Plano father does the math, realizes he can’t afford his stay-at-home wife

[TexasTowelie]

Steve Nelms, of Plano, is a working father and his wife, Glory, is a stay-at-home mom to the couple’s 2-year-old son, Ezra.

-snip-

“My wife stays home and takes care of our son every single day,” Nelms said in a blog post he wrote as a letter to his wife that has since gone viral. “She changes his diapers, feeds him, plays with him, puts him down for his nap, and comforts him when he’s upset. And that’s just the bare minimum.”

Nelms figured since every service in our life is now hireable, he’d calculate if he could afford his stay-at-home wife.

With just four services researched, Nelms had already racked up a $67,860 total. Adding minor services like finances and laundry brought the total up to $73,690 per year.

Read more: http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2015/04/plano-father-does-the-math-realizes-he-cant-afford-his-stay-at-home-wife.html/

[SheilaT]

1. Yep. People almost never do the math

about how much it would really cost to replace what the stay home mom does. Similarly, it's surprising how much the second working parent (usually the mom) needs to earn to cover the additional costs created by her working: the childcare, the second car, the work wardrobe, the additional restaurant meals.

[Warpy]

2. Right and the lousy nutrition at breakfast and supper

because she doesn't have time or energy to cook stuff that is balanced and nutritious--or clean up after it. It's cereal or smoothies in the morning, take out on a lot of work nights.

A lot of SAHMs I know also make everybody's clothing. It isn't much cheaper but the clothing is more durable and can be handed down instead of used for dusting after 20 washings.

We really do need an income floor in this country to protect SAHMs, especially.

[SheilaT]

3. For what it's worth, my sister who used to make

all of her own clothes, stopped a decade or so ago because the quality of the fabrics had decreased noticeably. Very occasionally she makes something. She still quilts big-time, because the cotton fabrics for quilting is still excellent quality.

added on edit:
I once asked her about this, and she said that the decline in fabrics started as clothing manufacture started being sent overseas. She believes that the fabric stores used to get the fabric the manufacturers didn't use, but that changed as clothes started being made almost entirely overseas.

[Warpy]

4. The last place I saw really good fabric was in a store in Mexico

Unfortunately, we're not Mexico and we import fabrics from Asia and they're awful. I stopped making my own clothing at the same time your sister did. I miss it, too, my stuff lasted a lot longer than off the rack does.

Apparently, they import from Europe as well as the rest of Latin America south of the border. I wish they'd end the drug war down there so crossing the border could be safe again.

[SheilaT]

5. Where in Mexico?

And when?

She lived in Germany for four years. Her husband was in the army and stationed there. I never thought to ask her what the fabric was like over there, but I'll have to.

[Warpy]

6. Before the gangs started their big turf war

and just across the border in Juarez. The store was on the main drag, Avenida Benito Juarez.