Many married couples today are dual income families. While more and more women opt to stay home with children while they are young, moms may head back to the wonderful world of full time employment once the youngest child starts school. Will doing so really improve your household income enough to make it worth your time?
It may or may not. It depends on the hours, the salary, the benefits, tax penalties many married couples are subjected to, and work related expenses. It may also include childcare for the hours after school until you or your spouse gets home from work.
There are a lot of issues to weigh before deciding if a return to work will be beneficial, or if it will result in more trouble and expense than it’s worth. Of course, some people return to work for personal fulfillment or to continue a career that was put on hold. Some engage in careers that help others or give back to the community in some way, or are otherwise not driven by income.
You may find that working part time or working at home is better suited to your lifestyle, and that there won’t be a drastic difference in the amount of money you actually net after the related expenses of typical employment are extracted if you were to work full time.
It’s a good idea to sit down with your spouse and go over these issues together before you decide which path to pursue. It’s a decision that should be made together and one that is simpler to make when you have good information available.
Check out this article at Smart Money to learn more. There is also a calculator on the site to help you figure how much money you will really spend and make if you return to work (scroll down past the calculator to see the rest of the article).
Related: Living on One Income