One Income or Two - Does it Pay To Work

Second only to the mortgage, childcare costs are one of the highest expenses most working families have. And sometimes the cost is more than a mortgage.

It might be easier than you think to have one parent stay home and make it on one income. That probaby sounds counterintuitive coming from us, who run a childcare website. But one of our main goals has always been to make life easier for families. And that may mean helping you realize that staying home just might be affordable.

We had the exact same discussion almost 5 years ago when our son was born. We wondered if we could make it on one income. I went back to work for several months and our son was with a childcare provider that we loved. When my job role changed, the decision was almost made for us that I would stay home. We never looked back. Going down to one income takes some adjusting, but it wasn't as painful as we thought it would be.

When thinking about the money you save by having one parent work, don't just consider salary. There's a lot more that is spent on maintaining a working parent. Since I no longer go to work at an office, my usual work wear is now jeans and a sweatshirt, which is much cheaper than maintaining a wardrobe of business suits (and matching shoes). Makeup? Since I never seem to have time to put it on, I save money there. I save money on hairstyling costs by going longer between cuts and no longer getting frequent highlights. Although, going back to my natural, unhighlighted color has added the unwanted highlight of showing more grey hairs. And I"m pretty sure that I remember what each child did to cause each grey strand.

There are many other costs you can save by not working - lunches out, expensive coffee breaks (although coffee stores with drive throughs are still a weakness of mine), gas, car maintenance, professional memberships, and more.

Here's a helpful calculator to help you add up the pros and cons of one income versus two.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/personal-finance/calculators/Adding_a_second_income_calculator/home.aspx

It's a tough choice to make, and sometimes your situation makes the choice for you. But regardless of whether you work outside the home or not, you already have the best job in the world - being a parent.