In years gone by, it was common for the man of the house to be the breadwinner while the woman stayed home and kept the house, raised the children, and was a helpmate to her husband.  Many of these families were able to live comfortably on one income. Today, however, it is a real challenge to support a family with only one income.  And while the economy has changed, the desire of many people to stay at home with their children, has not. If you are a mom or dad who wants nothing more than to devote your full time efforts to child rearing but fear you cannot afford to live on a single income, consider the following:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median annual income for an individual in 2005 was $25,149. In exchange for all of those precious hours with your children, is that $25,000 really worth it? Let’s see (please note that the following figures are estimates and that many variables can alter these numbers):

$25,149

-   2,909 for federal taxes, Social Security, and Medicare

$22,240

-   7,800 for childcare (for one child)

$14,440

-   3,600 for a second car payment

$10,840

-    1,400 for second car gas, maintenance, and insurance

$   9,440

-    1,300 for lunches out

$   8,140

-    1,000 for professional attire, dry cleaning, etc.

$   7,140

$7,000 — is it worth it? That’s probably not enough to pay your mortgage every month. It might not even pay your car note! However, if you are not convinced that you can live without that $7,000, let’s look at the ways that you can save money by being a stay-at-home parent. Of course, not every family will have the same expenses to cut back on, but here are some ideas to illustrate how easy it can be to save a little money.

$2,600 saved annually by cutting back on convenience foods (you’ll be home to cook, after all)

1,000 saved annually by canceling your lawn care service and doing the work yourself

1,200 saved annually by canceling your once-a-month housekeeping

520 saved annually with the coupons that you now have time to clip

1,300 saved annually if you can convince your spouse to brown-bag-it

+   480 saved annually by skipping the salon and giving yourself a manicure

$7,100

When you look at it this way, you are actually ahead of where you were when you were working!

To be fair, though, every situation will be different and every family will have its own set of expenses and standard of living. The point is, with a few sacrifices you can save a lot of money — in many cases, enough to afford to stay home with your children. Click here for more ways to save money around the house.

Photo by Alexi Kostibas, Creative Commons license