Working Spouse Wants To Become Full-Time Mom - What should we be considering?

Husband of a full time SAHM.

Chore list sucks, because chores suck, how you think about something drives your behavior, a responsibility list is better.

Budget For finances head over to /r/personalfinances you'll want to put together a budget. The budget is managed as a team, you might break portions up individually, but the overall budget is run together. Nothing will fuck up a perfectly good marriage quicker then financial problems, because usually those problems are easily avoided with a plan, a little bit of discipline and maturity. A budget is the best thing you can have, plan and save for vacations, plan and save for education, plan and save and you'll be able to do all things that you want. As for financial decision the budget should take care of most issues. Because you should be planning, "hey, you know were going to need a new sofa in a year, OK, let start putting an additional 40 bucks a month away, or be opportunistic, Crate and Barrel is doing 0% interest on sofa's. Great! free money." But's it's got to be done within the framework of the budget. Your budget needs to take into account rewards, vacation, treats, presents etc. otherwise the budget will create resentment.

Also you both should get your own spending money, that either of you can do with as you see fit. If she wants to burn the cash in the driveway that's just fine, it's her money and you aren't allowed an opinion, just like she's not allowed an opinion about your money. Just so long as what it's used for isn't illegal, or disruptive to the family. Buying an alligator because you had the money isn't cool, but buying that ugly, stupid bowling shirt with the giant embroidery of a monkey smoking a cigar is fine. Taste is an opinion.

Employment My wife works in a highly specialized field, very few skilled or qualified workers, after 8 years out of the work force she couldn't get a job, and still can't. I suggest you both figure out a way for her to start and run a home business, or find a part time work from home job, and do this as soon as possible. Many companies are now outsourcing their call center jobs to work from home employees, bringing the jobs back from foreign countries.

Let's pretend that your wife's name is Diane. Diane gets Diane time, not mommy time, not wife time, but Diane time. Your name is Tom, and Tom gets Tom time. Diane and Tom also need couple time. Tom, remember why you married this woman, you romanced her so that she would marry you, now you need to keep romancing her so that she is reminded that you still think she is beautiful, funny, sexy and intelligent. Flowers, surprises, romantic notes, explicit notes, remember you are both still vibrant, emotional, sexual people.

In the beginning some days you are going to walk in the door feeling like you've been through a meat grinder happy to be home and she's going to want to kill you for leaving in the morning and coming back home. It's a normal part of the transition, don't take it personally. See what happened, is that your day felt like it took 80 hours instead of 8, which is why you are happy to be home. Her day felt like 8 hours get jammed into 8 minutes, she didn't feel like she got anything got done. She's unhappy you are home because she didn't get anything done. During the first year our budget was heavily skewed to frozen food and take out, it helps to take the pressure from you both, and if it's budgeted nobody's stressing about the money.

/r/relationships Thread