{"id":20312,"date":"2024-09-18T14:07:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T06:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=20312"},"modified":"2024-09-20T16:45:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T08:45:35","slug":"can-you-afford-to-be-a-stay-at-home-parent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/can-you-afford-to-be-a-stay-at-home-parent","title":{"rendered":"Can You Afford To Be A Stay-At-Home Parent?"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is one question that all couples will eventually have to face once they choose to start a family.<\/p>\n
As most couples today work full time jobs before they decided to start a family, the decision for one parent to stop working is not easy.<\/p>\n
Switching from working full time to a stay-at-home parent is a major decision that does not only affect yourself but your entire family.<\/p>\n
Can it work out cheaper for your household finances if one spouse stays at home? Here\u2019s how to find out if you or your spouse can actually afford staying at home.<\/p>\n
How much do you and your spouse bring home every month? List your net income – this is the income after EPF and tax deduction.<\/p>\n
What would your household income be after one of you quit working full-time? Will there be some passive income or part-time income coming in? If you plan to try to make some money while you stay at home to look after your baby, consider the potential amount you could make. With remote freelance work<\/a> now widely available, this is now a viable option.<\/p>\n Determine the before<\/strong> and after<\/strong> income. Let us assume that the spouse who quits full-time work can work side gigs on a freelance basis to earn an average of RM2,500 per month.<\/p>\n\n The second step requires a lot of soul-searching and monitoring. You could be spending hundreds on something unnecessary without knowing it. List down all your monthly expenses and also annual expenses. If you are unsure, start noting down your expenses for a month or two.<\/p>\n Your expenses should be split into home<\/strong>, childcare<\/strong> and work<\/strong> expenses. Here are the main items that should be included in each category:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t \nTwo full-time working parents<\/th> One full-time working parent<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n\t Your net monthly income: RM6,500<\/b><\/td> Your net monthly income: RM6,500<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Your spouse\u2019s net monthly income: RM4,500<\/b><\/td> Your spouse\u2019s net monthly income: RM2,500<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Total annual net household income: RM132,000<\/h4><\/td>
Total annual net household income: RM108,000<\/h4><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n
<\/span>Step 2: Your expenses<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n