SAHM- how much husband's income is enough?

[MsKoh1973]

I am currently working, but considering to be a SAHM, my husband is earning about $5k pm, is it enough?

My husband said whatever decision I made, he will support me, but if I not working, he hope I can think twice before spending.....

Currently, one income is sufficient to cover household expense, the other person income is total saving..............so if I don't work, then we have to give up on saving.........

Any advise?

 

[apollo]

i think it depends on individual. if u family is low maintanance, honestly speaking, $5k per mth is more than enough.

but ur have to wk out the finance part, calculate what ur spend on mthly and still got remaining to save. if my hubby earn $5K per mth, i think is more than enough for my family of 3.

 

[stonston]

I have seen families, only hubby is bringing home money, take home pay is only $2k. They have 3 kids and manage to survive. The kids also have tuition and enrichment classes, but not at the atas centres of cos.

I think it's how the family manages their money. In terms of savings, can cut down on certain things to save up.

For my family, 5k a month take home pay will have enough to save also. Cos we are simple ppl, the only large expense is my boy's classes and my maid. We bought a cheap car and are happy with it

 

[iwan2noe]

I have seen families, only hubby is bringing home money, take home pay is only $2k. They have 3 kids and manage to survive. The kids also have tuition and enrichment classes, but not at the atas centres of cos.

I think it's how the family manages their money. In terms of savings, can cut down on certain things to save up.

For my family, 5k a month take home pay will have enough to save also. Cos we are simple ppl, the only large expense is my boy's classes and my maid. We bought a cheap car and are happy with it

wow, take home pay 2K with 3 kids and the parents themselves.. very good financial mgmt... they have got savings? need to save wor for retirement....
rate of inflation is ever growing and the $1 now may only be $0.70 in yrs to come...things getting increasingly exp so we must really plan our finances well so that we will not be caught by surprise and unprepared for any sudden circumstances....

 

[diymummy]

If my hubby earns 5k a mth, I feel that we would have enough to scrap thru. We have a lot of financial commitments in terms of insurance. So if I were to quit and stay home, $5k a mth would be the minimum my hubby needs to earn.

 

[Ting]

same,depends on how u manage your finances lorr.
to some 5K can last them 2 mths. to others, 5K cant even last them thru the month.

 

[SH74]

it all depends on d lifestyle u n ur hb have n whether ur hb can take d burden being the sole breadwinner. also depends on whether u intend to hv no.2 or not.

but imo, i still prefer to have dual income. not so worried n stressed w financial matters. n able to provide better stuff for my boy. also, if anything unfortunate happens, at least d family can still go on financially.

 

[bibiluvr]

agree with the mummies...but like wat ppl say, if u earn more, u tend to spend more and vice versa.. currently, i'm on my 4th month of no pay leave... hubby only earns less than 3K n he doesn't give me allowance but pays for household stuff n bills... but i managed to control my spending unlike in the past where i often buy clothes, shoes n stuff... but being a sahm, u dun need all these that often so can save... but of coz, if he earns more, i'll be happier n i will just continue to stay at hm....haha.. now, to think of gg back to work, i'm getting separation anxiety liao...

 

[christine77sg]

Personally, I feel more secure w dual income. But if the need arises, I will definitely make sure I hv at least sm savings to cover me for the period I will nt b working before quiting my job.

How much savings to set aside before quiting will depend on individual. For me, 1k/mth will b sufficient. This will b on top of allowances I get fr hubby. The savings r more for my personal emergency/indulgence.:shyxxx:

 

[TANZHENZHI]

wow 5k is more than enough for my family to spend I also prefer dual income, my hubby in-charge of the household/bills and baby stuffs while i save in our accounts. At least the burden not all under him, he won't feel so stressed. :001_302:

 

[PTB7476]

i prefer dual income too...at least not so stressful for hubby and we can get and do whatever we want with dual income and without having to worry whether do we have enuff for the next meal. beside given the current cost of living in singapore, still best to have more ...

i want the flexibility of being able to buy toys or things or bring my kid overseas for holiday without worrying ...

well that's me

 

[skirtdressnsuch]

i used to have a neighbour 6 yrs back. SOLE BREAD WINNER! $1.3k/month working as driver. 3 kids. SAH wife to take care of kids.....youngest at that time p1! but still they managed to survive............... i think it all boils down to wat sort of life you wanna live. The high life of going to restaurants every other day and fly to europe twice a year or home-cooked meals with yearly trip to batam.

 

[paperger85]

There are some families with dual income but combined income only $3k. With $5k, its definitely more than enough.

