Trying to figure out how to make it worth it for me to work..help plz!

[FreshTressa]

I have been at home with my kids since they were born and have never really had a real job.

I will be finished with my bachelors degree soon, but it is in the social sciences so will be pretty much useless.

I figure I can maybe, if I'm lucky make 10-12 dollars an hour.

Well, any income over what DH makes now is taxed at 40%...so that brings me down to 6-7 an hour. At 7 an hour, I would make 280 a week. Well, I would have to get childcare for my kids which would run $150/wk for the school year and $200/wk during the summer.

That means I'm only making 300-600 a month working full time.

Am I thinking about this right? What do other women do in this situation?

 

[foolishmortal]

well you will not bring home as much as you may hope to start......but


there are raises, possibly bonuses...and most importantly

ADULT INTERACTION...LOL it may sound funny but I know that is why my wife still works!

 

[debloco]

To be blunt, not work.

You are thinking about it right, the tax code as it is written now is harsh for families in your situation.

After you add in the costs of commuting, clothes, more meals out, etc. you'll probably be lucky to break even.

I agree you can't put a price on adult interaction, but there are ways to meet that need without it costing 40 hours of your time a week at virtually no pay.

I am in the same situation, and for me, grad school seems to be the way to go.

 

[Sandcass]

ADULT INTERACTION...LOL it may sound funny but I know that is why my wife still works!

This is what I need! I have not had a "real" job since I was a teenager! I have been a nanny, mom, or daycare mom for 14 years now.

I... ..NEED... ..TO.. ...GET... ..OUT... ..OF... ..THE... ..HOUSE

 

[FreshTressa]

This is what I need! I have not had a "real" job since I was a teenager! I have been a nanny, mom, or daycare mom for 14 years now.

I... ..NEED... ..TO.. ...GET... ..OUT... ..OF... ..THE... ..HOUSE

Hehe, lol.

That is not the problem. I'm quite happy at home all day. I have lots of friends and seem to always be busy.

We are getting a new house (maybe) and we will have to spend our vacation fund to get it.

I was hoping to find a way to still have a vacation every year. I would have to work full time, year round to have enough for my travel addiction!

 

[barkley]

in situations like these it almost more financialy beneficial to find a part-time job at lower wages during the kid's school hours (assuming the kiddies are all school age) and take summers off.

if a person is paid $10 per hour and (as in the op) it will be taxed at 40% the pay becomes $6 per hour-but it will also have all the other deductions (social security, etc.) so you may end up only seeing $5.50 or less per hour. there are the costs of daycare (in the op example about $4.00 per hour) so you end up making a whopping $1.50 per hour BEFORE commute costs, work clothes, preparing/buying lunches...so the resulting hourly income might actualy be 50 cents per hour (or $80 per month). and if it happens to be a union shop you may end up in the hole each month!

a part-time job during school hours (9-3) may pay only $7 per hour, but that would result in (after tax) $4.20 per hour. minus the other deductions leaves around $3.70 per hour. minus commute, work clothes (may not have an expense because lower paying jobs generaly allow for simpler clothing), no lunch break mandated if you work 6 hours or less per day so no lunch costs-results in a net of about $3.20 per hour (or $384 per month).

there are often jobs available at elementary schools (great for moms wanting to work just school hours) as aides, and some bsns. that rely heavily on college kids (retail and the like) need people that want to work the traditional school hours.

higher paying full time jobs are great, but they don't usualy allow women to take off all the days the kids have off school during the school year-so when you figure childcare costs you have to also figure the full weeks of vacation time the kids get off, all the staff in service days, the school holidays and factor in the time off without pay to be home with an ill child, take the kids to the doctors, dentist, go to parent-teacher conferences (i had 5 weeks per year of vacation time at my former job-it JUST covered school year days off-and then even with 15 years of seniority i was behind many others who were in the same boat wanting the same days off, my sick leave never kept up with the kids illnesses/regular dr and dentist appointments-so i was forever taking awop time).

if you want to earn some money for a specific goal (and not to meet regular on-going expenses) while you have kids still of the age that child care is needed you are almost always better off with a lower paying "during school hours only" type job.

 

[cepmom]

I find it is not worth it for me to work full time and deal with daycare etc. I do not have a degree or skills to make enough money . I would be in the hole after taxes, daycare, commuting etc.

In order for us to be able to go away, I have started working a part time job nights and weekends when DH is home. All that money goes towards our vacations. It's not much (barely above minimum wage) but there's not much else I can do for work at this point. Next year, when my youngest DD is in school full days, I will have more options ~ right now she is only in afternoon Kindergarten for 2 1/2 hours a day.

