Although this post may not be on all fours with our Philippine experience, I find that it still brings up similar questions just the same, such as: Can I afford to stay home and take care of my child?
I myself am facing the same dilemma at present, wanting to be a full-time, stay at home mom, but at the same, not yet knowing how we'll pull it off. The original plan was for me to stay at home for the rest of the year once the baby was born, but we never got around to crunching the numbers so I never knew if that was really feasible, although I wished with all my heart that it was.
Anyway, that dream is still very much alive and now I know that instead of just wishing and hoping it to be so, we actually have to take concrete steps towards it. The first step being owning up to our monthly expenses and armed with the knowledge of where our money goes, to eventually plug the leaks with a monthly budget and more conscientious spending.
And after that long introduction, please click here to read about why staying at home with your baby may be the better option after all.