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

S$5,000 may or may not be enough. Consider these factors:
- stability of his job
- possibility of paycut in his field
- stability of his employer (if company closes / moves out of S'pore / gets acquired / downsizes, job / pay may be affected)
- hubby's performance (high flyer would get alternative job more easily)
- monthly COMMITTED expenses (household, insurance, loans, parental support)
- monthly variable expenses (dining out, travelling, shopping)
- monthly targeted savings (if S$5,000 means no savings, it is very risky)
- current cash emergency fund (at least 6 to 9 times monthly expenses, saved in the bank, in case of an emergency)

Consider getting a qualified financial planner/consultant (e.g. ChFC, CFP) to work the sums out with you and hubby. When the finances are worked out properly and your expectations well-set, the couple would live in harmony and being an SAHM is a very rewarding job!

 

[vinder79]

Hi i am also a SAHM.My husband brings home slightly above $5k and i have 2 kids and a maid.My younger son's medical is $450 per mth and elder son's childcare is $540 per mth.I have a car and 4 insurance/endownment policies.3 yrs ago our combine income was 10k plus and we went for holidays every 3 mths.After i gave birth to my elder son (06/08) and cleared maternity leave 3 mths i went back to work.By 12/08 i found out i was pregnant again my husband told me to resign and i did.In 08/09 i gave birth and after that due to my son's condition and separetion anxiety i nvr went back to work.We have made do with what my husband is bringing home.We even put aside some money for savings.My husband has stopped going out for drinks with friends and i stop taking 2 many taxis and stop going for massages.What i am trying to say is u have to budget yourself.All of us had different livestyles before kids.
There are families living on 1 income of just $1000++.Their children also go to school and do well except that instead of eating crossiants their kids eat bread.

 

[PTB7476]

Hi i am also a stay at home mum.My husband brings home slightly above $5k and i have 2 kids and a maid.My younger son's medical is $450 per month and elder son's childcare is $540 per month.I have a car and 4 insurance/endownment policies.3 yrs ago our combine income was 10k plus and we went for holidays every 3 mths.After i gave birth to my elder son (06/08) and cleared maternity leave 3 mths i went back to work.By 12/08 i found out i was pregnant again my husband told me to resign and i did.In 08/09 i gave birth and after that due to my son's condition and separetion anxiety i never went back to work.We have made do with what my husband is bringing home.We even put aside some money for savings.My husband has stopped going out for drinks with friends and i stop taking 2 many taxis and stop going for massages.What i am trying to say is you have to budget yourself.All of us had different livestyles before kids.
There are families living on 1 income of just $1000++.Their children also go to school and do well except that instead of eating crossiants their kids eat bread.

woah i am surprised 5K allows you and family to pay for so much bills and yet still can save ...

 

[Mum2bee]

Hi i am also a stay at home mum.My husband brings home slightly above $5k and i have 2 kids and a maid.My younger son's medical is $450 per month and elder son's childcare is $540 per month.I have a car and 4 insurance/endownment policies.3 yrs ago our combine income was 10k plus and we went for holidays every 3 mths.After i gave birth to my elder son (06/08) and cleared maternity leave 3 mths i went back to work.By 12/08 i found out i was pregnant again my husband told me to resign and i did.In 08/09 i gave birth and after that due to my son's condition and separetion anxiety i never went back to work.We have made do with what my husband is bringing home.We even put aside some money for savings.My husband has stopped going out for drinks with friends and i stop taking 2 many taxis and stop going for massages.What i am trying to say is you have to budget yourself.All of us had different livestyles before kids.
There are families living on 1 income of just $1000++.Their children also go to school and do well except that instead of eating crossiants their kids eat bread.

yah... Can't agree more than this...though tis is my lst pregnancy but mi and my husband oso started to change our lifestyle alrdy

 

[meiteoh]

MieVee has very good points. My hubby was earning 5K in Switzerland and we were saving at least half of that amount every month because we cut back on A LOT of luxuries like movies, shopping, etc. We ate home cooked food every day because eating out was pricey and we shop smart. Then he got retrenched and we had to relook everything again - even the prospects of moving to another country.

No point talking about how much you earn when his job is not stable, his company is crappy (always retrenching people, cutting salaries, etc) and so forth.

For us, what's important when we consider one income or dual income is not so much on whether we can survive but how much we can save. One of the main factors why I went back to work even though we were doing okay on my hubby's 3.5K salary was that we wanted to save more for our old age as being foreigners here, we don't have CPF and are totally dependent on whatever money we set aside now (we have a few accounts in France, Switzerland and M'sia to tide us through in case we do hit a very rainy day).

I must admit one thing that - when you're on a single income, you become more creative with how you can stretch that one dollar.

 

[swee]

should show my hubby this... his income is 5 digits but he still don't let me be a SAHM...

 

[skirtdressnsuch]

should show my hubby this... his income is 5 digits but he still dont't let me be a stay at home mum...

would would want to ba a SAHM??? to some pple they could get bored to death............first 3-4 days is like a well deserved rest! after 1-2 weeks you may be itching to go back to work