 

[Skatermom23]

I feel your pain. I too have my degree and was in a high paying position when I decided to stay home with DS. That was 14 years ago. Since then, I did work part time for about 18 months. It just wasn't worth it. My kids are now teens, but I still can't go to work full time or even part time because of their schedules and appointments. DH has been able to really advance in his career because he never has to take off due to sick kids or schedules or whatever. The house is my domain! I just try to put a few $$ aside here and there to take trips. It works for us. Remember too, that money always seems more of an issue when you buy a house. Once you get in there, things won't look so tight.

 

[Marseeya]

I'm going to have to go back to work next year. I'll be working solely to pay for my student loans.

I want to be a teacher, but I would be just as happy staying home. I almost wish I would have skipped my degree!

 

[Sandcass]

Hehe, lol.

That is not the problem. I'm quite happy at home all day. I have lots of friends and seem to always be busy.

Since I do daycare I am stuck home with the little darlings all day, everyday. I have extra kids in my house over 50 hours a week! And too many to really pack up the van and go somewhere.

And it's not even my kids! Mine are in school all day. Now that they're big and won't need a babysitter, I'm thinking I need a career change, but I will never make as much money outside the home as I do in daycare. And DH's home everyday around 4:30, he has to do all the driving to karate, swimming lessons, etc. I have kids until 6:30. I'm starting to think I'd see my kids more if I worked outside the home. Because the way it is now, when they get home from school I'm still really busy, they either go hide or Daddy takes them to their activities.

I'm seriously climbing the walls lately. I get this way every winter, I NEED SPRING!

I don't know what to do!

 

[golfgal]

What if you worked part time in the evenings? I worked at Macy's a while back and worked 1-2 weeknights and 1 weekend shift. I was in a commissioned department so I got a base pay of $7/hour plus sales commissions. I was bringing home about $250/week doing that. You could put half of what you make in a vacation fund and the other have in an IRA or other tax shelter type investment to keep your taxable income down.

 

[ILUVMYBRIT]

Ok, you may balk at this but...how about getting your license to drive a school bus? Its really not hard. I got mine 6 years ago and it was a god send. I had the same schedule as my kids, vacations off, snow days off and the pay was pretty good for part time work. Plus...if my kids were sick or couldnt be at school...they could come with me.
Seriously, look into it. If I could do it ANYONE can.

 

[Disney Doll]

I would probably take a lower paying job...something kind of easy anf fun...to earn a little extra $$ and get out and get some adult interaction while the kids are in school. You know, maybe a card store, or a tootsie little gift shop of something like that. Or maybe a waitress in a coffee shop??

I have often said that if I didn't have to work to earn a significant living, I'd probably work in a card store.

 

[Christine]

Is the income REALLY taxed at 40%? My DH and I make decent money and I've done my share of griping about taxes. And believe me, we pay, pay, pay. But after filing my taxes, our "effective" tax rate is really about 15%. So, I guess I'm not understanding this 40% thing.

 

[llp479]

Depending on how much her DH makes, after you add in state and SS taxes, it could be as high as 40%.

 

[FayeW]

I really don't understand the American tax system. Do you file some sort of "family' return vs. an individual tax return? Why does OP's husband's wage effect her tax rate? Here in Canada, we all file individual returns, however, we do declare our spouses income on our return. The family income has an effect on Child Tax Credits, and whomever is the lowest income earner in the family has to claim the child care expenses, etc. There are a few other tax credits that are based on total family income, but I don't remember what they are off the top of my head. We ALL have a personal tax exemption, I think it is nearly $9K this year, and that amount is non taxed. For example, if I earned less than my personal exemption, any tax I had paid throughout the year would be refunded. If I earned more than $9K, I only pay tax on the amount over the exempted amount.

Now I understand why there are so many SAHM on this board!

 

[Christine]

FayeW,
It's kind of hard to explain, but first off, her weekly paycheck will NOT be effected by what her husband makes. They will take out taxes based on the number of exemptions she claims, social security, state tax, etc. Each company has tax tables loaded into their payroll system that tells them what to take out and it is based on the individual's income level.

The OP is talking about at the end of the year, when they file their "joint" return. If it their joint income exceeds a certain amount, their overall tax rate will be higher (the more you make, the higher the tax). There is a point where *sometimes* it is better to have one person not work if they don't make much money. It never worked for me--I was always better off working, even at the higher tax rate and all the added expenses, but I am making way more than $12 an hour.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

It's pretty much why I'm not working. Depending on my husband's yearly bonus worked out that year....my salary would be taxed at either 28% or 33% on the Federal level. An addition 7.65% Social Security Taxes and then another 3% in State Income Taxes. Then since my youngest is still 3 years old, I'd have to pay another $130 a week or so in daycare. Then I'd need better clothes, my lunch bill would increase ---- etc etc etc


It is alot of stress on me and the family to hand over 40 cents of every dollar I make to various Governments and a hefty chunk of the rest to somebody else to watch my kids. When my youngest starts going to school full-time, I'll probably do something part-time or do volunteer work.