Planning
Barring any unforseen circumstances, it is our goal to have one parent stay home. We're working hard, carefully planning for the next few years so we can buy a house and be comfortable on 1 salary during that time period.
Cost wise, by having both parents working, the lesser of the 2 salaries would only breakeven at about $35K. These are approximate figures - but you if you're making around $35K or less, it may be a better financial decision (and less stressful on your family) to have one parent stay at home.
At a 30% tax bracket, $35K is roughly a net $25K. I'm told day care is an easy $1K/month...so now you're down to $13K/yr or a little over $200 a week. Add in work clothes, lunches, transportation...& there's not alot of cash left over when all is said and done. Not alot that you probably couldn't find a way to recoup through some rebudgeting. Long Island Business News ran an interesting article on it last month re: the financial aspects and it really made me stop and think.
