BOOK REVIEW: You Can Stay Home With Your Kids
100 Tricks, Tips and Ways to Make it Happen on a Budget
Quitting your job and staying home to care for your children fulltime is a rarity in Singapore where the cost of living is high. So, most women I know work, either full-time or part-time, even if their heart’s desire is to be home with their children
It is considered a luxury to “just stay home”. Most people assume you are very rich if you don’t work.
And yes, some of us are rich enough to not only be able to stay home to raise our children but also have a live-in helper.
But … I am not that woman.
Choosing to Stay Home With the Children
I have been a Stay-At-Home-Mom since 1999. When my oldest was born in 1998, I attempted parttime work for a few months before throwing in the towel. It was just too hard for me to juggle caring for him, the house and work. And I was working with my husband. You’d think that would make things easier. #workingmomfail
Hats off to you capable ladies for doing both. So, after many discussions, it was decided that I would stop work and stay home to care for David myself. While we were blessed in that we never had to struggle with money, money was obviously not growing on trees either.
You Can’t Have It All
Removing one person’s income hits the family income hard. But we were determined to make it work. Sacrifices were made. Priorities were re-ordered. Things couldn’t remain status quo.
We cannot have it all. And no matter how many self-affirmation chants self-help gurus tell you to chant, sacrifices have to be made. Maybe not by you but definitely by those around you. Those who insist you can have it all are selling you an unattainable dream.
Want to Stay Home With Your Children?
Do YOU want to stay home with your children? Because not everyone does. Is staying home to care for your children your heart’s desire but you are not sure how exactly to make it work?
Erin Odom’s new offering You Can Stay Home to Raise Your Children can help. As part of Erin’s launch team, I was given an eCopy to read and give a constructive review. I really like this book.
As I was reading, I was nodding my head in agreement with each page I went through (except a few that I will mention later). A lot of what she recommends in the book was what we did. Yes, including cloth diapering, eating in and buying second-hand items off eBay (before the days of Carousell and Craigslist).
So, you can get a glimpse of what we did and still do to manage to be a single income family of 9, with God’s daily provision.
Let me clear.
It is God who is our Provider, Jehovah Jireh.
But we have to do our part. When we do our part in being wise and frugal in our purchasing decisions (not being penny wise, pound foolish), God truly fills in the gaps. And sometimes, He even provides more than enough.
Practical, Not Just Theoretical Tips
Erin segments her book into 8 sections:
- Curb Spending
- Eat Well on A Budget
- DIY Household Products
- Entertain Your Family Without Spending a Fortune
- Shop Secondhand and Sales
- Provide for Healthcare Needs
- Hunt Houses and Vehicles
- Create More Income
So, there is not only advice on how to cut down spending but also a section on how to make extra money while home with the children. Though I will say that this is really hard when you have many young children.
Personally, I found cutting down expenses much more doable than earning a side income. But sometimes, as she shares, when you have no more corners to cut, you will have to explore earning a side income.
The book is an easy read. You can speed read the entire book in one seating. Then you go back to what you want to implement today and get to it.
It is chockful of practical and immediately applicable help, not just theoretical ones. The principles she bases her advice on are universal.
Actually, everyone benefits from her advice, not just families trying to live on one income. Singles would do well to learn and apply these principles early in life so that they are not burdened by unnecessary debt and get into unhealthy spending habits.A Caveat
However, you must bear in mind that she is writing to a US audience. This means that some of her specific tips and tricks are only applicable to those who live in the US.
Things like taking a financial planning class, coupon shopping, shopping at discount stores like Aldi and Costco, and managing healthcare insurance. These are not applicable to non-US residents. Her advice on car and house hunting also have limited application in the Singapore context.
But the basic premise of spending less and trying to increase income from home apply to everyone, even a student.
Erin, who also blogs at The Humbled Homemaker also has another book, More Than Just Making It was released last year on how to get out of debt.
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Why I Chose to Stay Home
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