Friday, March 16, 2007

How does anyone afford a house AND children?

This is something I have been stressing about so much lately! David and I really want to have a house of our own and also have kids in the not-too-distant future. But houses in the area we live in are minimum $400,000 and they're appreciating at like 10% a year, which is insane! Where is this supposed housing bubble...because it's definitely not where we live! We can't afford that even on both our salaries...much less just David's salary.

Which brings me to another point. Growing up I never thought I would want to be a stay at home mom...I mean, I wanted kids, I just did not want to be around them all day long! But as I've gotten older it's all I think about. I know it's an incredibly hard job (and that's definitely what it is...a JOB...granted, a very rewarding one), but I also know that I don't want to work all day, commute back home and then only have a couple of hours with my children before I send them off to bed each weeknight. I don't want to miss out on their childhoods like that. But living off of just David's salary (which in my opinion is quite decent for a 25 yo) in this area is just unfathomable! Seriously, how do people do it? Even if I did work, full-time childcare around here is at the very least $10,000 per year, per child...so if you have 2 kids in daycare that winds up being $20,000+ a year! Not too mention the extra gas to get to and from a job. My piddly little social worker salary would barely cover that after taxes are taken away, so it really seems like there wouldn't even be a point to me working unless I found something too good to refuse. So, it would be hard to have a house and just one or two kids, much less the three or four that I actually want!

Even if we move (which is almost a certainty since we do actually want to own a home someday) and have a lower mortgage than if we bought around here, it still seems like it would be practically impossible to be a SAHM and own a home on anything less than 75k per year. It seems like you should be able to live on less, but when I get bored I run budget numbers (yes, I know, I'm a freak) and I've found it's pretty much impossible, expecially when you still have college loans to pay off!

Gee, can you tell I'm a worrier? I pray about this all the time and yet I still can't stop focusing on it!

So, I beg you, somebody please tell me to stop worrying and give me some magical tips on how to have a house and kids on a budget!

1 comment:

Amy... said...

I promise you, it is totally possible! I know what you mean, though, it does seem like things are stacked against us! I have a lot of tips for you, but I'll keep it short:)
First, move! This is why we live here. We live very comfortably on one income and we own our own home with two children. However, our house cost us so much less that what you would have to pay over there. We also have college loans, car payments, etc. and we're doing fine. I have more tips, but I can't think of them. I will say that the bit of sacrifice it takes to be able to stay home is, of course, totally worth it. Even working part-time would be a good option. You just wouldn't want to miss all of this! Maybe I'll think of more...

I think you'll be a great mom, Tammy! ~Amy