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[S963]Stay At Home Mommy

by Stephanie Foster, Ste

Whoops! Most moms don't seem to be thinking about what being a stay-at-home mom does for her retirement package. The years spent not working have a huge impact, however, when you decide to retire, so you need to plan now.

Let's start by looking at what you're losing for your retirement. No 401(k) with your employer contributing towards it. No pension, although those are getting scarce in most jobs anyhow. Less money available to put towards retirement. You aren't putting money into Social Security, so your benefits will be lower.

Ouch. Being a stay-at-home mom means you lose a lot for your retirement. Socially, the stay-at-home mom, as you may already know, is not as valued by most or by our government as the working mother. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prepare for your own retirement. It means more sacrifices, as you'll have to put more money aside, but better to provide your own retirement than be a burden.

You will want to consider having your spouse contribute towards a Spousal IRA. You may want to talk to a professional to determine the best type of IRA. According to the IRS website, up to $3000 may be contributed to a spousal IRA in a given year, assuming you are married and filing a joint return. See http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590.pdf for more information on IRAs.

Of course, it's hard for most families to come up with $3000 a year to be put towards retirement. Saving while working is relatively easy; it can come out of the paycheck before you ever see it, so it doesn't hurt much. You need to figure out a monthly dollar amount you can contribute, so that it goes throughout the year. Don't hurt your family doing this, of course, but if you can find a way to get a little money put aside so you can have a decent retirement, do so.

Those who want only to be stay-at-home moms may resist the notion of finding a job, whether it be part time or working at home, but it is another option to keep money going towards your retirement. It assures you that some money is going toward Social Security, and gives you a little extra money to put towards your retirement. Once the kids are in school, a highly flexible job can keep your skills sharp, too.

For others, a home business is an option. You don't have to go the direct sales route, although it is certainly a popular way to start a home business with less risk. You can start a website on something you love, sell crafts you've made… perhaps something you love to do could be a small home business for you.

You are the only one who can decide which sacrifices you can make to ensure that you have a financially secure retirement. Take the time now to think about your future.

Up 3 hours earlier than usual in the morning. Nope, not going back to bed quietly.

Did the toddler really figure out the latch on the cereal cabinet? Floor's crunchy.

You need WHAT for school?

This would be an example of a quiet morning in many families, of course. Things could be worse. You're not sure how but you have vague memories of mornings that were far, far more difficult. And even vaguer memories of quiet, uninterrupted mornings.

The hard part about being a stay at home mom is finding others. All mothers go through days where the kids seem to be trying to drive them insane, but stay at home moms have a harder time escaping. Not even a quiet drive to work through rush hour traffic.

So that's not really peaceful either. At least the kids aren't coming up with new disasters for you, short of calling your cell phone.

A stay at home mom has to find her own ways to reach that peaceful, quiet place where she can remember why she's at home.

The Internet is a great place for that. You probably know that already; what else would you be doing here? Online you can pursue any interest, from knitting to cooking to quilting to conquering alien worlds. It's all up to you. You can learn about exactly how much you've messed up as a mother and how much more messed up every other mother is. You can build deep, lifelong friendships with people you will never, ever meet.

You should also get out once in a while, without the kids. No, not just to the grocery store, Target or Walmart. That still counts as working and being a mom. Get out and be you for an hour or three. Meet with friends. Make them leave their kids home too. Do something fun for you that would bore your husband and/or the kids silly.

Don't forget to leave a nice, long to-do list for Daddy. Have to give him the whole stay at home experience, after all.

Ignore the mess around the house as necessary. There's this expectation that stay at home moms will keep a perfect home, but when you've done six loads of laundry, vacuumed, cleaned windows, cleaned up ten different spills from your toddler, including that unmentionable one from the diaper, found three lost toys, run a load through the dishwasher, tried to figure out exactly what that one stain on the living room carpet is, and made breakfast, lunch and have dinner planned, there comes a time to say enough and take a break from cleaning.

Make the kids do it. Especially their own messes and anything else they're old enough to help with. But don't stress about dusting, cleaning the windows or disinfecting every surface anyone has touched today. Make time for a break.

Some days it will feel just about impossible to maintain your sanity. Those are called weekdays. Weekends you at least have only to worry about getting the kids to all their activities, rather than to school. It has to be better doesn't it??

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Stephanie Foster has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Shopping and Pets. Stephanie Foster has been a for nearly 5 years and loves what she does. For more tips for stay at home parents, please visit. Stephanie Foster's top article generates over 823000 views. to your Favourites.