Baby Woes: Stay Home Or Work?

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Deciding whether or not to stay at home full time with your new baby is a big decision. It isn't just about the finances, of course, but finances are one place where costs can be put down in black and white. That might not make the decision any easier, but you'll know what you're in for-at least financially!

Staying at home almost always means losing an income. In Canada, it often also means EI will become available, but that's still generally little more than one-half what you may have once earned. Even with employer top-ups, you may find your income is lower than it once was. But does that mean returning to work will bring you in more money?

Most financial experts agree that, unless you are making one whopping salary, costs to keep your child in daycare will cost most, possibly all, and sometimes in excess, of the salary you make. Sorry as that may seem, it makes the financial considerations a good place to start when you're debating staying at home versus returning to work once the baby arrives.

Doing up a budget that includes costs of childcare and related costs to working outside the home can be compared to a budget where one parent stays at home. There are lots of online budget calculators that can be used for this purpose-and a telling cost is that many of them have a single line regarding infant costs-day care.

If you do decide to stay at home, there may be ways to make up the difference between what your salary outside the home might be and what you can make working from home. Coupled with other money saving strategies such as breast feeding, cloth diapers (where reasonable), and making your own baby food, you may discover that your at-home salary is not a whole lot less-and may even be higher (gasp!)-than your working income used to be.

Another option might be to work part-time. Your employer may be ecstatic that you would like to continue some of your responsibilities from home. Another advantage to this arrangement is that the percentage of your home you set aside for work can be deducted from your income tax. And be sure to set aside a home space that is just for work-home and office functions work better when they're separated physically from each other.

The decision whether or not to return to work is much more than one based solely on income, but finances are a good place to start thinking about it.

About the Author:
If you would like to consolidate your debt before baby's arrival, but your bad credit prevents you from applying at a standard financial institution, visit our Bad Credit Loans website. Visit our blog for more articles about Bad Credit and Debt.



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