How much household income is enough?

[cherrygal]

well, my frens were sure of not returning to work ever so they left right after the maternity leave. Of coz there are consequences to doing that and the employee is always at the losing end if you leave indiscriminately…


Just be patient and get her checked out. If she can, hold out till the birth of the kid before deciding to stay or not. Ultimately, your wife’s sanity is more important than anything else (boss’ impression, bad name, whether your income is enuff etc). The boss is not gonna give you any compensation if your wife ends up with depression.

Take care!

[Oppsgal]

Shoe:

The 1st trimester's really grim but if she can hang in there for a bit, things will usually get better. If your wife's intention, when she feels better, is still not to work, then I have to agree with Funz, quit on a good note and not burn bridges!


I am a firm believer of living simply and within your means.
I was jobless when I got preggy with my 1st and we were both starting out in our working lives.
Babies don't really need that much stuff. I think I only used 30% of what I bought for my first kid... Try and get hand-me-downs and secondhand stuff..Breast feed (saves a tonne on formula). We ate at home and cooked all our meals. Even made hubby take a lunchbox to work... I gave tuition after baby turned 3 months to supplement income and returned to full time work after 1 year... Doable..

\"I gave tuition after baby turned 3 months to supplement income\"...any helping hands at home? If got then doable.

[Shoe]

Oppsgal, grandparents… Only taught 4 hours a week tho…

[Oppsgal]

Shoe:

Oppsgal, grandparents... Only taught 4 hours a week tho...

4 hours? Earn how much? I am still debating want to work full time or part time.

[Lyddon]

The correct way is to determine that $$$ number is to tabulate how much you spend, why you spend it and when you spent it.


Persist with that for a couple of weeks, you have a rough idea what are the essential expenses and nice-to-have expenses.

Do it for an entire year and you’ll have a good overview on what is minimum income you need per year, what to budget for nice-to-haves and maybe even some extras investments.

[Lyddon]

With 1-year worth of detailed expense vs income, benchmark that against general framework of prudent family financial planning.


eg. w% for mortgage, x% of everyday expense, y% of nice-to-haves, and z% for savings/investments.

There are different yardsticks of what is prudent family financial planning. Plenty of examples via google.

Manage your family assets and cash flow as if it’s a business. If managed well, your family will have sufficient for retirement. If not, well… let’s hope your family well being is not affected by money.

[Canvas]

nobodybutchiew:

1. Thankfully when we booked our flat, the 4-room flats had already sold out, so we were forced to buy a 3-room flat. Although small, I'm very thankful that our CPF can fully cover for it.
2. We don't have a car, although we have a very high reliance on taxis.
3. Not sure what's excessive. Mine is about $200 a month, hers is $300 a month.
4. We'll probably get a no-interest loan with a perpetual payback period from our parents.

I think it's actually \"doable\" for your income/situation/savings to allow your wife to stay at home. Usually the first trimester is really tough to go through and I know women who vomited throughout the pregnancy (not just the first trimester). I hope your wife will feel better soon but prenatal depression is no joke, bring her out for relaxing walks often and reassure her frequently that you are always there for her. Don't fret. You have to be strong to show her that you are behind her & the baby.

[pinkydot1984]

Seriously depends on how much "luxuries" u need to have, like helper, car, cable tv

[EmsC]

10K and above for a comfortable life.

[Poppypie]

10k and above for how many people?