Can I Afford to Become a Mum?

Hi Scott,

My husband wants us to have a baby, but I am petrified at the thought of not earning money. How far backwards would we go if I can work only a couple of days a week, and/or have to pay daycare fees so I can work? Hubby runs his own business earning around $120,000 a year, and has two small business loans for equipment. His income varies month-to-month, so it is my wage ($57,000) that gives us the steady money. We have no loans other than our mortgage, and have Mojo tucked away. But can we afford a baby? Please tell me it’s going to be OK!

Hannah

Hi Hannah,

It’s going to be OK.

(Well, so long as you haven’t gone all ‘postcode povvo’ and got a supersized mortgage.)

I’ve spent my entire married life as a small business owner, so I have some ideas.

First, you are very much a part-owner in the business, so you need to be across the numbers, even if that means sitting down with the family accountant and having them explain the current state of the business to you. Fact is, you’re going to be relying on this business to take care of your family, so you need to know it inside out.

Second, the benefit of understanding the true state of the business isn’t just that you’ll stress less, but that the two of you should be able to set some realistic 12-month business goals, both in terms of lowering costs and increasing income. Write them down, and review them at least quarterly.

I actually do this with my wife on our Date Nights. At the start she was more ‘nah’ than ‘yeah’, but after seven years of being my partner in the business she’s shown insights I would never have had. Plus she’s actually way more hard-nosed than me when it comes to negotiating deals.

Finally, I’d go out on a Barefoot Date Night and sketch out your buckets – Daily Expenses (60%), Splurge (10%), Smile (10%) and Fire Extinguisher (20%) – and base it only on a conservative estimate of your husband’s income from his business.

If the numbers stack up, it’s time to become a mum!

Scott