Have you ever sat down and calculated exactly how much money it would take to help you become a full-time work at home mom (parent, person)?
What happens when you put pen to paper, map out your budget, pencil in all those things that you can’t live without, those things you don’t really need and those things that have to be accomplished before you can take that plunge?
Each year I draw up my own budget. Sometimes I’ll revisit the budget at 3 to 6 month intervals to see where I stand and what adjustments I can make, but ultimately, I discovered that I could get by on one amount and anything above that is pure bonus. It’s that bonus that gets socked away in savings or spent on some of the things that we just want.
Do you realize that by putting pen to paper and mapping out exactly what it will take to get you become a full-time Homer – that is the first step in creating a solid business plan?
So, what would it take?
For me that bottom dollar figure was $2,000 per month. Anything below that and I could not work from home like I do.
Tags: wahm, work at home, parenting, family, momgadget
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I do work from home (a blend of blogging and fine art commissions) and $1,500/month (no dependents) is what is takes to keep me from restlessly turning in bed at night. Some months, I’m on cloud nine, then other months I want to cry. The cloud-nine-months carry me through the teary-eyed downtimes.
Ashley ~ Thanks for the comment. Not that I wish you those restless nights by any means, but it’s certainly nice to know I’m not the only one that suffers those
I LOVE your artwork by the way. I was peaking in last night during open mic with Liz
That’s a great question. Don’t forget to subtract all the work related expenses you won’t have like childcare, wardrobe, lunches, gas… That’s usually when women have their aha moment that working from home is actually a tangible goal!
Thanks Lisa! That’s a great tip.
Great post. While I’m not a mom, I do run my business from my home office. I found creating income goals/budgets as being paramount to the success of my business when I first began. Many of my clients struggle with the growth of their businesses until they really look at what they need to make, how to plan for it and how to effectively budget. Very much a key piece to startup success.
Dawud ~ I couldn’t agree more. One of the most difficult adjustments I had to make was going from the weekly pay check to the bi-monthly or even monthly payments.
You have to know your budget like the back of your hand otherwise you’re going to be struggling three weeks out of every month.
Thanks for commenting
We’ve certainly been there. Just ask my wife. To anyone who’s starting out or at the beginning of their business, I would highly recommend being really clear about your budget. It can make the difference between success and struggle or failure.
Thanks for commenting Dawud. Do you and your wife both blog? That’s interesting. I’m working with some of my family members to get them going and wish I could get my husband interested, but that’s probably a bit too much to ask for from him.
No, not yet. I’m trying to get her to begin. We’ve got a little bit on our family plate right now that we want to deal with before she steps into blogging.
We have talked about doing a parenting blog together – focused on conscious parenting, as we would call it.