As you may or may not know, I'm a SAHW. :) I spend most of my day by myself; cleaning, knitting, praying, cooking, blogging, reading, and learning how to bake. :) I absolutely love, love, love my job! Growing up, I was totally spoiled (I'm realizing now), because I never had any chores, so I'm learning how to cook/clean while "on the job". lol Anyway, my DH, Boomz, went to the bank yesterday, and came back with a flier saying they're looking for a teller. The teller, L, said I could use her as a reference, and nobody has applied yet. It'd be 30-39 hours a week, and it'd be a significant amount of extra money each month. We have a lot of expenses coming up (we want to buy a new car since our cars can't handle the snow, we need a new mattress, a CPAP machine for Boomz, we have a mountain of student loan debt), and I'd like to build up my credit a little more, so I'm considering taking the job. I have reservations about it because: 1) I hate change. lol 2) I'm tired all the time as it is, so I'm worried I'll be exhausted working AND cooking/cleaning. 3) I'm worried stuff around the house just won't get done. I'm sorry if I'm not making sense! I'm just trying to get my thoughts organized.
Okay, I think I'm going to make a Pros/Cons list. lol
Pros:
Money for car
Money for mattress
Money for CPAP machine
Money to help pay off student loan debt
Could possibly help pay for an adoption if we're so called
Build up credit
Cons:
Less time/energy for housework
Less freedom on weekends to see family/friends
Not sure I'd actually be good at it lol
Oh, did I mention that while my husband was in the bank, I was in the car praying, "God, what would you like me to do with my life right now?":) When I saw Boomz walking out of the bank with a smile and a flier, I started tearing up because I just KNEW it had something to do with a job. lol I really don't WANT to get a job, because I love cleaning and taking care of my home, but I want to do what's best for Boomz and I. I mean, we're fine money-wise right now, it would just be EXTRA money. Ughh...I am SO bad at making decisions!
Any thoughts? What would y'all do if you were in my situation?
I've been SAHW for the last two years but will be returning to work the Tuesday after Christmas. I'm not exactly looking forward to it but like you, the pros are primarily financial. Can you commit, at least to yourself (and not the bank) to work for a specific amount of time, say a year, eighteen monthes, etc? Then at least you;d be going in knowing it isn't forever.
ReplyDeleteThe stay at home wife idea is somewhat of a foreign concept to me to be honest. I admire and respect it, but I have never lived it. In our marriage it was never even considered. My DH has always felt that if we didn't have children it only made sense that I would be contributing financially. This only made sense to me because this is the model that I grew up with etc.
ReplyDeleteDuring the time when we were both working, my DH was very very helpful with dishes and laundry. We divided up the household tasks down the middle since we were both in the same boat. I'm sure Boomz would help out as well! :)
I think you just have to do what is best for your marriage, and discern God's will.
I agree with Donna that if you took the job, then give yourself a time frame. And if you hate it, you know you don't have to stay in it for that long. :)
I actually started a babysitting job in my home last August because the opportunity fell into my lap, and we decided that the extra cash would be very nice to help build our savings. There are days when I definitely wish I wasn't doing it, but overall the extra money has been awesome. And the family is having another baby in March, and I am planning on stopping shortly afterward. Having that end point in mind, definitely helps on the days when I wish I hadn't gotten myself into this. :)
Well I hope that all made sense. :) My hodge podge thoughts. But anyway, I will be praying for you!
I'm on the outside looking in, but from here it seems the pros outweight the cons for right now. I worked for years and both my husband and I had jobs that were 50+ hours a week. (I left the career and now am SAHW)/ It's doable, but he has to help, too. My husband needed me to say what I needed done, but he would gladly do any chore. You both just have to pitch in. I like the idea of a time frame so that you don't feel overwhelmed at first.
ReplyDeleteI think you should take the job. If you don't like it within a month or so, quit! You may find yourself with more energy and making new friends. I have wonderful co-workers and even though we don't hang out on the weekend, we enjoy each other’s company while we are at work and are able to talk about a wide range of topics. Also, I feel like I never have enough energy when I stay home from work and even on the weekends. I feel like I have to take a nap or rest mid day. When I'm at work, I'm focused on work and don't even think about getting tired. Well, in all honesty, there are rare occasions when I'll take a 20min nap at lunch :)
ReplyDeleteSince both DH and I work, we do split the chores too! Since DH works late, I do a lot of the cleaning on Friday after work and he does the dishes during the week.
I wld be torn. becoz i worked and went to being a sahw. but we started our marriage with me working and i was laid off and begged not to go back to work. so i saay do what u feel called to do....it doesnt have to be forever and we tried hard not to live off my income so we wldnt feel it as hard when i did quit.....ahhhh first comment on a post in 9 days!! missed u girls!!
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