or
job, I say go for it, but I wish you much success in
whichever path you choose!
*************
Find tons more tips, information and articles at http://www.SeymourProducts.comTerri Seymour and
her husband Terry also offer a no-cost, non-MLM
home business opportunity. They strive to help you build a successful home business. Take advantage of the gifts, resources and morefor your home & business
****************
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