sahm | theAsianparent

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Husband Takes Home $3k+ Monthly. Possible for Wife to be Housewife?

Hi guys. I'm wondering if my husband taking home $3k+ is enough for a small family and for me to be a Stay-at-Home-Mother. I'm currently pregnant so we are expecting a child, and also a 5-Room BTO mortgage ($450k). We have already saved $50k for Reno and appliances for our future home. And we both have some savings. We don't own a car, depend on the bus/MRT all the time, and rarely do anything luxurious. Just eat out at times in the weekends and small gifts for each other occasionally. My shoppings are mainly done on Taobao and clothes are rarely over $25. My current job has long hours and need me to be alert even on non-working days. Sometimes I also need to work even after getting home or during the weekends. I also have to spend money for materials which I cannot claim. This job expects a lot but doesn't pay much, and the benefits are pathetic. I'm only taking home around $2.5k and the increments are peanuts. I don't think I can carry on when I have a child. Is it possible to survive on my husband's pay alone? Would I really need to lead a frugal lifestyle? Any SAHM with experience? #sahm #mom #housewife

Hmm I'm personally quite uncomfortable with a single 3k+ household income for the long term. With 450k mortgage that's going to take a big chunk out of your monthly income. It's good that you have savings and are working out your expenses, but it sounds like a lot of it will be depleted after the renovation and baby. It's ideal to have a buffer to create a rainy day cash fund and funds in your CPF to accrue interest, especially now that you have another dependent. Eg what if he loses his job? Does his job cover spouse and child insurance? If your husband is comfortable with it, I think you can and should take a break from work. It's a good opportunity to take a step back and reevaluate your long term career choices - perhaps you can start a small home business, look out for a better job or take part time courses to switch industry for when you're ready to return to the workforce. Learn about investment too to make your spare cash worth for you (just paper trade the first year and stay away from penny stocks, I lost 95% of my savings when I was 21 and armed with textbook knowledge) Honestly I think you have to be quite frugal while a SAHM because a rainy day fund and retirement savings is really important in SG context. While making 3k there's not much social safety net in case of a misfortunate event. Perhaps upon MOP you can downgrade to a smaller flat the profits will be quite helpful in replenishing the coffers.

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