I’m Quitting my Job to be a Stay at Home Mom

Friday, January 6 is my last day of employment with the bank. I’ve been an employee there for over seven years, and it’s been a really tough decision, but I’ve decided that I’m going to quit and be a stay at home mom. I’ve always wanted to do that, so this is the path I’m going to take. I can always return to work if I have to. When considering being a working versus stay at home mom, I considered many factors.

1. If I kept working, I’d have to pay daycare. Full time day care is expensive, costing anywhere from $600-$800 a month! That would consume more than one of my paychecks. Also, if my baby was in day care there’s a much greater chance of the baby getting sick and me having to take time off work. That would stink!

2. I’d have to buy disposable diapers. I plan on cloth diapering my baby to save money, and if I had to put my baby in day care, I’d have to buy disposables for the baby to use while in day care. For Seventh Generation
newborn disposable diapers, it would cost 25 cents a diaper! That’s $75 a month if the baby uses 10 diapers a day.

3. It would be more difficult to exclusively breastfeed, and I’d probably be more likely to give up, meaning we’d have to buy formula. It would make me very sad if I couldn’t breastfeed my baby exclusively at least for the first full year. Staying at home will give me an advantage that I’ll be able to breastfeed successfully. By staying home, I also avoid having to buy an expensive breast pump!

4. I’d have to pay for new work clothes, gas to get to work, more lunches out, etc. That isn’t a huge deal, but our gas budget will decrease from me staying at home.

The biggest reason I decided to quit my job and be a stay at home mom is because this has always been my dream. I’ve always wanted to be home with our babies, enjoying them and raising them myself. I truly believe that it is such a personal decision, and I would never judge another mother for deciding to work or stay at home. I think every family does what works best for their family.

I’m going to have to be careful with our money to make sure that we can afford for me to stay at home, but we’ve saved up a little bit of money to use in case we need to, and we’ve been careful with our money all along so I don’t see it being a problem.

I will admit, I am a little nervous about the transition since I’ve spent the last ten years working. I think it will be quite the change at first, but it will be something I can adapt to and I think I’ll end up loving it. I’m hoping my next boss will be as good to work for as my current one at the bank!