Hmmm....

I had to jump into this discussion as I think it's thought provoking and interesting to say the least. I found this website after I had been a WAHM for a few months. I did (and am returning to) medical transcription from home. I had been laid off from a job that I had worked at for 4-1/2 years that I truly enjoyed, but things had changed in the infrastructure of the company and I was laid off. I was lucky enough to collect unemployment and find another source of income before I gave birth to our daughter. AFter a good year and some we knew that working off my home income and his income was not working and I returned to the workforce. I work second shift as this requires the least amount of daycare and I work in a manufacturing plant. I don't have a degree, but am qualified to do a myriad of things.

What I guess I'm trying to explain is that it differs for each situation. You can lump a group of women together (SAHM) with statistics and make it fit to whatever type of situation that you want. Only you know your situation and I think it's unfair to lump any number of people together and make a broad generalization. Whether you're out in the workforce, stay at home, or work from home we're all here hoping that we'll make it through these tough economic times together.

That is one of the main reasons I joined and post on mommysavers. It's full of intelligent advice about everything from how to use my glue gun to making bread. We have forums that make me laugh with the silliness of it all and forums like this to discuss our monetary situations. And I try to remember that while we all come from different backgrounds, religions, etc we are all banded together in the sisterhood of motherhood.

Just my two cents, gang.

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I agree. I think this theory is assuming that a two-income family is spending two incomes. If working is what's right for someone (rather than staying home) then it's just as good of a safety net, or better, to save 1 income. That's what we did when I worked.

To answer the question, I would consider myself an untapped resource. In the unlikely event that my husband were unemployed I think I could get a decent paying job & we could make it on that and our savings for a while. My husband's earning potential is much greater than mine though.

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I think a lot of times we CAN live off of one income, but we CHOOSE to have the extras that two incomes can bring in. I think that the article's point is that in a two income family, if one looses a job, it is much harder than you think to just live off of the second's person's income. Even if you CAN do it, you are used to NOT doing it. We tend to spend what we earn, flat out. If times are tough, though, and it is necessary for the other person to GET another job, it is MUCH easier for THAT to happen that to already be in the situation of both working and money STILL be short.
Currently I DO work part-time as the preschool ministry coordinator for our church, but I consider myself a sahm fulltime. I make a set salary each month for this job, but I do it around my own schedule. I also sub often in the church weekday preschool which, at my request, goes directly to pay for our dd's tuition. My monthly salary, though, does not go towards our bills because we long ago agreed that with six kids to raise, THAT is my "job". I work the other because I love doing it, it is a need in my church, and because that money does pay for extras around here. It also is a way for me to start an actual savings account for us...something we haven't EVER really had. In tough times, we HAVE had to pull that money, and if tough times come again, we will then, too..but for everyday living, we do NOT depend on it. Granted, we could be putting it directly into our budget, but then what would happen when we hit another tough time? We just feel it is better to have that money "hidden"...or like the article said....for me to be an "untapped resource" when those tough times hit.

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You're right ... few of us could jump into the workforce and completely replace our spouse's income. However, the article wasn't all about 'bridging the gap' incase the primary wage earner was suddenly unemployeed. Some SAHMs are going back to work - full or parttime - because of expenses going up. They are bridging the gap that way.

I think about a dear friend of mine. A little over a year ago she took a parttime, flexible job helping out in an office when they had a little extra work to do. She said she took it on because she had a credit card she wanted to pay off. Her and her husband are very frugal and it bugged them to have any cc debt. Well, my friend is still working the job and has even committed to working a minimum of 20 hours a week. The cc still isn't paid off, either. I'm hearing things like the job is helping to pay for birthday parties for her kids, extra-curricular activities and various medical or dental bills. Now the job isn't even going to pay for Christmas. In short, they have become dependant on her income.

In my case, I just took a small, part-time job at DD's school and I'm working a job from home just so we can accelerate paying off some of our cc debt. This is really important to us so hubby feels more free to switch careers sometime soon. In that way, I have been an untapped resource.

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Same with my family, which is why I have considered going back to school.

Thats me. My dh always joked that I was the "untapped resource" and if we ever got into a crunch I could find a job to bridge the gap. Well this "untapped resource" got a job this summer. So now I'm working a p/t job 2nd/3rd shift(so I dont have daycare expense). I could never replace my dh's income if he lost his job I more make up the difference.

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I do not really feel that way. A salary I would earn would help keep us from starving to death, but after the emergency $$ is spent we would have to sell our house big time, even with me working. We also don't live our lives that way, I stay home to care for ds and take care of the house.

Also, dh is no slacker whatsoever, but if I went back to work (which I would if I had to) it makes it a little easier for dh to maybe not look for work as aggressively as he would if he continued to be the chief breadwinner. Then when he did get a job, I think it would be hard to give up those two incomes.

Me working would also COST us money in the long run. I work very hard to save money with cooking just about everything from scratch, etc...too many things to list here. If I went back to work, I can tell you, dh is not going to be making (nor would I expect him to) these things, nor doing the 100 other money savings things I do. I would shop where convenient and fast, where I could get everything in one trip instead of going to a million different places. I think staying home I am a huge financial asset right now!!!

While this theory may have some merit, I find a few huge flaws in the thinking. The main thing is "suddenly" able to go back to work isn't really that viable an option when times are tough. Chances are if your dh is having difficulty finding a job, the spouse will probably run into the same type of economic environment, unless you are looking for low paying jobs. I went back to work p.t. this past year (my 2nd job), and found the competition tough just for low paying retail jobs, and having a degree isn't always beneficial in this type of retail-based economic environment. It took me 6 months to find a job that was worth the effort to take it.

I agree that SAHMs are an untapped resource. Most SAHMs I know could find work if they needed to, even if it were just something minimum wage.

Would that entirely fill the gap of a husband losing his job? In most cases, no. Most of the SAHMs I know would not be able to replace 100% of their husband's income for many reasons, but a big one being they've been out of the workplace for awhile and haven't had the time to develop a career like their husbands have. I agree it is a safety net, but a total replacement probably not. However, if the family has been living below their means a little income may be able to get them through the tough time until something for dh comes along.

I know a family that this actually happened to. The husband was a doctor who was out of work for about a year. His wife was an RN, and was able to find a part-time job (30 hours/week, plus benefits). Because they hadn't been spending his entire salary as an MD, her part-time earnings as a nurse were enough to cover their monthly bills until he could find something else. She was lucky that she could find a job in her field easily, and PT nurses do pretty well - but her husband's salary was still much, much higher. If they had been spending what he earned instead of saving a lot of it as well, it never would have worked. So for them, the key was to live below their means.

My parents always gave the advice that when both spouses are working to make sure that half was saved. I know that was in a different era (we grew up in the 70s and 80s) and the average standard of living is more expensive today. It's still something that stuck with me and why we have tried to live well below our means.

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